[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1850 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1850
To provide greater controls and restrictions on revolving door
lobbying.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 21, 2025
Mr. Bennet introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide greater controls and restrictions on revolving door
lobbying.
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 ``Close the Revolving Door Act of
2025''.
SEC. 2. LIFETIME BAN ON MEMBERS OF CONGRESS FROM LOBBYING.
(a) In General.--Section 207(e)(1) of title 18, United States Code,
is amended to read as follows:
``(1) Members of congress.--Any person who is a Senator, a
Member of the House of Representatives, or an elected officer
of the Senate or the House of Representatives and who, after
that person leaves office, knowingly makes, with the intent to
influence, any communication to or appearance before any
Member, officer, or employee of either House of Congress or any
employee of any other legislative office of the Congress, on
behalf of any other person (except the United States) in
connection with any matter on which such former Senator,
Member, or elected official seeks action by a Member, officer,
or employee of either House of Congress, in his or her official
capacity, shall be punished as provided in section 216 of this
title.''.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 207(e)(2) of title 18, United
States Code, is amended--
(1) in the heading, by striking ``Officers and staff'' and
inserting ``Staff'';
(2) by striking ``an elected officer of the Senate, or'';
(3) by striking ``leaves office or employment'' and
inserting ``leaves employment''; and
(4) by striking ``former elected officer or''.
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL STAFF.
Paragraphs (2), (3)(A), (4), (5)(A), and (6)(A) of section 207(e)
of title 18, United States Code, are each amended by striking ``1
year'' and inserting ``6 years''.
SEC. 4. IMPROVED REPORTING OF LOBBYISTS' ACTIVITIES.
Section 6 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1605) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(c) Joint Website.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary of the Senate and the
Clerk of the House of Representatives shall maintain a joint
lobbyist disclosure internet database for information required
to be publicly disclosed under this Act which shall be an
easily searchable website called lobbyists.gov with a stated
goal of simplicity of usage.
``(2) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this subsection $100,000 for
fiscal year 2026.''.
SEC. 5. LOBBYIST REVOLVING DOOR TO CONGRESS.
(a) Definitions.--In this section--
(1) the term ``foreign principal'' has the meaning given
that term under section 1(b) of the Foreign Agents Registration
Act of 1938, as amended (22 U.S.C. 611(b));
(2) the terms ``lobbyist'' and ``lobbying contact'' have
the meanings given such terms under section 3 of the Lobbying
Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602); and
(3) the term ``registered lobbyist'' means a lobbyist
registered under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C.
1601 et seq.).
(b) Prohibition.--Any person who is a registered lobbyist or an
agent of a foreign principal may not, within 6 years after that person
leaves such position, be hired by a Member or committee of either House
of Congress with whom the registered lobbyist or agent of a foreign
principal has had a substantial lobbying contact.
(c) Waiver.--This section may be waived in the Senate or the House
of Representatives by the Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate or
Committee on Ethics of the House of Representatives, respectively,
based on a compelling national need.
(d) Substantial Lobbying Contact.--For purposes of this section, in
determining whether a registered lobbyist or agent of a foreign
principal has had substantial lobbying contact within the applicable
period of time, a Member or committee of either House of Congress shall
take into consideration whether the individual's lobbying contacts have
pertained to pending legislative business, or related to solicitation
of an earmark or other Federal funding, particularly if such contacts
included the coordination of meetings with the Member or committee,
involved presentations to employees of the Member or committee, or
participation in fundraising (except for the mere giving of a personal
contribution). Simple social contacts with the Member or committee of
either House of Congress and staff, shall not by themselves constitute
substantial lobbying contacts.
SEC. 6. REPORTING BY SUBSTANTIAL LOBBYING ENTITIES.
The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) is
amended by inserting after section 6 the following:
``SEC. 6A. REPORTING BY SUBSTANTIAL LOBBYING ENTITIES.
``(a) In General.--A substantial lobbying entity shall file on an
annual basis with the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the
Secretary of the Senate a list of each employee of, individual under
contract with, or individual who provides paid consulting services to
the substantial lobbying entity who is--
``(1) a former Senator or a former Member of the House of
Representatives; or
``(2) another covered legislative branch official who--
``(A) was paid not less than $100,000 in any 1 year
as a covered legislative branch official;
``(B) worked for a total of not less than 4 years
as a covered legislative branch official; or
``(C) had a job title at any time while employed as
a covered legislative branch official that contained
any of the following terms: `Chief of Staff',
`Legislative Director', `Staff Director', `Counsel',
`Professional Staff Member', `Communications Director',
or `Press Secretary'.
``(b) Contents of Filing.--The filing required under this section
shall contain a brief job description of each individual described in
subsection (a) and an explanation of their work experience under
subsection (a) that requires this filing.
``(c) Improved Reporting of Substantial Lobbying Entities.--The
joint website being maintained by the Secretary of the Senate and the
Clerk of the House of Representatives, known as lobbyists.gov, shall
include an easily searchable, sortable, and downloadable database,
which shall include an application programming interface or similar
feature, entitled `Substantial Lobbying Entities' that includes
information on all individuals described in subsection (a).
``(d) Law Enforcement Oversight.--The Clerk of the House of
Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate shall provide a copy of
each filing under subsection (a) to the United States Attorney for the
District of Columbia, to allow the United States Attorney for the
District of Columbia to determine whether a substantial lobbying entity
is underreporting the lobbying activities of its employees, individuals
under contract, or individuals who provide paid consulting services.
``(e) Substantial Lobbying Entity.--In this section, the term
`substantial lobbying entity' means an incorporated entity that employs
more than 3 registered lobbyists during a filing period.''.
SEC. 7. ENHANCED PENALTIES.
Section 7(a) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C.
1606(a)) is amended, in the matter following paragraph (2), by striking
``$200,000'' and inserting ``$500,000''.
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