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S 4843 116th Congress Senate International Affairs Asia China Foreign and international corporations Government information and archives Licensing and registrations Political parties and affiliation Public participation and lobbying

Chinese Communist Party Influence Transparency Act

Introduced: October 22, 2020 Introduced by: Cotton, Tom Republican · Arkansas See on congress.gov
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 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Oct 22, 2020
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
Oct 22, 2020
Introduced in Senate
 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Chinese Communist Party Influence Transparency Act

This bill requires an agent of a Chinese business entity to register as an agent of a foreign principal in certain instances.

The bill's provisions shall apply to an entity that (1) is organized under the laws of China and has its principal place of business there, unless the entity is a Chinese subsidy or affiliate of a non-Chinese entity; or (2) has been designated by the Department of Justice (DOJ) as being subject to the Chinese Communist Party's extrajudicial direction.

Generally, under current law, an agent of a foreign principal engaging in lobbying in the United States must periodically file disclosures with DOJ, with specified exemptions. Under the bill, an existing exemption for a foreign agent that engages only in private and nonpolitical activities to further trade and commerce shall not apply to an agent operating on behalf of such a Chinese entity. Similarly, another existing exemption for an agent that has already registered as a lobbyist shall not apply to an agent working for such a Chinese entity.

What's happening now October 22, 2020

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1