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Foreign Agents Registration Modernization and Enforcement Act

Introduced: June 7, 2017 See on congress.gov
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This bill died when the 115th Congress ended
It never became law before the 115th Congress (2017–2018) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 4 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Jul 12, 2017
Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.
Jul 12, 2017
Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.
Jun 7, 2017
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Jun 7, 2017
Introduced in House
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 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Foreign Agents Registration Modernization and Enforcement Act

This bill amends the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (FARA) to provide that whenever the Department of Justice (DOJ) has reason to believe that a person or enterprise may be in possession or control of documentary material relevant to an investigation under FARA, the DOJ, before initiating a civil or criminal proceeding with respect to the production of such material, may serve a written demand upon the entity to produce the material for examination.

The bill includes social media communications under information that foreign agents must file with DOJ. Under certain circumstances, social media communications are exempted from the requirement for foreign agents to include a disclosure statement in informational materials. Informational materials disseminated by a foreign agent as part of an activity that would not require registration, need not be filed.

The FARA Registration Unit shall submit a semiannual report to Congress regarding the administration of FARA, including the number of investigations initiated based upon a perceived violation and the number of such investigations that were referred to DOJ for prosecution.

What's happening now July 12, 2017

Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.

 Related & companion bills 2
  • S 625 Identical bill Foreign Agents Registration Modernization and Enforcement Act
  • HR 6249 Related bill REFUSE Act
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 3
 Cosponsors 1
All 1 Democratic 1
D
McGovern, James P.
Massachusetts · Sep 26, 2017
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 2811: Foreign Agents Registration Modernization and Enforcement Act. 115th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/115-HR-2811/
MLA
"H.R. 2811: Foreign Agents Registration Modernization and Enforcement Act." 115th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/115-HR-2811/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 2811, 115th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/115-HR-2811/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 2811: Foreign Agents Registration Modernization and Enforcement Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/115-HR-2811/)
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