Introduced in House Passed House Introduced in Senate Passed Senate To President Became Law
01/30/2020          

FIRM Act

Date Version PDF TXT
02/03/2020 Introduced in House Open
01/30/2020 Introduced in House Open
01/30/2020 Introduced in House Open

            




116 HR 5733 IH: Foreign Influence Registration Modernization Act
U.S. House of Representatives
2020-01-30
text/xml
EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.


I116th CONGRESS2d SessionH. R. 5733IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESJanuary 30, 2020Mr. Moulton introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the JudiciaryA BILLTo amend the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended to waive the application of the Act to agents representing foreign enterprises which are not under the control or direction of foreign governments or foreign political parties, to exclude agents who represent foreign governments which engage in a pattern of gross violations of human rights from the exemption provided under the Act for agents engaged in scholastic and certain other pursuits, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the Foreign Influence Registration Modernization Act or the FIRM Act.
2.
Waiving application of Foreign Agents Registration Act to agents representing foreign enterprises not under control or direction of foreign governments and foreign political parties
Section 1(b)(3) of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended (22 U.S.C. 611(b)(3)) is amended— (1)by striking a partnership and inserting an enterprise consisting of a partnership; and (2)by striking the period at the end and inserting the following: , but only if the enterprise is under the control or direction of a government of a foreign country or a foreign political party.:
3.
Excluding agents representing governments which violate human rights from exemption for agents engaged in religious, scholastic, academic, or scientific pursuits or fine arts
Section 3(e) of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended (22 U.S.C. 613(e)) is amended by striking the semicolon at the end and inserting the following: , except that this subsection does not apply in the case of an agent who represents a foreign principal that is prohibited from receiving assistance under part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 by reason of the application of section 116 of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2151n) or part II of such Act by reason of the application of section 502B of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2304)..
4.
Requiring statements to be filed in digitized format
(a)
Requirement
Section 2(g) of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended (22 U.S.C. 612(g)) is amended by striking the period at the end and inserting the following: , in a manner which enables the statements and supplements to be filed in a digitized format and which incorporates the statements and supplements in a database which is fully searchable, sortable and downloadable..
(b)
Effective date
The amendment made by subsection (a) shall apply with respect to statements and supplements filed after the expiration of the 1-year period which begins on the date of the enactment of this Act.
5.
Availability of civil money penalty for violation
Section 8 of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended (22 U.S.C. 618) is amended by inserting after subsection (c) the following new subsection: (d)Whoever knowingly violates any provision of this Act shall, upon proof of such knowing violation by a preponderance of the evidence, be subject to a civil money penalty of not more than $200,000, depending on the extent and severity of the violation..
6.
Transfer of responsibility for administration of Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to Attorney General
(a)
Requiring lobbyists To register with Attorney General
(1)
Registration
Section 4(a)(1) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1603(a)(1)) is amended by striking the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives and inserting the Attorney General.
(2)
Notice of termination of registration
Section 4(d) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 1603(d)) is amended by striking the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives and inserting the Attorney General.
(b)
Requiring lobbyists To file reports with Attorney General
(1)
Quarterly reports by lobbyists
Section 5(a) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 1604(a)) is amended by striking the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives and inserting the Attorney General.
(2)
Semiannual reports on certain contributions
Section 5(d)(1) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 1604(d)(1)) is amended by striking the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives and inserting the Attorney General.
(3)
Electronic filing
Section 5(e) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 1604(e)) is amended— (A)by striking the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House of Representatives and inserting the Attorney General; and (B)by striking the second sentence.
(c)
Disclosure and enforcement
Section 6(a) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 1605(a)) is amended in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by striking The Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives and inserting The Attorney General.
(d)
Penalties
Section 7(a)(1) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 1606(a)(1)) is amended by striking the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House of Representatives and inserting the Attorney General.
(e)
Conforming amendment relating to lack of general audit or investigative authority of Secretary and Clerk
Section 8 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 1607) is amended by striking subsection (c).
(f)
Permitting use of good faith estimates based on tax return information
Section 15(c)(1) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 1610(c)(1)) is amended by striking the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives and inserting the Attorney General.
(g)
Effective date; transition
(1)
In general
The amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to statements and reports filed after the expiration of the 1-year period which begins on the date of the enactment of this Act.
(2)
Transition
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives shall transfer to the Attorney General information on the statements and reports filed prior to the effective date described in paragraph (1) with the Secretary and the Clerk under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.).

Picture Name From Date Type
Seth Moulton D-MA 01/30/2020 Sponsor
Jim Banks R-IN 02/21/2020 Cosponsor
Date Branch Action
01/30/2020 President Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.Action By: House of Representatives
01/30/2020 President Introduced in HouseAction By: House of Representatives
Summary
There is one summary for H.R.5733. View summaries Shown Here:Introduced in House (01/30/2020) Foreign Influence Registration Modernization Act or the FIRM Act This bill revises provisions related to the registration of foreign agents, and it transfers certain oversight duties regarding lobbying to the Department of Justice (DOJ). Current law exempts from foreign agent registration requirements any person engaging only in religious, scholastic, or scientific pursuits. The bill eliminates this exemption for agents of foreign principals that are known violators of human rights. The bill also narrows the definition of foreign principal, waiving registration requirements for agents of foreign enterprises that are not under the control or direction of a foreign government or political party. The bill further requires registration statements and supplements to be filed in a digitized format and stored in a searchable, sortable, and downloadable database. In addition, the bill authorizes DOJ to enact a civil penalty of up to $200,000 for a violation of foreign agent registration requirements. Lastly, the bill transfers administration of lobbyist registration, reporting, disclosure and enforcement, and penalties from Congress to DOJ.
Shown Here:Introduced in House (01/30/2020) Foreign Influence Registration Modernization Act or the FIRM Act This bill revises provisions related to the registration of foreign agents, and it transfers certain oversight duties regarding lobbying to the Department of Justice (DOJ). Current law exempts from foreign agent registration requirements any person engaging only in religious, scholastic, or scientific pursuits. The bill eliminates this exemption for agents of foreign principals that are known violators of human rights. The bill also narrows the definition of foreign principal, waiving registration requirements for agents of foreign enterprises that are not under the control or direction of a foreign government or political party. The bill further requires registration statements and supplements to be filed in a digitized format and stored in a searchable, sortable, and downloadable database. In addition, the bill authorizes DOJ to enact a civil penalty of up to $200,000 for a violation of foreign agent registration requirements. Lastly, the bill transfers administration of lobbyist registration, reporting, disclosure and enforcement, and penalties from Congress to DOJ.
Congress - Bill Number Major Title
Branch Vote Date Yes No Not Voting
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Bill TEXT Points.
This Bill has been listed with the following Subjects from Texts:
Congress


Lobbying
Transfer of responsibility for administration of Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to Attorney General (a)Requiring lobbyists To register with Attorney General (1)RegistrationSection 4(a)(1) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U

States
House of Representatives 2020-01-30 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain

Age
Moulton introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the JudiciaryA BILLTo amend the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended to waive the application of the Act to agents representing foreign enterprises which are not under the control or direction of foreign governments or foreign political parties, to exclude agents who represent foreign governments which engage in a pattern of gross violations of human rights from the exemption provided


End Bill TEXT Points.
Date Bill Major Title
Committee Name
Subject Type