118th Congress International Affairs
S. 1364: Foreign Agents Disclosure and Registration Enhancement Act of 2023
Introduced
- Introduced (completed)
- Passed Senate (not reached)
- Passed House (not reached)
- To the President (not reached)
- Became law (not reached)
Summary
Foreign Agents Disclosure and Registration Enhancement Act of 2023
This bill provides the Department of Justice (DOJ) with a mechanism to demand evidence for investigating compliance with foreign-agent disclosure requirements and increases penalties relating to such requirements.
DOJ may issue civil investigative demands to a person who may have information relevant to an investigation related to the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (FARA). Such demands may be for documents, written answers to questions, or oral testimony. The bill prescribes various procedures and requirements, such as minimum notice periods when seeking oral testimony. Investigative demands may be enforced or challenged in district court.
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Such investigative demands may not require the production of information that would be protected from disclosure under (1) the rules governing grand jury subpoenas, or (2) the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to the extent the rules are consistent with this bill.
The bill increases the maximum criminal fine for certain FARA violations from $10,000 to $200,000. Agents of a foreign principal must disclose being a FARA-registered agent before or during a meeting with a Member of Congress (or with staff of a Member or congressional committee).
The bill provides for various civil penalties for failing to meet agent registration requirements. The foreign principal of a penalized agent may not pay the imposed fines.
The Government Accountability Office shall (1) analyze the effectiveness of FARA enforcement, and (2) audit the exemption of certain foreign agents from FARA-registration if the agent has engaged in lobbying activities and has registered under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995.
Written by the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.
Roll calls
No roll call votes have been held on this bill.
Amendments
No amendments were offered to this bill.
Cosponsors
- John Cornyn R-TXOriginal
- Lindsey Graham R-SCOriginal
- Marco Rubio R-FLOriginal
- Sheldon Whitehouse D-RIOriginal
- Todd Young R-INOriginal
Who scored on this bill
- 1Charles Grassley SponsorDrew cross-party cosponsors, introduced2 events+6
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Introductions and cosponsorships count toward weekly caps and show no points.
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History
- Introduced in the Senate by Charles Grassley.
Show the full action history (2 actions)
- Introduced in Senate
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.