• Registered lobbyists would be barred from providing meals, entertainment or gifts to members directly or indirectly.
  
  
• Companies, unions or other groups that employ a lobbyist could pay for members’ travel to political events, conventions, retreats, symposiums and receptions, including meals and entertainment.
  
  
• A company or union that employs a lobbyist could provide meals and entertainment for a member as long as a company or union official who is not a lobbyist is present.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

As used in this Act:

(1) AGENCY.—The term "agency" has the meaning given that term in section 551(1) of title 5, United States Code.

(2) CLIENT.—The term "client" means any person or entity (including a State or local government) who employs or retains another person for financial or other compensation to conduct lobbying activities on behalf of that person or entity or another person or entity. An organization whose employees act as lobbyists on its own behalf is both a client and an employer of such employees. In the case of any person or entity that employs or retains a lobbyist to conduct lobbying activities on behalf of another person or entity, the client is both the person or entity that employs or retains the lobbyist and the person or entity on whose behalf the lobbyist conducts lobbying activities. In the case of a coalition or association that employs or retains other persons to conduct lobbying activities, the client is—

(A) the coalition or association and not its individual members when the lobbying activities are conducted on behalf of its membership and financed by the coalition’s or association’s dues and assessments, or

(B) the individual member or members, when the lobbying activities are, directly or indirectly, financed separately by one or more individual members and not by the coalition’s or association’s dues and assessments.

(3) COVERED EXECUTIVE BRANCH OFFICIAL.— The term "covered executive branch official" means—

(A) the President or the President-elect;

(B) the Vice President or the Vice Presidentelect;

(C) any officer or employee (other than a clerical or secretarial employee) of the Executive Office of the President or any individual functioning in the capacity of such an officer or employee on an unpaid basis;

(D) any officer or employee serving in a position in level I, II, III, IV, or V of the Executive Schedule, as designated by statute or executive order;

(E) any officer or employee serving in a Senior Executive Service position, as defined in section 3132(a)(2) of title 5, United States Code;

(F) any member of the uniformed services whose pay grade is at or above O-7 under section 201 of title 37, United States Code; and

(G) any officer or employee serving in a position of a confidential policy-determining, policymaking, or policy-advocating character described in section 7511(b)(2) of title 5, United States Code, including an employee listed in schedule C of subpart C of part 213 of title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(4) COVERED LEGISLATIVE BRANCH OFFICIAL.—

(A) IN GENERAL.—The term "covered legislative branch official" means—

(i) a Member of Congress or a Member-elect of Congress;

(ii) an elected officer of either House of Congress;

(iii) any employee of a Member of Congress or of a committee of either House of Congress;

(iv) any employee on the leadership staff of the House of Representatives and any employee on the leadership staff of the Senate;

(v) any employee of a joint committee of the Congress; and

(vi) any employee of a working group or caucus organized to provide legislative services or other assistance to Members of Congress.

(B) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of subparagraph (A)—

(i) the terms "employee on the leadership staff of the House of Representatives" and "employee on the leadership staff of the Senate" have the meanings given these terms in section 207(e)(4) of title 18, United States Code;

(ii) the term "employee" includes any individual functioning in the capacity of an employee described in subparagraph (A) on an unpaid basis but the term does not include a clerical or secretarial employee, and

(iii) the term "Member of Congress" means a Senator or a Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner, to the Congress.

(5) DIRECTOR.—The term "Director" means the Director of the Office of Lobbying Registration and Public Disclosure.

(6) EMPLOYEE.—Except as provided in paragraph (4)(B)(ii), the term "employee" means any individual who is an officer, employee, partner, director, or proprietor of an organization, but does not include—

(A) independent contractors; or

(B) volunteers who receive no financial or other compensation from the organization for their services.

(7) FOREIGN ENTITY.—The term "foreign entity" means a foreign principal as such term is defined in subsection (b) of section 1 of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 611 (B)).

(8) GRASS ROOTS LOBBYING COMMUNICATIONS. —The term "grass roots lobbying communications" means—

(A) any communication that attempts to influence any legislation through an attempt to affect the opinions of the general public or any segment thereof:

(B) any communication between an organization and any bona fide member of such organization to directly encourage such members to make a communication to a covered executive branch official or a covered legislative branch official with regard to a matter described in clause (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv) of paragraph (10)(A) of section 3; and

(C) any communication between an organization and any bona fide member of such organization to directly encourage such member to urge persons other than members to communicate as provided in either subparagraph (A) or subparagraph (B).