S 865: Lobbying Disclosure Improvement Act

S 865 in plain English: This bill is early in the legislative process and detailed text is not yet available. Sponsor: Sen. Peters, Gary C. [D-MI] (D) · Status: Held at the desk.

Stated purpose

To require lobbyists who register under the Lobbying Disclosure Act to also disclose whether they are claiming an exemption from the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), which governs people working on behalf of foreign governments or entities.

Arguments supporters make

• Knowing which lobbyists claim exemptions from foreign agent rules helps the public and lawmakers see who may be working on behalf of foreign interests without full FARA disclosure.
• This is a small, targeted change — just one additional checkbox on an existing form — making it a low-burden way to close a potential transparency gap.
• Greater disclosure of FARA exemption claims could deter bad actors from exploiting the exemption to avoid scrutiny of foreign-connected lobbying.

Arguments opponents make

• The bill only requires disclosure of the exemption claim, not the underlying foreign relationship details, so it may create an appearance of transparency without delivering meaningful new information.
• Lobbyists who legitimately qualify for the exemption may face reputational harm simply for checking a box, even when their activities are fully legal.
• Critics could argue this adds bureaucratic complexity without addressing the real problem — the exemption itself — which Congress could instead narrow or eliminate directly.

Tradeoffs

The bill increases public disclosure about foreign-connected lobbying activity, but it stops short of changing or restricting the exemption itself, so some argue the transparency gain is limited while the compliance burden on lobbyists is real.

Current status in Congress: Passed Senate.

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