Representatives Cohen, Wilson, Banks, and Slotkin Introduce the Bipartisan Stop Helping Adversaries Manipulate Everything (SHAME) Act

WASHINGTON – Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN), Co-Chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, along with Ranking Member Joe Wilson (R-SC), Jim Banks (R-IN), and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) issued a joint statement regarding the introduction of the bipartisan Stop Helping Adversaries Manipulate Everything (SHAME) Act. The legislation serves as a deterrent for would-be enablers of foreign governments seeking to undermine democracy, democratic institutions, and U.S. national security interests.

“Stopping corruption and authoritarianism from undermining the American way of life starts at home. No patriotic American should be doing the work of our adversaries by profiting from peddling the propaganda and influence of state-owned businesses and contracting celebrities to push agendas which are detrimental to the United States and our allies. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and his network of oligarchs have brought particular attention to the hundreds of elites who are paid to lobby for our adversaries and undermine our national security. Free speech is a bedrock of our Constitution, but that has never meant massively profiting on the corruption of the likes of the Chinese Communist Party, the terrorist regime in Tehran, war-criminal Putin, and mass-murderer Bashar al-Assad.”

Background:

The SHAME Act amends the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) and the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) by prohibiting both lobbyists and individuals registered as foreign agents from accepting compensation for work performed on behalf of U.S. adversaries; stipulates new reporting requirements if performed; and levies financial consequences against individuals if violated.

###