Bill · S. 1488· Senate(119-S-1488)
Sovereign Wealth Fund Transparency Act
- Introduced
- 4/10/2025
- Last activity
- 4/10/2025 — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
- Sponsored by
- Richard Blumenthal
- Cosponsors
- None
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The Sovereign Wealth Fund Transparency Act updates the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938. It removes commercial exemptions for agents promoting the interests of foreign governments or political parties, including those acting for sovereign wealth funds. The bill gives the Attorney General power to issue civil investigative demands to gather documents and testimony. It also creates new civil fines for people who fail to register or provide complete information. Finally, it requires the Attorney General to submit annual reports to Congress on how these new powers are used.
Yes· 3 of 4
Does this make what the government does easier for the public to see?+8
Increases transparency by removing commercial exemptions for foreign government agents and sovereign wealth funds.
Does this give the federal government more power?+7
Significantly expands the Attorney General's investigative and enforcement authority regarding foreign agents.
Does this give the government more power to monitor people inside the country?+3
Grants the Attorney General broader powers to issue civil investigative demands for documents and testimony.
The opposite
Does this protect people from being watched or searched?-4
Allows the government to demand private documentary material and oral testimony via civil investigative demands.
Would business owners be better off under this?-3
Increases compliance burdens and introduces steep fines for registration failures.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
-
Increased Transparency: By removing exemptions for agents of foreign governments or political parties, including sovereign wealth funds, the bill ensures more activities promoting foreign interests are disclosed (Sec. 2).
-
Better Enforcement: The Attorney General can now use civil investigative demands to get documents, written answers, and oral testimony to investigate violations of the Act (Sec. 3(a)).
-
Accountability for Officials: The Attorney General must provide annual reports to Congress detailing the number of demands issued and the results of those investigations (Sec. 3(b)(2)).
-
Funding for Oversight: All civil fines collected from violators will be used specifically to pay for the costs of enforcing the Act (Sec. 4(i)(2)).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
-
Financial Burdens: Individuals may face civil fines up to $10,000 for untimely registration statements and up to $1,000 for missing supplements, regardless of their state of mind (Sec. 4(i)(1)(A)-(B)).
-
Heavy Penalties for Knowledgeable Failures: People who knowingly fail to fix deficient filings or violate other parts of the Act can be fined up to $200,000 (Sec. 4(i)(1)(C)-(D)).
-
Intrusive Investigations: The Attorney General has the authority to demand private documentary material, written interrogatories, and oral testimony from people believed to have relevant information (Sec. 3(a)(1)).
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Governance And Ideology
- Improves Government Transparency+8Increases Federal Power+7Improves Privacy Rights-4
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Good For Business Owners-3
- National Security And Foreign Policy
- Increases Domestic Surveillance+3
- Economy And Finance
- Improves Fiscal Responsibility+2
- 4/10/2025
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
- Introduced in Senate