118th CONGRESS 2d Session |
To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to treat certain foreign-owned corporations and business organizations as foreign nationals for purposes of the ban on campaign activity, to prohibit foreign-affiliated section 501(c)(4) organizations from making contributions to super PACs or disbursing funds for independent expenditures or electioneering communications, to amend the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 to reform the procedures for the registration of agents of foreign principals under such Act, and for other purposes.
August 20, 2024
Ms. Porter (for herself and Ms. Norton) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to treat certain foreign-owned corporations and business organizations as foreign nationals for purposes of the ban on campaign activity, to prohibit foreign-affiliated section 501(c)(4) organizations from making contributions to super PACs or disbursing funds for independent expenditures or electioneering communications, to amend the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 to reform the procedures for the registration of agents of foreign principals under such Act, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
(a) Short title.—This Act may be cited as the “Foreign Political Influence Elimination Act of 2024”.
(b) Table of contents.—The table of contents of this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 101. Treatment of certain foreign-owned corporations and associations as foreign nationals for purposes of ban on campaign activity.
Sec. 102. Prohibiting foreign-affiliated section 501(c) organizations from making certain election-related disbursements.
Sec. 103. Activities subject to ban.
Sec. 104. Prohibiting acceptance of contributions from foreign agents.
Sec. 105. Effective date.
Sec. 201. Repealing exemption from registration under Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 for persons filing disclosure reports under Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995.
Sec. 202. Conditions for exemption for persons providing legal representation.
Sec. 203. Treatment of informational materials.
Sec. 204. Foreign agents registration civil enforcement.
Sec. 205. Authorizing imposition and collection of registration fees.
Sec. 206. Establishment of FARA investigation and enforcement unit within Department of Justice.
Sec. 207. Comprehensive strategy to improve enforcement and administration.
Sec. 208. Analysis by Government Accountability Office.
Sec. 209. Definition.
Sec. 210. Effective date.
Section 319(b) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121(b)) is amended to read as follows:
“(1) IN GENERAL.—As used in this section, the term ‘foreign national’ means—
“(A) an individual who is not a citizen of the United States or a national of the United States, as defined in section 101(a)(22) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(22)), and who is not lawfully admitted for permanent residence, as defined by section 101(a)(20) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(20);
“(B) a person outside of the United States, unless it is established that such person is an individual who is a citizen of the United States, or that such person is not an individual and is organized under or created by the laws of the United States or of any State or other place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and has its principal place of business within the United States;
“(C) a government of a foreign country or an official of the government of a foreign country, as defined in section 1(e) of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 611(e)), a foreign political party, as defined in section 1(f) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 611(f)), or a corporation principally owned or controlled by the government of a foreign country or an official of the government of a foreign country, including a separate segregated fund of such a corporation under section 316;
“(D) a corporation (other than a corporation described in subparagraph (C)), partnership, association, organization, or other combination of persons organized under the laws of or having its principal place of business in a foreign country, including a separate segregated fund of such a corporation under section 316;
“(E) a corporation, partnership, association, or other business organization or entity in which one or more foreign nationals described in subparagraph (C) holds, owns, controls, or otherwise has directly or indirectly acquired beneficial ownership of equity or voting shares in an aggregate amount equal to or greater than 5 percent of total equity or outstanding voting shares (as determined by excluding any equity or shares owned by a mutual fund), including a separate segregated fund of such a corporation under section 316; or
“(F) a corporation, partnership, association, or other business organization or entity in which one or more foreign nationals (other than those described in subparagraph (C)) holds, owns, controls, or otherwise has directly or indirectly acquired beneficial ownership of equity or voting shares in an aggregate amount equal to or greater than 20 percent of total equity or outstanding voting shares (as determined by excluding any equity or shares owned by a mutual fund), including a separate segregated fund of such a corporation.
“(2) USE OF QUARTERLY SEC REPORTS.—In the case of a corporation or other entity which is required to file quarterly reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission under section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m), the determination as to whether a corporation or entity is described in subparagraph (D), (E), or (F) shall be based on the most recent such report.”.
Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
“SEC. 325. PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN ELECTION-RELATED DISBURSEMENTS BY FOREIGN-AFFILIATED SECTION 501(c) ORGANIZATIONS.
“(a) Prohibition.—It is unlawful for a foreign-affiliated section 501(c) organization to make an election-related disbursement described in subsection (b).
“(b) Election-Related disbursement described.—An election-related disbursement described in this subsection is any of the following:
“(1) A contribution to a super PAC.
“(2) An independent expenditure.
“(3) The disbursement of funds for the dissemination of an electioneering communication.
“(4) A covered transfer.
“(c) Definition of foreign-Affiliated section 501(c) organization.—In this section, a ‘foreign-affiliated section 501(c) organization’ is a section 501(c) organization with respect to which—
“(1) the amount of contributions provided to the organization by foreign nationals described in subparagraph (C) of section 319(b)(1) was equal to or greater than 5 percent of the gross receipts of the organization, as determined on the basis of the most recent taxable year for which information on the gross receipts of the organization is available or, in the case of an organization which is required to file quarterly reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission under section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m), the most recent such report, or
“(2) the amount of contributions provided to the organization by all foreign nationals described in section 319(b) was equal to or greater than 20 percent of the gross receipts of the organization, as determined on the basis of the most recent taxable year for which information on the gross receipts of the organization is available or, in the case of an organization which is required to file quarterly reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission under section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m), the most recent such report.
“(d) Definition of covered transfer.—
“(1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term ‘covered transfer’ means any transfer or payment of funds by a foreign-affiliated section 501(c) organization to another person if the foreign-affiliated section 501(c) organization—
“(A) designates, requests, or suggests that the amounts be used for—
“(i) election-related disbursements (other than covered transfers); or
“(ii) making a transfer to another person for the purpose of making or paying for such election-related disbursements;
“(B) made such transfer or payment in response to a solicitation or other request for a donation or payment for—
“(i) the making of or paying for election-related disbursements (other than covered transfers); or
“(ii) making a transfer to another person for the purpose of making or paying for such election-related disbursements;
“(C) engaged in discussions with the recipient of the transfer or payment regarding—
“(i) the making of or paying for election-related disbursements (other than covered transfers); or
“(ii) donating or transferring any amount of such transfer or payment to another person for the purpose of making or paying for such election-related disbursements; or
“(D) knew or had reason to know that the person receiving the transfer or payment would make election-related disbursements in an aggregate amount of $123,900 or more during the 2-year period beginning on the date of the transfer or payment.
“(2) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘covered transfer’ does not include any of the following:
“(A) A disbursement made by a foreign-affiliated section 501(c) organization in a commercial transaction in the ordinary course of any trade or business conducted by the organization or in the form of investments made by the organization.
“(B) A disbursement made by a foreign-affiliated section 501(c) organization if—
“(i) the organization prohibited, in writing, the use of such disbursement for election-related disbursements; and
“(ii) the recipient of the disbursement agreed to follow the prohibition and deposited the disbursement in an account which is segregated from an election-related disbursement segregated fund and any other account used to make election-related disbursements.
“(3) SPECIAL RULE REGARDING TRANSFERS AMONG AFFILIATES.—
“(A) SPECIAL RULE.—A transfer of an amount by one foreign-affiliated section 501(c) organization to another foreign-affiliated section 501(c) organization which is treated as a transfer between affiliates under subparagraph (C) shall be considered a covered transfer by the organization which transfers the amount only if the aggregate amount transferred during the year by such organization to that same organization is equal to or greater than $123,900.
“(B) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF CERTAIN PAYMENTS AMONG AFFILIATES.—In determining the amount of a transfer between affiliates for purposes of subparagraph (A), to the extent that the transfer consists of funds attributable to dues, fees, or assessments which are paid by individuals on a regular, periodic basis in accordance with a per-individual calculation which is made on a regular basis, the transfer shall be attributed to the individuals paying the dues, fees, or assessments and shall not be attributed to the foreign-affiliated section 501(c) organization.
“(C) DESCRIPTION OF TRANSFERS BETWEEN AFFILIATES.—A transfer of amounts from one foreign-affiliated section 501(c) organization to another foreign-affiliated section 501(c) organization shall be treated as a transfer between affiliates if—
“(i) one of the organizations is an affiliate of the other organization; or
“(ii) each of the organizations is an affiliate of the same organization,
except that the transfer shall not be treated as a transfer between affiliates if one of the organizations is established for the purpose of making election-related disbursements.
“(D) DETERMINATION OF AFFILIATE STATUS.—For purposes of subparagraph (C), a foreign-affiliated section 501(c) organization is an affiliate of another foreign-affiliated section 501(c) organization if—
“(i) the governing instrument of the organization requires it to be bound by decisions of the other organization;
“(ii) the governing board of the organization includes persons who are specifically designated representatives of the other organization or are members of the governing board, officers, or paid executive staff members of the other organization, or whose service on the governing board is contingent upon the approval of the other organization; or
“(iii) the organization is chartered by the other organization.
“(e) Other definitions.—In this section—
“(1) the term ‘electioneering communication’ has the meaning given such term in section 304(f)(3);
“(2) the term ‘section 501(c) organization’ means an organization described in section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such Code; and
“(3) term ‘super PAC’ means a political committee which accepts donations or contributions that do not comply with the limitations and prohibitions of this Act (or has an account which is established for the purpose of accepting such donations or contributions) and which makes only independent expenditures (or has an account which is established for the purpose of making only independent expenditures).”.
(a) Contributions and donations in connection with ballot initiatives and referenda and recall elections.—Section 319(a)(1)(A) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121(a)(1)(A)) is amended by striking “election;” and inserting the following: “election, including a State or local ballot initiative or referendum or recall election;”.
(b) Coverage of certain election-Related activities.—Section 319 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30121) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
“(c) A foreign national shall not direct, dictate, control, or directly or indirectly participate in the decision-making process of any person, such as a corporation, labor organization, political committee, or political organization with regard to such person's Federal or non-Federal election-related activities, such as decisions concerning the making of contributions, donations, expenditures, or disbursements in connection with elections for any Federal, State, or local office, including a State or local ballot initiative or referendum or recall election, or decisions concerning the administration of a political committee.”.
Section 315 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30116) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
“(k) Prohibiting acceptance of contributions from foreign agents.—
“(1) DIRECT CONTRIBUTIONS.—A political committee may not accept any contribution from an individual who, at the time the date the individual makes the contribution, is registered as the agent of a foreign principal under the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 611 et seq.).
“(A) PROHIBITION.—A political committee may not accept any bundled contribution which is provided by an individual who, at the time the individual provides the bundled contribution, is registered as the agent of a foreign principal under the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 611 et seq.).
“(B) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the term ‘bundled contribution’ means, with respect to an individual described in subparagraph (A), a contribution which is—
“(i) forwarded from the contributor or contributors to the committee by the individual; or
“(ii) received by the committee from a contributor or contributors, but credited by the committee or candidate involved (or, in the case of a leadership PAC described in subparagraph (B) of subsection (j)(8), by the individual referred to in such subparagraph) to the individual through records, designations, or other means of recognizing that a certain amount of money has been raised by the individual.”.
The amendments made by this title shall apply with respect to elections occurring after January 2025.
(a) Repeal of exemption.—Section 3 of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 613) is amended by striking subsection (h).
(b) Timing of filing of registration statements.—Section 2 of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 612) is amended—
(1) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding paragraph (1), in the fourth sentence, by striking “The registration statement shall include” and inserting “Except as provided in subsection (h), the registration statement shall include”; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
“(h) Timing for filing of statements by persons registered under Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995.—In the case of an agent of a person or an entity described in section 1(b) who has registered under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), after the agent files the first registration required under subsection (a) in connection with the agent’s representation of such person or entity, the agent shall file all subsequent statements required under this section at the same time, and in the same frequency, as the reports filed with the Clerk of the House of Representatives or the Secretary of the Senate (as the case may be) under section 5 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1604) in connection with the agent’s representation of such person or entity.”.
Section 3(g) of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 613(g)) is amended by adding at the end the following: “A person may be exempt under this subsection only if the person files with the Attorney General a request for such exemption and the Attorney General approves the request.”.
(a) Definition.—Section 1 of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 611) is amended—
(1) in subsection (c), in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking “Expect” and inserting “Except”; and
(2) by inserting after subsection (i) the following:
“(j) The term ‘informational materials’ means any oral, visual, graphic, written, or pictorial information or matter of any kind, including matter published by means of advertising, books, periodicals, newspapers, lectures, broadcasts, motion pictures, social media, or any means or instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce or otherwise.”.
(b) Conforming amendment relating to filing of informational materials with Attorney General.—Section 4(a) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 614(a)) is amended by striking “or foreign commerce” and inserting “or foreign commerce, including electronic mail and social media,”.
(c) Waiver of filing requirement for unrelated materials.—Section 4(a) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 614(a)) is amended—
(1) by striking “Every person” and inserting “(1) Every person”; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
“(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply with respect to any informational material which is disseminated by an agent of a foreign principal as part of an activity that is exempt from registration under this Act, or as part of an activity which by itself would not require registration under this Act.”.
(d) Method and form of disclaimer for materials posted online.—Section 4(b) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 614(b)) is amended—
(1) by striking “(b) It shall be unlawful” and inserting “(b)(1) It shall be unlawful”; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
“(2) In the case of informational materials for or in the interests of a foreign principal which are transmitted or caused to be transmitted by an agent of a foreign principal by posting on an online platform, the agent shall ensure that the conspicuous statement required to be placed in such materials under this subsection is placed directly with the material posted on the platform and is not accessible only through a hyperlink or other reference to another source.
“(3) If the Attorney General determines that the application of paragraph (2) to materials posted on an online platform is not feasible because the length of the conspicuous statement required to be placed in materials under this subsection makes the inclusion of the entire statement incompatible with the posting of the materials on that platform, an agent may meet the requirements of paragraph (2) by ensuring that an abbreviated version of the statement, stating that the materials are distributed by a foreign agent on behalf of a clearly identified foreign principal, is placed directly with the material posted on the platform.
“(4) (A) For purposes of this subsection, subject to subparagraph (B), the term ‘online platform’ means any public-facing website, web application, or digital application (including a social network, ad network, or search engine) which—
“(i) (I) sells qualified political advertisements; and
“(II) has 50,000,000 or more unique monthly United States visitors or users for a majority of months during the preceding 12 months; or
“(ii) is a third-party advertising vendor that has 50,000,000 or more unique monthly United States visitors in the aggregate on any advertisement space that it has sold or bought for a majority of months during the preceding 12 months, as measured by an independent digital ratings service accredited by the Media Ratings Council (or its successor).
“(B) Such term shall not include any online platform that is a distribution facility of any broadcasting station or newspaper, magazine, blog, publication, or periodical.
“(C) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘third-party advertising vendor’ includes any third-party advertising vendor network, advertising agency, advertiser, or third-party advertisement serving company that buys and sells advertisement space on behalf of unaffiliated third-party websites, search engines, digital applications, or social media sites.”.
Section 8 of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 618) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(A) REGISTRATION STATEMENTS.—
“(i) IN GENERAL.—Any person who is required to register under this Act and fails to file a timely or complete registration statement required under section 2(a) shall be subject to a civil fine of not more than $10,000 for each violation, without regard to the state of mind of the person.
“(ii) NO FINES PAID BY FOREIGN PRINCIPALS.—If a person is subject to a civil fine under clause (i), the civil fine may not be paid, directly or indirectly, by a foreign principal.
“(B) SUPPLEMENTS.—Any person who is required to file a supplement to a registration statement under section 2(b) and fails to file a timely or complete supplement required under that section shall be subject to a civil fine of not more than $1,000 for each violation, without regard to the state of mind of the person.
“(C) FAILURE TO REMEDY DEFICIENT FILINGS.—Any person who is required to file a registration statement under this Act, receives notice under subsection (g) that the registration statement filed by the person is deficient, and knowingly fails to remedy the deficiency within 60 days after receiving the notice shall, upon proof by a preponderance of the evidence of such knowing failure to remedy the deficiency, be subject to a civil fine of not more than $200,000, depending on the extent and gravity of the violation.
“(D) OTHER VIOLATIONS.—Any person who knowingly fails to comply with any other provision of this Act shall, upon proof by a preponderance of the evidence of such knowing failure to comply, be subject to a civil fine of not more than $200,000, depending on the extent and gravity of the violation.
“(2) USE OF FINES.—All fines collected under this subsection shall be used to defray the cost of enforcing this Act.”.
(a) Authorization.—The Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 611 et seq.), as amended by section 205, is further amended by adding at the end the following new section:
“The Attorney General shall establish and collect a registration fee, as part of the initial filing requirement and at no other time, to help defray the expenses of the Registration Unit, and shall credit such fees to this appropriation, to remain available until expended.”.
(b) Conforming amendment To repeal existing authority.—The Department of Justice and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1993 (title I of Public Law 102–395) is amended, under the heading “Salaries and Expenses, General Legal Activities”, by striking “In addition, notwithstanding 31 U.S.C. 3302, for fiscal year 1993 and thereafter, the Attorney General shall establish and collect fees to recover necessary expenses of the Registration Unit (to include salaries, supplies, equipment and training) pursuant to the Foreign Agents Registration Act, and shall credit such fees to this appropriation, to remain available until expended.”.
Section 8 of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended (22 U.S.C. 618), as amended by section 206, is further amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
“(j) Dedicated enforcement unit.—
“(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Attorney General shall establish a unit within the counterespionage section of the National Security Division of the Department of Justice with responsibility for the enforcement of this Act.
“(2) POWERS.—The unit established under this subsection is authorized to—
“(A) take appropriate legal action against individuals suspected of violating this Act; and
“(B) coordinate any such legal action with the United States Attorney for the relevant jurisdiction.
“(3) CONSULTATION.—In operating the unit established under this subsection, the Attorney General shall, as appropriate, consult with the Director of National Intelligence, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Secretary of State.
“(4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the activities of the unit established under this subsection $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2024 and each succeeding fiscal year.”.
(a) Implementation of strategy.—Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall promulgate final regulations for the implementation of a comprehensive strategy to improve the enforcement and administration of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 611 et seq.) that addresses the following issues:
(1) The coordination and integration of the work of the agencies that perform investigations of alleged violations of the Act and bring actions (including criminal prosecutions) to enforce the Act with the overall national security efforts of the Department of Justice.
(2) An assessment of the appropriateness of the exemptions provided under the Act that permit persons who represent the interests of foreign principals to avoid registering under the Act.
(3) A formal cost-benefit analysis of the appropriateness of the fee structure under the Act.
(4) An assessment of the value of making advisory opinions under the Act available in whole as an informational resource.
(b) Review by Inspector General.—
(1) REVIEW.—The Inspector General of the Department of Justice shall carry out a review of the extent to which the Attorney General has implemented the comprehensive strategy described in subsection (a).
(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Inspector General of the Department of Justice shall submit a report to the appropriate committees of Congress on the results of the review carried out under paragraph (1) not later than 1 year after the date upon which the comprehensive strategy described in subsection (a) is implemented by the Attorney General.
(c) Ensuring electronic access to reports through searchable website.—
(1) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Attorney General, in consultation with the Assistant Attorney General for National Security, shall include in the second annual report submitted to the appropriate committees of Congress under subsection (c) a detailed description of methods to ensure that reports filed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act are filed electronically in a digitized format which will enable the Foreign Agents Registration Unit website database to be fully searchable, machine-readable, sortable, and downloadable.
(2) IMPLEMENTATION.—After submitting the report containing the information described in paragraph (1), the Attorney General shall implement the methods described in the report.
Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall—
(1) carry out an analysis of the effectiveness of the enforcement and administration of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 611 et seq.), including the extent to which the amendments made by this title have improved the enforcement and administration of such Act, and taking into account the comprehensive strategy developed and implemented under section 207; and
(2) submit the analysis to the Attorney General, the Inspector General of the Department of Justice, and the appropriate committees of Congress.
In this title, the term “appropriate committees of Congress” means—
(1) the Committees on the Judiciary and Foreign Relations of the Senate; and
(2) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives.
The amendments made by this title shall take effect 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.