Foreign Lobbying Reform Act

Foreign Lobbying Reform Act - Amends the federal criminal code to establish a ten-year ban on lobbying contacts by former Presidents, Vice Presidents, Members of Congress, and specified appointees with any Member, officer, or employee of either chamber, or executive branch officer or employee to represent, aid, or advise a foreign entity.

Subjects violators of this Act to fines and imprisonment, or both.

[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4343 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4343

 To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit the President, the 
    Vice President, Members of Congress, and other officers of the 
  executive branch from lobbying on behalf of foreign governments or 
          instrumentalities for 10 years after leaving office.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 29, 2012

   Mr. Wolf introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit the President, the 
    Vice President, Members of Congress, and other officers of the 
  executive branch from lobbying on behalf of foreign governments or 
          instrumentalities for 10 years after leaving office.

    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 Lobbying Reform Act''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON LOBBYING FOR FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS.

    (a) Prohibition on Lobbying.--Section 207 of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection:
    ``(m) Additional Restrictions Relating to Foreign Entities.--
            ``(1) In general.--In addition to the restrictions 
        contained in subsection (f), any person who serves in a 
        position described in paragraph (2) and who, within 10 years 
        after leaving that position, knowingly--
                    ``(A) represents a foreign entity before any 
                Member, officer, or employee of either House of 
                Congress, or any officer or employee of a department or 
                agency of the executive branch, with the intent to 
                influence a decision of such officer, employee, or 
                Member, in his or her official capacity, or
                    ``(B) aids or advises a foreign entity with the 
                intent to influence a decision of any Member, officer, 
                or employee of either House of Congress, or any officer 
                or employee of a department or agency of the executive 
                branch, in his or her official capacity,
        shall be punished as provided in section 216 of this title.
            ``(2) Positions subject to restriction.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The positions referred to in 
                paragraph (1) are the following:
                            ``(i) The President.
                            ``(ii) The Vice President.
                            ``(iii) A Member of Congress.
                            ``(iv) A covered appointee position.
                    ``(B) Covered appointee position.--For purposes of 
                this paragraph, an individual serves in a `covered 
                appointee position' if the individual serves--
                            ``(i) except as provided in clause (ii), in 
                        a position in an Executive agency to which the 
                        individual was appointed by the President, by 
                        and with the advice and consent of the Senate;
                            ``(ii) in a position that is held by an 
                        active duty commissioned officer of the 
                        uniformed services who is serving in a grade or 
                        rank for which the pay grade (as specified in 
                        section 201 of title 37) is pay grade O-7 or 
                        higher; or
                            ``(iii) in any of the following positions:
                                    ``(I) Deputy Director of National 
                                Intelligence.
                                    ``(II) Deputy Director of the 
                                Central Intelligence Agency.
                                    ``(III) Associate Deputy Director 
                                of the Central Intelligence Agency.
                                    ``(IV) The Director of the National 
                                Clandestine Service.
                                    ``(V) Chief of Station for the 
                                Central Intelligence Agency at an 
                                embassy or consulate of the United 
                                States.
            ``(3) Definitions.--As used in this subsection--
                    ``(A) the term `Executive agency' means an 
                Executive agency as defined by section 105 of title 5, 
                including the Executive Office of the President;
                    ``(B) the term `Member of Congress' has the meaning 
                given that term in subsection (e)(9) of this section; 
                and
                    ``(C) the term `foreign entity' means--
                            ``(i) the government of a foreign country 
                        as defined in section 1(e) of the Foreign 
                        Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) any entity owned or controlled, in 
                        whole or in part, by the government of a 
                        foreign country (as so defined).''.
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