On October 31, identical bills were introduced in both houses of the U.S. Congress to strengthen the laws and penalties concerning lobbyists serving as the agents of foreign principals.

Senate Bill 2039 and House Bill 4170 amend the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (FARA) in order to provide the U.S. Attorney General with greater authority to investigate alleged violations of FARA and bring increased criminal and civil actions against persons committing such violations.

If the legislation passes, an exemption from registering and filing disclosure reports under FARA established in Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 would be eliminated. Additionally, the Department of Justice would be empowered to demand documents and testimony when investigating alleged violations of compliance.

The pair of bills were introduced by Sen. Chuck Grassley and Rep. Mike Johnson.

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.