Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Americans Insist on Political Agent Clarity Act” or the “AIPAC Act”.
Americans Insist on Political Agent Clarity Act
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.
Sec. 2 Findings
Congress finds the following:
The Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended (22 U.S.C. 611 et seq.) serves compelling interests in national security and transparency.
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).
Entities engaged in substantial advocacy aligned with foreign state interests should disclose such alignment to the public.
Sec. 3 Clarification of foreign principal status
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—
in paragraph (2), by striking “and” after “United States;”;
in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and
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.”
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.