Drain the Swamp: Should Political Appointees be Banned From Lobbying After Leaving Gov’t? (H.R. 484)
Do you support or oppose this bill?
What is H.R. 484?
(Updated December 4, 2021)
This bill — known as the DRAIN the SWAMP Act — would prohibit former executive branch political appointees from lobbying for five years after leaving the federal government and ban them from lobbying for foreign nations for life.
Federal agencies would be able to request hardship waivers for certain positions that are filled by political appointments, which would only be granted if the Office of Government Ethics finds that it’d make it difficult to get qualified personnel to take jobs or wouldn’t create the potential for undue influence.
Under current law, appointees are banned from lobbying for two years after leaving the executive branch which is punishable by a fine of up to $50,000 and/or one year in prison.
The full title for the DRAIN the SWAMP Act is the “Deter-Revolving-door Appointments in our Nation; Stop Washington Appointees from becoming Manipulative Petitioners Act.”
Argument in favor
Political appointees shouldn’t be able to lobby the federal government for at least five years after leaving the executive branch, and should never be able to lobby on behalf of a foreign government.
Argument opposed
If the federal government is serious about attracting and retaining high caliber political appointees they should lessen restrictions on the post-government careers of those appointees, not make it harder to be a lobbyist.
Impact
Political appointees who leave the executive branch.
Cost of H.R. 484
A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.
Additional Info
In-Depth: Sponsoring Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) introduced this bill to ban political appointees from lobbying and allow a campaign promise that President Donald Trump wants to fulfill on day one of his presidency to become law. Before the conclusion of the 114th Congress during a speech on the House floor, DeFazio asked for Trump to endorse his bill before it is reintroduced in the next Congress, adding:
“My bill would make violations of President-Elect Trump’s recently announced revolving door lobbying ban punishable by law… Unfortunately, his proposal lacks any enforcement mechanism. I want this to be more than a press release, I want to help him in this effort… I would extend the existing penalties which apply to very few people over a shorter period of time, the penalties of up to $50,000 and one-year in jail, to cover all of the 3,648 executive branch political appointees.”
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