[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 24, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3390-S3391]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 6219. Mr. KENNEDY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
by him to the bill S. 4784, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2027 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At end of title X, add the following:
Subtitle H--Protecting Our Courts From Foreign Manipulation Act of 2025
SEC. ___01. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ``Protecting Our Courts
from Foreign Manipulation Act of 2025''.
SEC. ___02. TRANSPARENCY AND LIMITATIONS ON FOREIGN THIRD-
PARTY LITIGATION FUNDING.
(a) In General.--Chapter 111 of title 28, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 1660. Transparency and limitations on foreign third-
party litigation funding
``(a) Definitions.--In this section--
``(1) the term `foreign person'--
``(A) means any person or entity that is not a United
States person, as defined in section 101 of the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1801); and
``(B) does not include a foreign state or a sovereign
wealth fund;
``(2) the term `foreign state' has the meaning given that
term in section 1603; and
``(3) the term `sovereign wealth fund' means an investment
fund owned or controlled by--
``(A) a foreign state, an agency or instrumentality of a
foreign state (as defined in section 1603); or
``(B)(i) an entity, a majority of whose shares or other
ownership interest is owned or controlled by an investment
fund owned or controlled by a foreign state, or by an agency
or instrumentality of a foreign state (as defined in section
1603); or
``(ii) any subsidiary of an entity described in clause (i).
``(b) Disclosure of Third-Party Litigation Funding and
Foreign Source Certification by Foreign Persons, Foreign
States, and Sovereign Wealth Funds.--
``(1) In general.--In any civil action, each party or the
counsel of record for the party shall--
``(A) disclose in writing to the court, to all other named
parties to the civil action, to the Attorney General, and to
the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for National
Security--
``(i) the name, the address, and, if applicable, the
citizenship or the country of incorporation or registration
of any foreign person, foreign state, or sovereign wealth
fund, other than the named parties or counsel of record, that
has a right to receive any payment that is contingent in any
respect on the outcome of the civil action by settlement,
judgment, or otherwise;
``(ii) the name, the address, and, if applicable, the
citizenship or the country of incorporation or registration
of any foreign person, foreign state, or sovereign wealth
fund, other than the named parties or counsel of record, that
has a right to receive any payment that is contingent in any
respect on the outcome of any matter within a portfolio that
includes the civil action and involves the same counsel of
record or affiliated counsel; and
``(iii) if the party or the counsel of record for the party
submits a certification described in subparagraph (C)(i), the
name, the address, and, if applicable, the citizenship or the
country of incorporation or registration of the foreign
person, foreign state, or sovereign wealth fund that is the
source of the money;
``(B) produce to the court, to all other named parties to
the civil action, to the Attorney General, and to the
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for National
Security, except as otherwise stipulated or ordered by the
court, a copy of any agreement creating a contingent right
described in subparagraph (A); and
``(C) for a civil action involving an agreement creating a
right to receive any payment by anyone, other than the named
parties or counsel of record, that is contingent in any
respect on the outcome of the civil action by settlement,
judgment, or otherwise, or on the outcome of any matter
within a portfolio that includes the civil action and
involves the same counsel or affiliated counsel, submit to
the court a certification that--
``(i) the money that has been or will be used to satisfy
any term of the agreement has been or will be directly or
indirectly sourced, in whole or in part, from a foreign
person, foreign state, or sovereign wealth fund, including
the monetary amounts that have been or will be used to
satisfy the agreement; or
``(ii) that the disclosure and certification criteria set
forth in subparagraph (A)(iii) and clause (i) of this
subparagraph do not apply to the civil action.
``(2) Timing.--
``(A) In general.--The disclosure and certification
required by paragraph (1) shall be made not later than the
later of--
``(i) 30 days after execution of any agreement described in
paragraph (1); or
``(ii) the date on which the civil action is filed.
``(B) Parties served or joined later.--A party that enters
into an agreement described in paragraph (1) that is first
served or joined after the date on which the civil action is
filed shall make the disclosure and certification required by
paragraph (1) not later than 30 days after being served or
joined, unless a different time is set by stipulation or
court order.
``(3) Foreign source disclosure and certification format.--
``(A) In general.--A disclosure required under paragraph
(1)(A) and a certification required under paragraph (1)(C)
shall--
``(i) be made in the form of a declaration under penalty of
perjury pursuant to section 1746 and shall be made to the
best knowledge, information, and belief of the declarant
formed after reasonable inquiry; and
``(ii) be provided to all other named parties to the civil
action, to the Attorney General, and to the Principal Deputy
Assistant Attorney General for National Security by the party
or counsel of record for the party making the disclosure and
certification, except as otherwise stipulated or ordered by
the court.
``(B) Supplementation and correction.--Not later than 30
days after the date on which a party or counsel of record for
the party knew or should have known that the disclosure
required under paragraph (1)(A) or a certification required
under paragraph (1)(C) is incomplete or inaccurate in any
material respect, the party or counsel of record shall
supplement or correct the disclosure or certification.
``(c) Prohibition on Third-Party Funding Litigation by
Foreign States and Sovereign Wealth Funds.--
``(1) In general.--It shall be unlawful for any party to,
or counsel of record in a civil action to, enter into an
agreement creating a right for anyone, other than the named
parties or counsel of record, to receive any payment that is
contingent in any respect on the outcome of a civil action,
or any matter within a portfolio that includes the civil
action, and involves the same counsel of record or affiliated
counsel, the terms of which are to be satisfied by money that
has been or will be directly or indirectly sourced, in whole
or in part, from a foreign state or a sovereign wealth fund.
``(2) Enforcement.--Any agreement entered in violation of
paragraph (1) shall be null and void.
``(d) Failure To Disclose, To Supplement; Sanctions.--A
disclosure, production, or certification under subsection (b)
is deemed to be information required by rule 26(a) of the
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and subject to the sanctions
provisions of rule 37 of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure.''.
(b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of
sections chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``1660. Transparency and limitations on foreign third-party litigation
funding.''.
SEC. ___03. REPORT TO CONGRESS.
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this
Act, and annually thereafter, the Attorney General shall
submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and
the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives a report on the activities involving foreign
third-party litigation funding in Federal courts, including,
if applicable--
(1) the identities of foreign third-party litigation
funders in Federal courts, including names, addresses, and
citizenship or country of incorporation or registration;
(2) the identities of foreign persons, foreign states, or
sovereign wealth funds (as such terms are defined in section
1660 of title 28, United States Code, as added by section
___02 of this subtitle) that have been the sources of money
for third-party litigation funding in Federal courts;
(3) the judicial districts in which foreign third-party
litigation funding has occurred;
(4) an estimate of the total amount of foreign-sourced
money used for third-party litigation funding in Federal
courts, including
[[Page S3391]]
an estimate of the amount of such money sourced from each
country; and
(5) a summary of the subject matters of the civil actions
in Federal courts for which foreign sourced money has been
used for third-party litigation funding.
SEC. ___04. APPLICABILITY.
The amendments made by this subtitle shall apply to any
civil action pending on or commenced on or after the date of
enactment of this Act.
______