Corruption

It’s Time to Strengthen Foreign-Lobbying Law

Foreign influence on U.S. policy has been in the media spotlight a lot recently, from concerns that foreign donations to the Clinton Foundation improperly influenced Hillary Clinton’s decision-making as Secretary of State, to allegations that Pres. Donald Trump’s former national security adviser failed to register as a foreign lobbyist.

It’s clear this is a problem for both U.S. political parties.

But what hasn’t gotten much attention is the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, the law that requires lobbyists working on behalf of foreign governments and political parties to disclose details about their activities.

Recent investigations by the Project on Government Oversight and the Department of Justice Inspector General have found that compliance with this law is unacceptably low, and it’s rarely enforced. Moreover, the Department of Justice only has two enforcement mechanisms available.