On July 20, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced indictments against three individuals alleged to have illegally lobbied for a foreign government, including billionaire Thomas Joseph Barrack, one-time Chairman of the 2016 Presidential Inaugural Committee and informal advisor for Donald J. Trump.

Prosecutors assert Barrack and two associates allegedly used “unlawful efforts to advance the interests of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the United States at the direction of senior UAE officials by influencing the foreign policy positions of the campaign of a candidate in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and, subsequently, the foreign policy positions of the U.S. government in the incoming administration, as well as seeking to influence public opinion in favor of UAE interests,” according to the DOJ’s press release.

When acting, in the United States, as agents operating under the control of foreign governments or foreign officials, other than diplomats, individuals are required to notify the U.S. Attorney General’s office of such activities under 18 U.S.C. §951(a), a law related to the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

Among the other accusations in the seven-count indictment, prosecutors allege that when the lobbying behavior was discovered and Barrack was interviewed about it, he made numerous false statements to the FBI special agents.

The apportionment of seats for the U.S. House of Representatives, based on the newly released 2020 U.S. Census data, will soon be updated for the 118th Congress, which convenes in January 2023. On April 26, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo delivered the U.S. Census population count results to President Joseph Biden for use in apportioning the seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Texas will gain two seats in the House, while Colorado, Florida, Montana, North Carolina, and Oregon will each gain one seat.

California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia will each lose one seat.

The remaining states’ number of seats will remain the same.

The U.S. Census Bureau announced the resident population of the United States increased overall by 7.4%.

On April 27, President Joseph R. Biden signed an executive order requiring federal contractors to pay $15 per hour for employees working on or in connection with a federal government contract.

Beginning January 30, 2022, all federal agencies are required to incorporate a $15 minimum wage in new contract solicitations. By March 30, 2022, all agencies will need to implement the minimum wage into new contracts. Federal agencies are also directed to implement the higher wage into existing contracts when the parties exercise their option to extend such contracts.

Contractors and subcontractors must certify they will meet this condition requiring the minimum wage. This certification is a condition of payment to the contractors from the government.

The order applies, with certain exceptions, to any new contract; new contract-like instrument; new solicitation; extension or renewal of an existing contract or contract-like instrument; or exercise of an option on an existing contract or contract-like instrument. This order does not apply to grants; contracts, contract-like instruments, or certain specific type of agreements with Indian Tribes.

Starting January 1, 2023, the minimum wage will be adjusted annually, but not lowered, by the U.S. secretary of labor based on a consumer price index formula and rounded to the nearest multiple of $0.05. For tipped workers, the minimum wage mandated by the order is $10.50 per hour beginning January 30, 2022. Beginning January 1, 2023, tipped workers must receive 85% of the wage rate in effect for non-tipped employees, rounded to the nearest multiple of $0.05. Then beginning January 1, 2024, and for each subsequent year, tipped workers must receive 100% of the wage received by non-tipped worker, eliminating the difference between the type of workers. Adjustments must be considered by employers of tipped workers who do not receive a sufficient additional amount on account of tips to equal to the minimum wage of non-tipped workers.

If a state or municipality has a higher minimum wage, the Executive Order does not excuse noncompliance with the laws requiring the higher wage. The secretary of labor is ordered to issue regulations by November 24, implementing this order.

One of the federal lobbying registration thresholds for organizations employing in-house lobbyists has been increased. Now, an organization employing in-house lobbyists whose total expenses in connection with lobbying activities do not exceed and are not expected to exceed $14,000 in the quarterly period is not required to be registered. The previous level was $13,000. This threshold amount is adjusted every four years based on the Consumer Price Index.

The threshold amount for lobbying firms remains the same. A lobbying firm or individual lobbyist whose total income for matters relating to lobbying activities on behalf of a particular client does not exceed or is not expected to exceed $3,000 in the quarterly period is exempt from registration with respect to such client.

Other determinations for registration include whether a lobbyist is an individual who, with respect to a particular client, makes more than one lobbying contact and whose lobbying activities constitute at least 20% of the individual’s time in services for that client over any three-month period.

Today, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) published the 2021-2021 election cycle contribution limits, which have been indexed for inflation.

As required by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, the FEC must adjust certain contribution limits every two years. The individual and nonmulticandidate PAC contribution limit to federal candidates has increased from $2,800 to $2,900. This is applied to both primary and general elections, allowing for a total of $5,800 for a federal candidate.

The limits on contributions by individuals to national party committees has increased from $35,500 to $36,500 per calendar year. Therefore, individuals may now contribute $109,500 per calendar year to committees of a national political party for presidential nominating conventions, to committees of a national political party for preparation for and the conduct of election recounts and contests and other legal proceedings, and to committees of a national political party for the construction, purchase, renovation, operation, and furnishing of one or more buildings for party headquarters.

On January 20, President Joseph R. Biden signed an Executive Order mandating enhanced ethics rules for executive branch appointees. “Executive Order on Ethic Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel” requires new appointees sign and be contractually committed to the ethics pledge outlined in the order.

Appointees are prohibited from accepting gifts, with limited exceptions, from registered lobbyists and lobbying organizations for the duration of their service as appointees.

Appointees are also prohibited from participating in matters involving specific parties directly and substantially related to a former employer for two years after the date of appointment. Federal lobbyists and individuals registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act may not seek or accept employment with any executive agency with respect to which he or she lobbied within the two years before the date of the appointment. The order also prohibits certain golden parachutes from former employers and includes a general two-year prohibition on lobbying after leaving a position.

Covered appointees include every full-time, non-career Presidential or Vice-Presidential appointee, non-career appointees in the Senior Executive Service, and appointees to certain positions excepted from the competitive service. It does not include any person appointed as a member of the Senior Foreign Service or solely as a uniformed service commissioned officer.

On his last full day in office, President Trump revoked an executive order concerning governmental ethics and, in effect, removed barriers for former officials to lobby the United States government immediately. On January 19, President Trump signed an Executive Order fully revoking his prior Executive Order from 2017, which mandated ethic commitments for executive branch appointees.

On January 28, 2017, President Donald J. Trump signed Executive Order 13770, Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Appointees, which prohibited appointees of the Executive Branch from lobbying the agency they were appointed to serve for five years after leaving office. Additionally, they would be permanently prohibited from engaging on behalf of any foreign government or foreign political party if it would require them to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

The executive order is effective at noon when President-elect Joe Biden is sworn into office. Those prohibitions will no longer exist under President Trump’s 2017 Executive Order. The early order also prohibited appointees from accepting gifts, with limited exceptions, from registered lobbyists and lobbying organizations for the duration of their service as appointees. Also, registered lobbyists appointed to an executive agency could not participate in matters in which they lobbied for two years after the date of their appointment.

This 2017 Executive Order had superseded and revoked a similar Executive Order signed by former President Barack Obama in 2009.

Legislation aimed at reforming U.S. campaign finance, lobbying, and ethic laws is being reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. H.R. 1, For the People Act 2021, is a sweeping 791-page bill incorporating much of H.R. 1 introduced in 2019 by the last Congress. That bill passed the House in the previous Congress but never got a vote in the U.S. Senate.

Among the changes in the bill, H.R. 1 restructures the Federal Election Commission and amends federal conflict of interest and lobbying laws. Introduced by Rep. John Sarbanes, the bill requires enhanced disclosure of donors making political contributions, creates a multiple matching system for small donations for political campaigns, and amends rules governing super PACs. If passed, the bill also requires presidential candidates to disclose their tax returns, prohibits partisan gerrymandering, increases oversight over election vendors, creates an automatic voter registration across the country, and changes registration requirements for lobbyists and foreign agents.

Another bill reintroduced is H.R. 244, Executive Branch Conflict of Interest Act, which expands and establishes new prohibitions related to conflicts of interest involving certain federal government employees, prohibits a federal government employee from accepting a bonus from a former private sector employer for entering government service, and increases lobbying restrictions to two years for certain senior officials. H.R. 244 also prohibits a procurement officer in the federal government from working for a company that received a contract overseen by the procurement officer during the officer’s last two years in government service.

On January 3, the United States House of Representatives began the first session of the 117th Congress.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi won her fourth election as speaker of the House by 216 votes to 209 votes. Of the 435 seats in the House, the Democrats lead with a slim majority of 222 seats.

Pelosi stated the lawmakers’ “most urgent priority will continue to be defeating the coronavirus,” according to the New York Times.

The U.S. Senate also officially met in a pro forma session to begin its two-year period of legislative business. On January 5, the Georgia election for its two U.S. Senators will decide which party controls the Senate.

President-elect Joe Biden’s newly formed inauguration committee will not be accepting contributions from registered federal lobbyists, foreign agents registered under the Foreign Agent Registration Act, or from fossil fuel companies, their executives, or PACs organized by them.

The Biden Inaugural Committee, a 501(c)(4) non-profit entity named PIC 2021, Inc., will still accept contributions from American corporate entities and associations to fund the celebratory events of the January 20, 2021 inauguration.

The contributions, which are not tax deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes, will also be accepted from labor organizations, U.S. citizens, and lawfully admitted permanent residents.

An inaugural committee is responsible for activities connected with the inaugural ceremony, except for the swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol and a luncheon honoring the president and vice president.

Contributions to an inaugural committee are not subject to any contribution limits.

Starting today at 5 p.m. and ending on April 1 at 8 p.m., the public will have limited access to the United States Capitol because of concerns of the spread of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19.

Michael C. Stenger, the Sergeant at Arms of U.S. Senate, and Paul D. Irving, the Sergeant at Arms of U.S. House of Representatives, in consultation with the Office of the Attending Physician, issued a statement on March 12.

They stated the Capitol Visitor Center will close all tours of the Capitol and other congressional office buildings, including the House and Senate office buildings and the Capitol grounds.

“Lawmakers, staff, credentialed journalists and visitors with official business would still be allowed entry,” according to Reuters. 

Today, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) published its price index adjustments for expenditure limitations and the federal lobbyist bundling disclosure threshold.

The lobbyist bundling disclosure threshold has increased for 2020 from $18,700 to $19,000. This threshold amount is adjusted annually.

Federal law requires authorized committees of federal candidates, leadership political action committees (PACs), and political party committees to disclose contributions bundled by lobbyists and lobbyists’ PACs.

Additionally, the FEC published its adjusted Coordinated Party Expenditure Limits for political parties for 2020.

On September 6, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a notice of a proposed rulemaking for allowing certain tax-exempt organizations to no longer be required to report the names and addresses of contributors on their annual reports.

Previously, the IRS had issued a guidance to this effect, but on July 30, the IRS guidance limiting these disclosure requirements was set aside by a federal judge.

In Bullock v. IRS, the U.S. District Court District of Montana (Great Falls) found the IRS violated the Administrative Procedure Act by not providing notice and allowing a public comment period before the guidance was issued. It predicated this decision by finding the guidance was a legislative rule.

On July 16, 2018, the U.S. Treasury Department and the IRS had announced certain tax-exempt organizations would no longer be required to report the names and addresses of contributors on their annual reports. This exemption from reporting applies to tax-exempt organizations generally not receiving tax-deductible contributions, such as labor unions, volunteer fire departments, issue-advocacy groups, local chambers of commerce, veterans’ groups, and community service clubs, according to the department’s press release.

These organizations are still required to continue to collect and keep the donor information and to make it available to the IRS upon its request.

This change did not affect the information required to be reported by charities primarily receiving tax-deductible contributions, such as 501(c)(3) organizations, certain nonexempt private foundations, or 527 political organizations. The Treasury Department and IRS had given three primary reasons for the change:

1. 1. The IRS makes no systematic use of this information collected by these organizations
   2. The policy reduces the risk of inadvertent disclosure or misuse of confidential information
   3. The policy saves both private and government resources

Comments on the proposed rule will be accepted for 90 days after the notice’s publication in the Federal Register.

On May 22, the U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) will hold a virtual public hearing to gather comments for a proposed rule regarding executive branch officials and employees setting up legal expense funds.

The virtual public hearing will be recorded and a transcript of the hearing will be posted on OGE’s website.

The agency is seeking public comments even after the virtual hearing, with the comment period ending on June 14.

The OGE has also listed questions on its website for the public to consider in order to help the agency determine issues specifically related to legal expense funds.

Those questions include whether there should be contribution limits to legal expense funds; whether donations of pro bono legal services to legal expense funds should be permitted; and whether contributions should be subject to reporting requirements?