# What This Bill Does

This bill is about controlling which foreign journalists can access Congress and report from inside the Capitol building. Right now, reporters from news outlets around the world can get special press credentials that let them move freely through Congress and interview lawmakers. This bill says that journalists working for foreign government-controlled media outlets have to follow stricter rules before they get those credentials.

The main requirement is that foreign state media outlets must register with the U.S. government under a law called the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). Think of it like this: if a news organization is owned or controlled by a foreign government, it has to officially tell the U.S. government that it's working on behalf of that government. If an outlet doesn't register or isn't following the registration rules, its journalists can't get press credentials for Congress. The bill specifically mentions concerns about media outlets from China, Russia, and Qatar, claiming they've been used for espionage and surveillance against American officials and businesses.

The bill also adds two other restrictions. First, no more than 10 journalists from the same foreign state media outlet can have credentials at the same time. Second, any foreign journalist seeking credentials has to pass an FBI background check, and the FBI has to say they don't pose a security threat to the United States. For most Americans, this won't directly affect them, but it could limit what foreign news organizations can report from Congress and might reduce the diversity of international news coverage of American government.

Requiring foreign state media outlets with credentialed members in the House news media galleries to comply with the Foreign Agents Registration Act by prohibiting the admission into such galleries of reporters and correspondents who are representatives of such outlets who are not in compliance with the requirements of such Act, and for other purposes.

Bergman, Jack

This resolution restricts access to the news media galleries in the House Chamber by representatives of media outlets that are affiliated with a foreign government, the family of the ruling monarch of a foreign country, or a foreign political party. Specifically, the resolution bars access to the news media galleries by representatives of foreign state media outlets if they are not registered as foreign agents or otherwise fail to comply with applicable requirements for foreign agents. (Current law requires individuals who do political or advocacy work on behalf of foreign governments and other foreign entities to register with the Department of Justice and disclose certain information about their clients, activities, and contract terms.) In addition, before being admitted to the news media galleries, representatives of foreign state media outlets must (1) certify that they have, within the prior six months, undergone a background check conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); and (2) that the FBI determined they do not pose a threat to U.S. security. Last, the resolution caps at 10 the number of reporters and correspondents from the same foreign state media outlet who may be admitted to the news media galleries.