H.R.5122

            

116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5122

To amend the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 to require registration statements filed under
			 such Act to be filed in a structured data format which enables the
			 statements to be digitized for purposes of the publicly available
			 electronic database maintained under such Act, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 15, 2019
Mr.  Buck (for himself and Mr.  Khanna) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To amend the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 to require registration statements filed under
			 such Act to be filed in a structured data format which enables the
			 statements to be digitized for purposes of the publicly available
			 electronic database maintained 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, 
 SECTION 1.  Short title.
This Act may be cited as the “Foreign Agents Registration Modernization Act of 2019” or the “FARM Act of 2019”.
 SEC. 2. Format for registration statements filed under Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938.
 
(a) Requiring registration statements To be in structured data format.—Section 2(g) of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended (22 U.S.C. 612(g)) is amended by striking “in electronic form” and inserting “in an electronic, structured data format under which the statement or supplement shall be published in a publicly available, machine-processable digital format for purposes of the National Foreign Agents Database under section 6(d)”.
 
(b) Effective date.—The amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to statements filed on or after the expiration of the 180-day period which begins on the date of the enactment of this Act.
 SEC. 3.  Requirements for electronic database of registration statements.
 
(a) Requiring database To be searchable and sortable by public; designation of database as “National Foreign Agents Database”.—Section 6(d)(1) of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended (22 U.S.C. 616(d)(1)) is amended— 
(1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking “to the extent technically practicable,”;
 
(2) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking “an electronic database” and inserting “an electronic database to be known as the  ‘National Foreign Agents Database’”; and
 
(3) in subparagraph (A), by striking “includes the information” and inserting “includes in a digitized format the information”.
 
(b) Requiring immediate posting of statements upon receipt.—Section 6(d)(2) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 616(d)(2)) is amended by striking “as soon as technically practicable” and inserting “immediately”.
 
(c) Effective date.—The amendments made by this section shall take effect upon the expiration of the 180-day period which begins on the date of the enactment of this Act.