On July 31, a bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate to strengthen the federal lobbying laws concerning the representation of foreign interests.

Senate Bill 1679, the Foreign Agent Lobbying Transparency Enforcement Act, introduced by Sens. Tammy Duckworth, Dick Durbin, and Richard Blumenthal, amends the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (FARA) to increase enforcement of certain violations and strengthen certain transparency requirements. Specifically, the bill would authorize the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to levy civil fines to punish offenders who fail to properly label FARA filings, file late, do not file at all, or fail to register. The legislation also clarifies what required statements must be filed with the DOJ and mandates registrants file certain informational materials currently excluded from reporting.

The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.