Golden, Bipartisan Colleagues Introduce Legislation to Combat Foreign Influence in Washington

WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Representatives Jared Golden (ME-02), Katie Porter (CA-45), and Paul Gosar (AZ-04) introduced the bipartisan Fighting Foreign Influence Act, comprehensive legislation to crack down on foreign influence seeking to corrupt U.S. elections, government officials, and think tanks.

The legislation is a package of several common-sense provisions from both sides of the aisle:
 

• Title I, the Think Tank and Non-Profit Foreign Influence Disclosure Act, would require tax-exempt organizations, including think tanks, to publicly disclose any high-dollar gifts from foreign governments or foreign political parties. It then directs the Treasury Department to publish the total amount of such contributions from each foreign government and each foreign political party.
• Title II, the Congressional and Executive Foreign Lobbying Ban Act, would impose a lifetime ban on former senior U.S. military officers, presidents, vice presidents, other senior executive branch officials, and members of Congress from ever lobbying for a foreign principal.
• Title III, the Stop Foreign Donations Affecting Our Elections Act, would require political campaigns to verify that anyone making an online contribution has a valid US address (using credit cards’ three-digit CVV code) or are otherwise legally eligible to make a campaign contribution. This title would also prohibit foreign agents from fundraising for political campaigns.

“One of the biggest problems with our political system today is how corruption is either completely legal or punished with slaps on the wrist. Right now, foreign governments are able to secretly fund think tanks to push their own agendas, hire former public officials and military officers to lobby for their interests, and have their agents raise millions of dollars for political campaigns. For the good of the country, that needs to end immediately.” said Congressman Golden. “Our bipartisan legislation would help close each of these loopholes. Fighting foreign influence isn’t a partisan issue—it’s an American issue. It’s time for Congress to act.”

“Non-profit organizations and partisan think tanks play an outsized role in shaping public opinion and influencing policy decisions in the United States," said Congressman Gooden. "We must understand where these groups get their funding, who influences their agenda, and if adversarial nations are using non-profit groups to undermine the United States. The Fighting Foreign Influence Act would ensure there is finally transparency and accountability in the non-profit sector.”

“Americans distrust government no matter which party is in power,” said Congresswoman Porter. “By cracking down on foreign gifts, donations, and lobbying, we can begin the hard work of earning back the people’s trust. I am proud to join Democrats and Republicans to help introduce the Fighting Foreign Influence Act.”

“Current disclosure requirements for online donations make it easy for bad actors to violate federal contribution limits, or worse, for foreign money to influence U.S. elections. As technology advances, we must continue to stay ahead of the curve in thwarting those who wish to inappropriately influence our political processes,” said Congressman Gosar.  “Full disclosure of online contributions will ensure that the American people know the sources of campaign money and will greatly assist with maintaining a system of free and fair elections.”

Each of these provisions responds to a serious vulnerability to foreign influence and corruption in U.S. policymaking and elections:

• A 2020 study found that between 2014 and 2018, the top 50 U.S. think tanks received at least $174 million from foreign powers. A significant amount of foreign funding at U.S. think tanks comes from corrupt and authoritarian regimes. 
• There is currently no requirement that political campaigns use industry-standard verification of online contributions, and experts across the political spectrum have drawn attention to this problem and called for the law to change. And foreign lobbyists bundled millions of dollars in donations to influence the 2020 presidential election.

This bipartisan legislation is endorsed by Transparency International U.S., a leading anti-corruption watchdog.

“Corrupt governments have devoted hundreds of millions of dollars to influencing and undermining democracies around the world—including here in the United States. They hope that their efforts will divide our people, and inject doubt into the integrity of our government, our elections, and our politics,” said Scott Greytak, Director of Advocacy at Transparency International U.S. “Today’s proposal says enough is enough, and provides a bipartisan path forward for curbing this foreign corruptive influence once and for all."

The bill text can be found here. 

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