From September 30, 2022 post.
Bipartisan legislation to shine a light on secret foreign lobbying efforts unanimously passed the Senate last night. The Disclosing Foreign Influence in Lobbying Act is led by Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Chairman of Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
“The Chinese Communist Party has exploited loopholes in lobbying disclosure laws to mask their involvement in lobbying campaigns that are pushing their agenda and influencing U.S. policy. This bill shines a light on those types of secret schemes so we can make more informed decisions when crafting policy. I’m grateful to have bipartisan support for this measure,” Grassley said.
“By improving transparency about foreign lobbying activities, this bipartisan bill will help prevent foreign adversaries, including the Chinese and Russian governments, from influencing our political process and advancing agendas that run against the best interests of the American people. Now that this important legislation has passed the Senate – I urge my colleagues in the House to pass it as soon as possible,” Peters said.
Federal lobbying law requires both lobbyists and the organizations that retain them to register their activities with the government to provide transparency in policy influence efforts. However, think tanks and law enforcement agencies have identified schemes in which the Chinese Communist Party has used closely-connected organizations and businesses to push their interests when lobbying the U.S. government. The company, which may be registered under the law, effectively becomes a proxy for the government or political party, which is not registered. The Disclosing Foreign Influence in Lobbying Act makes clear that foreign governments and political parties that participate in the planning, supervision, direction or control of a lobbying effort must disclose their activity, regardless of any financial contribution to the lobbying effort.
Original source can be found here
