PAID OFF Act of 2025

Key Points

• The bill closes loopholes in the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) that currently let people working for adversary nations skip registering with the U.S. government. Right now, some agents can avoid registration by claiming they are doing business, scientific, or religious work. This bill removes those exemptions when the foreign principal is owned or controlled by a country of concern.
• The bill targets agents of corporate or government entities owned or controlled by designated countries of concern, which under existing law typically includes nations like China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and Cuba. Their representatives would have to register with the Department of Justice no matter what kind of work they claim to be doing.
• A new process lets the Secretary of State propose adding or removing countries from the list, but Congress must approve any changes through a joint resolution. This ensures both the executive branch and Congress have a say in which nations are targeted.
• The bill includes a five-year sunset clause, meaning the new rules expire automatically unless Congress acts to renew them. This built-in review period ensures lawmakers will revisit whether the law is still working as intended.
• The bill has strong bipartisan support, introduced by Republican Sen. Cornyn and Democratic Sen. Whitehouse along with seven other cosponsors from both parties. It was referred to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.