Bipartisan legislation closes a loophole that allows the Chinese government and other foreign adversaries to secretly lobby on U.S. policy
WASHINGTON – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema and a bipartisan group of senators re-introduced the Disclosing Foreign Influence in Lobbying Act – legislation cracking down on foreign adversaries’ efforts to secretly influence U.S. policy.
“Our commonsense proposal to keep America safe by closing loopholes used by foreign adversaries attempting to influence American policy earned broad, bipartisan support in the last Congress. We’re looking forward to getting this done,” said Sinema.
Federal law requires lobbyists to disclose their activities with any foreign entity to ensure transparency. However, foreign governments and political parties, including the Chinese Communist Party, have been exploiting a loophole in federal lobbying law by forcing organizations and businesses to lobby for them without paying them. These businesses and organizations, which may be registered under the law, effectively become proxies for foreign governments, which avoid registering as lobbyists. The Disclosing Foreign Influence in Lobbying Act closes this loophole, ensuring that when foreign governments and political parties participate in the planning, supervision, direction, or control of a lobbying effort, the lobbyist must disclose their participation, regardless of any financial contribution to the lobbying effort.
In September of last year, the Disclosing Foreign Influence in Lobbying Act passed the Senate unanimously.