Sponsors (8)
The bill increases transparency and clamps down on revolving‑door influence—boosting public trust and enforcement—at the cost of reduced post‑government employment opportunities, higher compliance and enforcement burdens, and privacy and operational risks.
All Americans (taxpayers, watchdogs, journalists, nonprofits) gain easier, centralized public access to lobbyist and former-official disclosure data via a searchable lobbyists.gov, making oversight and research faster and cheaper.
Citizens and the public benefit from stronger limits on revolving‑door influence because the bill bans former Members from lobbying their former colleagues and extends cooling‑off restrictions for federal employees, reducing conflicts of interest.
Enforcement and deterrence are strengthened—by providing U.S. Attorney access to filings and setting a clear maximum $500,000 penalty—making unlawful lobbying disclosures more likely to be detected and penalized.
Former Members of Congress and federal employees who worked on covered matters face substantially reduced private‑sector opportunities (longer bans and specific lobbying prohibitions), likely decreasing post‑service earnings and making recruitment/retention for government jobs harder.
Organizations, lobbyists, and incorporated employers (including small businesses and contractors) face higher compliance costs and greater financial exposure from new reporting obligations and the $500,000 maximum penalty, which may be passed on to clients or consumers.
Publishing detailed disclosure data (including names, roles, and job descriptions) risks harming the privacy and safety of listed individuals and their families and could enable misuse of personal information.
Based on analysis of 7 sections of legislative text.
Tightens post‑employment lobbying bans (including a lifetime ban for former Members), extends cooling‑off periods to six years, creates a public lobbyist database, restricts certain hires, and raises penalties.
Introduced May 21, 2025 by Joseph Neguse · Last progress May 21, 2025
Imposes much stricter limits on post‑employment lobbying and disclosure for former congressional officials and their private‑sector employers. The bill creates a public, searchable lobbyist database, lengthens cooling‑off periods for certain post‑employment activities from one year to six years, establishes a lifetime criminal ban on direct lobbying communications by former Senators and Representatives, restricts hiring of recent lobbyists and foreign agents by Members and committees, requires employers with multiple lobbyists to report former lawmakers they employ, and raises a civil penalty to $500,000.