U.S. Senators Jim Risch, John Cornyn, and Peter Welch have introduced the Conflict-free Leaving Employment and Activity Restrictions (CLEAR) Path Act in an effort to curb foreign influence on U.S. policymaking. The proposed legislation aims to prevent former government employees from lobbying for certain countries.
Risch emphasized the importance of this bill by stating, “Competition with America’s adversaries is hard enough without former senior U.S. officials working on their behalf.” He pointed out that adversaries like Huawei or Nord Stream 2 pay significant sums for sensitive information and connections of senior U.S. officials, which he believes undermines national security.
Cornyn supported the bill, remarking, “When it comes to influencing U.S. policymaking, our adversaries will stop at nothing to get what they want – including using our own citizens to act on their behalf.” According to him, this legislation would ban former U.S. government employees from lobbying for countries such as Russia and China permanently.
Welch highlighted concerns about public trust in democratic institutions: “It’s vital we set higher standards against potential conflicts of interest for former government employees,” especially regarding foreign adversaries attempting to influence U.S. policy.
The CLEAR Path Act seeks to update regulations under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), which has not seen changes in over 15 years despite increased focus on foreign attempts to manipulate U.S. processes recently.
Key provisions include a permanent ban on agency heads, deputies, and Senate-confirmed employees lobbying on behalf of countries like China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and Cuba; a two-year cooling-off period before these individuals can lobby for other countries; and a mechanism allowing additions or removals from the list of concerned countries through joint resolution with input from relevant committees and top state officials.
