Last progress May 21, 2025 (6 months ago)
Introduced on May 21, 2025 by Michael F. Bennet
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
This bill aims to slow the “revolving door” between Congress and lobbying. It would permanently ban former Senators and House Members from lobbying Congress after they leave office, closing the path for ex-lawmakers to lobby their former colleagues . Senior congressional staff would face a longer “cooling-off” period before lobbying Congress—rising from 1 year to 6 years . It also raises the maximum civil penalty for breaking lobbying disclosure rules to $500,000 to strengthen enforcement .
The bill improves public tracking of lobbyists. It directs Congress to run a simple, searchable website—lobbyists.gov—to post lobbying disclosures, with $100,000 set aside for this in fiscal year 2026 . It would also stop Congress from hiring a registered lobbyist or an agent of a foreign principal for 6 years if that person had substantial lobbying contact with that Member or committee; simple social contacts do not count as “substantial” . Large lobbying firms (those with more than three registered lobbyists) would have to report each former Member of Congress and certain senior congressional staff they employ or contract with, and those entries would appear in a searchable, downloadable database on lobbyists.gov; the filings would also be sent to federal prosecutors in D.C. for oversight .