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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8809 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8809
To amend the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended to
clarify the definition of ``foreign principal'' and ensure transparency
in lobbying on behalf of foreign interests.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 14, 2026
Mr. Massie introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended to
clarify the definition of ``foreign principal'' and ensure transparency
in lobbying on behalf of foreign interests.
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 ``Americans Insist on Political Agent
Clarity Act'' or the ``AIPAC Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended
(22 U.S.C. 611 et seq.) serves compelling interests in national
security and transparency.
(2) Disclosure requirements do not abridge free speech or
association, as upheld in Meese v. Keene (1987) as well as
Attorney General v. Irish Northern Aid Committee (1972).
(3) Entities engaged in substantial advocacy aligned with
foreign state interests should disclose such alignment to the
public.
SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION OF FOREIGN PRINCIPAL STATUS.
(a) Definition of Foreign Principal.--Section 1(b) of the Foreign
Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended (22 U.S.C. 611(b)) is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``and'' after ``United
States;'';
(2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
``(4) any organization, association, corporation, or other
entity--
``(A) that is organized under the laws of the
United States or any State;
``(B) that does not directly receive funding or
instruction from a foreign government, recognized
state-affiliated political entities, or foreign entity
otherwise described in paragraph (1), (2), or (3);
``(C) whose lobbying activities or stated mission
is, either wholly or in part, to influence United
States public policy or government action in
furtherance of the political or economic interests of a
foreign country or recognized state-affiliated
political entity; and
``(D) where such foreign country or recognized
state-affiliated political entity is identified as a
principal beneficiary of such lobbying activity as
demonstrated by a preponderance of objective indicia,
including--
``(i) repeated advocacy of legislation or
executive action that aligns with the foreign
country's official diplomatic objectives;
``(ii) coordination with foreign officials
or foreign-funded institutions;
``(iii) receipt of material support,
strategic direction, or advisory participation
by persons domiciled or operating in a foreign
country; or
``(iv) the namesake of the lobbying
activity includes the name of a foreign
nation.''.
(b) Private Right of Action.--Section 8 of the Foreign Agents
Registration Act of 1938, as amended (22 U.S.C. 618) is amended by
adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(i) Any citizen of the United States may file a complaint with
the Department of Justice requesting investigation of potential
violations of this Act by an agent of a foreign principal (as described
in section 1(b)(4)).''.
SEC. 4. IMPLEMENTATION GUIDANCE.
Not later than 180 days after the enactment of this Act, the
Attorney General shall issue public guidance to clarify the application
of the amended definition of ``foreign principal'' under section
1(b)(4) of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended (22
U.S.C. 611(b)(4)), which shall include illustrative examples, objective
indicia of foreign political alignment, and compliance expectations for
affected organizations.
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