To amend section 2112 of title 44, United States Code, to appropriately limit donations to Presidential Libraries and Centers.
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill amends section 2112 of title 44, United States Code, to impose new restrictions on donations to Presidential Libraries and Centers. The key provisions include:
- Banning problematic donors: While a President is serving or has been elected, the bill prohibits donations from registered lobbyists, foreign agents, federal contractors, foreign nationals, and anyone seeking or who has received a pardon from that President.
- Two-year cooling-off period: These restrictions continue for 2 years after a President leaves office.
- $10,000 cap: Limits any person's total donations to $10,000 during the period from the President's election through 1 year after leaving office.
- Disclosure requirements: Requires quarterly reporting of all donations over $200 to the National Archives, published publicly online.
- Personal use prohibition: Bans converting library donations to personal use.
Who Benefits and How
- American Public: Benefits from reduced potential for corruption and influence-buying through Presidential Libraries.
- 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Organizations: Explicitly exempted from restrictions on donations, can continue giving during a President's term.
- Future Presidents with less wealthy donor networks: Somewhat levels the playing field by capping donations.
- National Archives: Given authority to publish donation reports and promulgate regulations.
Who Bears the Burden and How
- Presidential Libraries and Centers: Must implement new compliance systems, verify donor status, file quarterly reports, and potentially fundraise from a narrower donor pool.
- Registered Lobbyists: Prohibited from donating during a President's term and for 2 years afterward.
- Foreign Agents (FARA registrants): Prohibited from donating during a President's term and for 2 years afterward.
- Federal Contractors: Prohibited from donating during restricted periods.
- Foreign Nationals: Completely prohibited from donating during restricted periods.
- Pardon Seekers/Recipients: Prohibited from donating, targeting potential quid pro quo arrangements.
- Wealthy Donors: Capped at $10,000 aggregate during restricted period, cannot make large donations.
Key Provisions
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Section 2112(h)(1): Defines key terms including "donation," "Federal contractor," "foreign national," "Presidential Library or Center," "registered agent of a foreign principal," and "registered lobbyist."
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Section 2112(h)(2): Establishes restrictions on donation sources and makes it unlawful for prohibited persons to donate.
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Section 2112(h)(3): Sets the $10,000 aggregate donation limit with inflation indexing.
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Section 2112(h)(4): Establishes quarterly disclosure requirements for donations over $200 during a 5-year covered period, to be published on NARA website.
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Section 2112(h)(5): Creates enforcement mechanisms including civil penalties up to $20,000 (or donation value), criminal penalties of up to 1 year imprisonment, and enhanced penalties for violations over $50,000 (up to $100,000 civil penalty, 5 years imprisonment).
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Section 2112(h)(6): Directs the Archivist to promulgate regulations.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
This bill restricts donations to Presidential Libraries and Centers from lobbyists, foreign agents, federal contractors, foreign nationals, and pardon seekers during a President's term and for 2 years afterward. It also caps aggregate donations at $10,000, requires disclosure of donations over $200, and establishes civil and criminal penalties for violations.
Key Policy Areas
Government Ethics, Campaign Finance, Federal Administration
Primary Purpose
This bill restricts donations to Presidential Libraries and Centers from lobbyists, foreign agents, federal contractors, foreign nationals, and pardon seekers during a President's term and for 2 years afterward. It also caps aggregate donations at $10,000, requires disclosure of donations over $200, and establishes civil and criminal penalties for violations.
Policy Domains
Section 1 — Requirements for Presidential Libraries and Centers
Identified Gains
- American Public (reduced corruption risk)
- 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Organizations (exempted from restrictions)
- National Archives (oversight authority)
Identified Costs
- Presidential Libraries and Centers
- Registered Lobbyists
- Foreign Agents (FARA registrants)
- Federal Contractors
- Foreign Nationals
- Pardon Seekers/Recipients
- Large Donors (capped at $10,000)
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Moskowitz (for himself, Ms. Stansbury, Mr. Raskin, Ms. Norton, …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Organizations, Presidential Libraries and Centers
Foreign Agents registered under FARA, Registered Lobbyists
American Public, Pardon Seekers and Recipients
Positive-direction: American Public
Negative-direction: Pardon Seekers and Recipients
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_archivist"
- → Archivist of the United States (NARA)
- "the_attorney_general"
- → Attorney General of the United States
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Any gift, subscription, loan, advance, or deposit of money or anything of value made directly or indirectly to a Presidential Library or Center, including payments for personal services rendered to the Library. Excludes volunteer services without compensation.
Has the meaning given under section 115.1 of title 11, Code of Federal Regulations.
Has the meaning given under section 319(b) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.
An organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 exempt from taxation under section 501(a).
An organization established to raise funds to create, maintain, expand, or conduct activities at a Presidential archival depository, related facility, or any private museum/foundation/center affiliated with a President.
A person registered or required to be registered as an agent of a foreign principal under FARA (22 U.S.C. 611).
A lobbyist as defined in section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602) that is registered or required to register under section 4(a) of that Act.
Period beginning on election to President (or enactment date for current President) and ending 5 years after leaving office.
A person who made donations of at least $200 aggregate during a calendar quarter to the applicable Presidential Library.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
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