REVOKE Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The REVOKE Act creates a security-clearance consequence for certain post-government lobbying. It directs the Defense Secretary to suspend or revoke eligibility for access to classified information for a retired or separated member of the Armed Forces or civilian Department of Defense employee who engages in lobbying activities or lobbying contacts for an entity appearing on both the Defense Department's section 1260H Chinese military company report and Treasury's Non-SDN Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Companies List. DOD may waive the suspension or revocation for up to 180 days only if it certifies to the congressional defense committees that the waiver is in the national security interest. The bill defines congressional defense committees, lobbying activities, lobbying contacts, and the covered lists.
Who Benefits and How
Defense counterintelligence officials benefit from a clear authority to remove classified-access eligibility when covered former personnel lobby for listed Chinese military-linked entities. Congressional defense committees benefit from required certification before DOD grants any temporary waiver. National security policymakers benefit from a deterrent against former cleared defense personnel representing listed Chinese military-industrial companies. Security clearance adjudicators benefit from a bright-line statutory trigger tied to two existing government lists.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Retired service members and separated DOD civilian employees lose clearance eligibility if they lobby for covered listed entities. Covered Chinese military and military-industrial companies lose access to lobbyists who need to preserve U.S. classified-access eligibility. DOD security clearance offices must identify covered lobbying activity, suspend or revoke eligibility, and administer waiver certifications. Defense lobbying firms must screen clients and personnel against both covered Chinese-entity lists to avoid clearance consequences.
Key Provisions
- Requires DOD to suspend or revoke clearance eligibility for covered former defense personnel lobbying for listed Chinese military-linked entities.
- Applies only when the represented entity appears on both the DOD section 1260H list and Treasury's Chinese Military-Industrial Complex list.
- Allows a national-security waiver for no more than 180 days.
- Requires waiver certification to congressional defense committees.
- Defines covered lobbying activities, lobbying contacts, and committees.
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
Requires DOD to suspend or revoke security-clearance eligibility for retired or separated defense personnel who lobby for entities listed as both Chinese military companies and Chinese Military-Industrial Complex companies, with a national-security waiver lasting no more than 180 days.
Key Policy Areas
Defense, China, Security Clearances, Lobbying
Primary Purpose
Requires DOD to suspend or revoke security-clearance eligibility for retired or separated defense personnel who lobby for entities listed as both Chinese military companies and Chinese Military-Industrial Complex companies, with a national-security waiver lasting no more than 180 days.
Policy Domains
Substantive provisions
Identified Gains
- Defense counterintelligence officials
- Congressional defense committees
- National security policymakers
- Security clearance adjudicators
Identified Costs
- Retired service members lobbying for covered entities
- Separated DOD civilian employees lobbying for covered entities
- Covered Chinese military-industrial companies
- DOD security clearance offices
- Defense lobbying firms
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Pfluger (for himself and Mr. Davis of North Carolina) …
Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Defense counterintelligence officials, Defense lobbying firms, Retired service members lobbying for covered entities
Positive-direction: Defense counterintelligence officials
Negative-direction: Defense lobbying firms, Retired service members lobbying for covered entities, Separated DOD civilian employees lobbying for covered entities
Congressional defense committees, Security clearance adjudicators
Positive-direction: Congressional defense committees
Negative-direction: Security clearance adjudicators
Covered Chinese military-industrial companies
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
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.
Learn more about our methodology