A bipartisan coalition of eight senators is jump-starting an effort to crack down on schemes by China, Russia and other adversaries that skirt lobbying law and influence American policymakers.
Foreign ploys routinely make waves in Washington, from China allegedly looking for sway at a think tank connected to President Biden to a wealthy Russian allegedly compromising a former senior FBI official to do the bidding of the oligarch.
Efforts to conceal foreign lobbying are in the Senate’s crosshairs. Sens. Gary Peters, Michigan Democrat, and Chuck Grassley, Iowa Republican, lead the proposal they say will close a loophole exploited by China to conceal adversaries’ hidden role in lobbying.