A bipartisan group of US senators has welcomed the passage of legislation by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that seeks to tighten disclosure requirements for foreign agents and curb influence campaigns by countries such as China, Russia, Iran, North Korea and Cuba.
The Preventing Adversary Influence, Disinformation and Obscured Foreign Financing (PAID OFF) Act would close what lawmakers describe as loopholes in the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), allowing some foreign-linked lobbyists to avoid registering with the US government.
“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,” Senator John Cornyn of Texas said after the bill cleared the committee. “By exposing the efforts of countries of concern like China or Russia to exert malign influence, this legislation would better safeguard US decision-making.”
The measure is backed by Republican and Democratic lawmakers, including Senators Sheldon Whitehouse, Jim Risch, Thom Tillis, Chuck Grassley, Deb Fischer, Peter Welch and John Kennedy.
Supporters of the legislation argue that foreign adversaries have increasingly used commercial relationships and lobbying exemptions to influence policy debates in Washington without fully disclosing their activities.
