Kennedy, colleagues’ bill to prevent foreign adversaries from influencing American public policy passes Senate Foreign Relations committee

WASHINGTON - Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, joined Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and seven bipartisan colleagues in applauding the passage of their Preventing Adversary Influence, Disinformation and Obscured Foreign Financing (PAID) Act out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. This legislation would close critical loopholes by requiring agents working on behalf of America's enemies to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), providing full transparency on their operations.

"Foreign agents working for our adversaries like China and Iran shouldn't be able to hide in the shadows while they try to bend American policy to their will. If you're being paid to push the interests of our enemies, the American people deserve to know who is signing the checks and what you're up to. The PAID OFF Act strengthens our disclosure laws and ensures full transparency," said Kennedy.

"American policy should not in any way reflect the handiwork of foreign adversaries who are actively working to tip the scales in their favor and undermine our interests. By exposing the efforts of countries of concern like China or Russia to exert malign influence, this legislation would better safeguard U.S. decision making," said Cornyn.

Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) joined Kennedy and Cornyn in supporting the bill.

"When foreign adversaries skirt loopholes to lobby Congress, they directly threaten our democracy. This bipartisan legislation is long overdue and will help prevent unregistered foreign agents from putting a thumb on the scale of American policy," said Whitehouse.

"For years, the United States' biggest adversaries have exploited loopholes in U.S. lobbying laws to influence senior government officials and advance their geopolitical goals. Well-known examples include Russia's efforts to prevent sanctions against its Nord Stream 2 pipeline and Chinese surveillance firm Hikvision's attempts to avoid sanctions. This provision will close key loopholes to ensure transparency and accountability of malign foreign lobbying efforts in the United States," said Risch.

"Foreign adversaries like China and Russia should never be allowed to covertly influence American policy or public opinion. I'm proud this bipartisan legislation passed out of committee so we can close dangerous loopholes and strengthen our national security," said Tillis.

"Americans ought to know if a foreign government is attempting to sway policy decisions in the United States. I applaud the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for advancing our bipartisan PAID OFF Act, which will close loopholes to ensure unregistered foreign agents can no longer secretly stick their noses in American politics," said Grassley.

"Our foreign adversaries are working hard to gain influence over U.S. politics. We need to reform FARA - the law requiring foreign agents to disclose who they're working for - so we can better expose those who are quietly working on behalf of foreign governments. I thank Senator Cornyn for leading this important bill - let's get it over the finish line," said Fischer.

"With one of the highest rates of misinformation and disinformation in the world, it's no wonder that the American people are losing trust in our democratic institutions. Foreign adversaries have exacerbated that distrust by using loopholes in U.S. lobbying laws to undermine U.S. decision-making and influence politics. Congress must pass this bipartisan legislation to close these loopholes, protect our national security, and hold bad actors accountable," said Welch.

Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas) introduced the companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Background:

The PAID OFF Act would:
Increase transparency requirements for foreign agents working on behalf of countries of concern, including adversarial regimes such as China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, and Syria.

Target loopholes in FARA that can allow foreign agents to avoid fully disclosing their lobbying and influence efforts in the United States.

Help Congress, the Department of Justice, and the American people better identify when foreign adversaries are trying to shape U.S. policy or public opinion by requiring more agents tied to foreign governments or commercial entities to register under FARA.

The legislation would sunset after five years and allow the Secretary of State to propose changes to the countries-of-concern list, subject to congressional approval.

Full text of the PAID OFF Act is available here.