Foreign Influence Registration Modernization Act or the FIRM Act This bill revises provisions related to the registration of foreign agents, and it transfers certain oversight duties regarding lobbying to the Department of Justice (DOJ). Current law exempts from foreign agent registration requirements any person engaging only in religious, scholastic, or scientific pursuits. The bill eliminates this exemption for agents of foreign principals that are known violators of human rights. The bill also narrows the definition of foreign principal , waiving registration requirements for agents of foreign enterprises that are not under the control or direction of a foreign government or political party. The bill further requires registration statements and supplements to be filed in a digitized format and stored in a searchable, sortable, and downloadable database. In addition, the bill authorizes DOJ to enact a civil penalty of up to $200,000 for a violation of foreign agent registration requirements. Lastly, the bill transfers administration of lobbyist registration, reporting, disclosure and enforcement, and penalties from Congress to DOJ.
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Timeline
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
International Affairs
Art, artists, authorshipCharitable contributionsCivil actions and liabilityCongressional oversightDepartment of JusticeDiplomacy, foreign officials, Americans abroadElections, voting, political campaign regulationForeign aid and international reliefGovernment information and archivesHuman rightsLicensing and registrationsPolitical parties and affiliationPublic participation and lobbyingTax administration and collection, taxpayersTeaching, teachers, curricula
FIRM Act
USA116th CongressHR-5733| House
| Updated: 1/30/2020
Foreign Influence Registration Modernization Act or the FIRM Act This bill revises provisions related to the registration of foreign agents, and it transfers certain oversight duties regarding lobbying to the Department of Justice (DOJ). Current law exempts from foreign agent registration requirements any person engaging only in religious, scholastic, or scientific pursuits. The bill eliminates this exemption for agents of foreign principals that are known violators of human rights. The bill also narrows the definition of foreign principal , waiving registration requirements for agents of foreign enterprises that are not under the control or direction of a foreign government or political party. The bill further requires registration statements and supplements to be filed in a digitized format and stored in a searchable, sortable, and downloadable database. In addition, the bill authorizes DOJ to enact a civil penalty of up to $200,000 for a violation of foreign agent registration requirements. Lastly, the bill transfers administration of lobbyist registration, reporting, disclosure and enforcement, and penalties from Congress to DOJ.
Art, artists, authorshipCharitable contributionsCivil actions and liabilityCongressional oversightDepartment of JusticeDiplomacy, foreign officials, Americans abroadElections, voting, political campaign regulationForeign aid and international reliefGovernment information and archivesHuman rightsLicensing and registrationsPolitical parties and affiliationPublic participation and lobbyingTax administration and collection, taxpayersTeaching, teachers, curricula