Permanently ban lobbying by former members of Congress.
Permanently ban former members of Congress from lobbying.
Occurrences
Evidence
Civil Beat’s candidate questionnaire for Brian Schatz said his plan included: “Permanently ban lobbying by former members of Congress.”
The Congressional Record listed S. 6 introduced by Udall and others, including “Mr. SCHATZ,” as “A bill to reform our government, reduce the grip of special interest...”
Congress.gov summarized S. 6 as amending federal criminal law “to prohibit former Members of Congress from ever lobbying a current Member.” Its latest action was referral to the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, and its status was “Introduced.”
A printed summary of S. 6 said: “Enact a permanent ban on lobbying by former Members of Congress,” and explained it would permanently ban House and Senate members from lobbying either house after retirement.
Current 18 U.S.C. § 207(e) bars a former Senator from covered lobbying contacts “within 2 years” after leaving office; former House members are covered by a shorter temporary period, not a lifetime ban.
Congress.gov summarized S. 2561 as imposing “a lifetime ban” on former members lobbying Congress, but the latest action was referral to committee and the bill status was “Introduced.”
Assessments
The promised permanent federal lobbying ban for former members of Congress has not been enacted. Current federal law still uses temporary post-employment restrictions rather than a lifetime ban, and later bills proposing such a ban remained unenacted. Schatz did support a concrete legislative vehicle, S. 6 in 2016, that would have created the permanent ban, but it was only introduced and referred to committee. That counts as a serious attempt, not fulfillment.