{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/news/cornyn-colleagues-bill-to-prevent-foreign-adversaries-from-influencing-u-s-policy-passes-senate-foreign-relations-committee/", "Cornyn, Colleagues\u2019 Bill to Prevent Foreign Adversaries from Influencing U.S. Policy Passes Senate Foreign Relations Committee", "2026-06-17", "2026", "2026-06", "Republican", "Senate", "TX", "John Cornyn", "C001056", "www.cornyn.senate.gov", "cornyn", "https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/news/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Jim Risch (R-ID), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Peter Welch (D-VT), and John Kennedy (R-LA) released the following statements after their Preventing Adversary Influence, Disinformation and Obscured Foreign Financing (PAID OFF) Act, which would help close Foreign Agents Registration Act loopholes that allow unregistered agents of foreign adversaries to lobby in the United States, passed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee:\n\n\u201cAmerican 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,\u201d said Sen. Cornyn. \u201cBy exposing the efforts of countries of concern like China or Russia to exert malign influence, this legislation would better safeguard U.S. decision making.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhen foreign adversaries skirt loopholes to lobby Congress, they directly threaten our democracy,\u201dsaid Sen. Whitehouse.\u201cThis bipartisan legislation is long overdue and will help prevent unregistered foreign agents from putting a thumb on the scale of American policy.\u201d\n\n\u201cFor years, the United States\u2019 biggest adversaries have exploited loopholes in U.S. lobbying laws to influence senior government officials and advance their geopolitical goals,\u201dsaid Sen. Risch.\u201cWell-known examples include Russia\u2019s efforts to prevent sanctions against its Nord Stream 2 pipeline and Chinese surveillance firm Hikvision\u2019s attempts to avoid sanctions. This provision will close key loopholes to ensure transparency and accountability of malign foreign lobbying efforts in the United States.\u201d\n\n\u201cForeign adversaries like China and Russia should never be allowed to covertly influence American policy or public opinion,\u201d said Sen. Tillis. \u201cI\u2019m proud this bipartisan legislation passed out of committee so we can close dangerous loopholes and strengthen our national security.\u201d\n\n\u201cAmericans ought to know if a foreign government is attempting to sway policy decisions in the United States,\u201d said Sen. Grassley. \u201cI 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.\u201d\n\n\u201cOur foreign adversaries are working hard to gain influence over U.S. politics,\u201d said Sen. Fischer. \u201cWe need to reform FARA \u2013 the law requiring foreign agents to disclose who they\u2019re working for \u2013 so we can better expose those who are quietly working on behalf of foreign governments. I thank Senator Cornyn for leading this important bill \u2013 let\u2019s get it over the finish line.\u201d\n\n\u201cWith one of the highest rates of misinformation and disinformation in the world, it\u2019s no wonder that the American people are losing trust in our democratic institutions,\u201d said Sen. Welch. \u201cForeign 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.\u201d\n\n\u201cForeign agents working for our adversaries like China and Iran shouldn\u2019t be able to hide in the shadows while they try to bend American policy to their will. If you\u2019re being paid to push the interests of our enemies, the American people deserve to know who is signing the checks and what you\u2019re up to. The PAID OFF Act strengthens our disclosure laws and ensures full transparency,\u201d said Sen. Kennedy.\n\nSen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) is a cosponsor of this legislation.\n\nU.S. Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11) is leading companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.\n\nBackground:\n\nThe Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) has not been amended since the 1990s, and the law has not kept up with modern foreign adversary influence campaigns using commercial activities and registration loopholes as subterfuge to advance malign interests. Currently, agents representing foreign adversaries are able to avoid FARA registration by claiming a commercial activity, domestic interest, or Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) exemption, which shields their influence and advocacy from the Department of Justice. This legislation would close these loopholes by requiring agents working on behalf of a Chinese, Russian, Iranian, North Korean, or Cuban government or commercial entity to register under FARA, providing greater transparency into their influence campaigns. The legislation would sunset after five years. Additionally, the legislation includes a mechanism for the Secretary of State to propose additions or deletions to the countries of concern list in the State Department Basic Authorities Act. Any additions or deletions would become effective if Congress passes a joint resolution of approval.", 1, "2026-06-18T06:41:00Z", "2026-06-18T06:43:25Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/news/cornyn-colleagues-bill-to-prevent-foreign-adversaries-from-influencing-u-s-policy-passes-senate-foreign-relations-committee/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.387271098792553, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}