H.R. 2675

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2675 Reported in House (RH)]

<DOC>

Union Calendar No. 608
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 2675

[Report No. 119-700]

To amend chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, to increase 
transparency and oversight of third-party funding by foreign persons, 
to prohibit third-party funding by foreign states and sovereign wealth 
funds, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

April 7, 2025

Mr. Cline introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary

June 15, 2026

Additional sponsors: Mr. Finstad, Mr. Wittman, Mr. Gill of Texas, Mr. 
Vindman, Mr. Flood, Mr. Issa, Mr. Self, Mr. Bost, Mrs. Kiggans of 
Virginia, Mr. Alford, Mr. Schmidt, Mr. McDowell, Mr. Moore of Alabama, 
Ms. Van Duyne, Mr. Baumgartner, Mr. Moore of North Carolina, Mr. Barr, 
Mrs. Wagner, Mr. Gooden, Mr. Nunn of Iowa, Mr. Mann, Mr. Lawler, Mrs. 
Kim, Mr. Grothman, Mrs. Biggs of South Carolina, and Mr. Owens

June 15, 2026

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 
7, 2025]

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, to increase 
transparency and oversight of third-party funding by foreign persons, 
to prohibit third-party funding by foreign states and sovereign wealth 
funds, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Our Courts from Foreign 
Manipulation Act''.

SEC. 2. TRANSPARENCY AND LIMITATIONS ON FOREIGN THIRD-PARTY LITIGATION 
FUNDING.

(a) In General.--Chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 1660. Transparency and limitations on foreign third-party 
litigation funding
``(a) Prohibition on Third-Party Funding Litigation by Foreign 
States and Sovereign Wealth Funds.--
``(1) Funding prohibition.--It shall be unlawful--
``(A) for any foreign state or sovereign wealth 
fund to provide any monetary support either directly or 
indirectly for initiating or litigating a civil action 
in which it is not a named party; or
``(B) for any party or counsel to receive from a 
foreign state or sovereign wealth fund any monetary 
support either directly or indirectly for initiating or 
litigating a civil action in which the foreign state or 
sovereign wealth fund is not a named party.
``(2) Sourcing prohibition.--It shall be unlawful for any 
party or counsel to enter into an agreement creating a right 
for anyone, other than the named parties or counsel of record, 
to receive any payment that is contingent, in any respect, on 
proceeds from the action or from any matter within a portfolio 
of civil actions that includes the civil action and involves 
the same counsel of record or affiliated counsel, the terms of 
which are to be satisfied by money that has been or will be 
directly or indirectly sourced, in whole or in part, from a 
foreign state or a sovereign wealth fund.
``(b) Enforcement.--
``(1) Null and void.--Any obligation to provide monetary 
support or agreement in violation of subsection (a) shall be 
null and void.
``(2) Dismissal.--Any civil action in which monetary 
support in violation of subsection (a) has been or is being 
used by a plaintiff to litigate the civil action shall be 
dismissed with prejudice and subject to terms the court 
considers proper.
``(3) Relief on motion.--Any final judgment entered in a 
civil action in which monetary support in violation of 
subsection (a) was used may be subject to being relieved on 
motion made pursuant to Rule 60(b)(3) of the Federal Rules of 
Civil Procedure.
``(c) Disclosure of Third-Party Litigation Funding and Foreign 
Source Certification by Foreign Persons, Foreign States, and Sovereign 
Wealth Funds.--
``(1) In general.--In any civil action, each party or the 
counsel of record for the party shall--
``(A) disclose in writing to the court, to all 
other named parties to the civil action, to the 
Attorney General, and to the Principal Deputy Assistant 
Attorney General for National Security--
``(i) the name, the address and, if 
applicable, the citizenship or the country of 
incorporation or registration of any foreign 
person, foreign state, or sovereign wealth 
fund, other than the named parties or counsel 
of record, that--
``(I) has provided or has agreed to 
provide direct or indirect monetary 
support for initiating or litigating 
the civil action;
``(II) has a right to receive any 
payment that is contingent, in any 
respect, on proceeds from the civil 
action pursuant to a settlement, 
judgment, award of attorney's fees, or 
pursuant to any other outcome of the 
civil action; or
``(III) has a right to receive any 
payment that is contingent, in any 
respect, on proceeds from any matter 
within a portfolio of civil actions 
that includes the civil action by 
settlement, judgement, award of 
attorney's fees, or pursuant to any 
other outcome of the civil action, and 
involves the same counsel of record or 
affiliated counsel; and
``(ii) if the party or the counsel of 
record for the party submits a certification 
described in subparagraph (C)(i), the name, the 
address, and, if applicable, the citizenship or 
the country of incorporation or registration of 
the foreign person, foreign state, or sovereign 
wealth fund that is the source of the money;
``(B) produce to the court, to all other named 
parties to the civil action, to the Attorney General, 
and to the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General 
for National Security, except as otherwise stipulated 
or ordered by the court, a copy of any documentation 
concerning monetary support described in subparagraph 
(A)(i)(I) or any agreement creating a contingent right 
described in subclause (II) or (III) of subparagraph 
(A)(i); and
``(C) for a civil action in which direct or 
indirect monetary support for initiating or litigating 
the civil action has been or will be provided or in 
which there is an agreement creating a right to receive 
any payment by anyone, other than the named parties or 
counsel of record, that is contingent, in any respect, 
on proceeds from of the civil action by settlement, 
judgment, award of attorney's fees, or pursuant to any 
other outcome of the civil action, or on proceeds from 
any matter within a portfolio that includes the civil 
action and involves the same counsel or affiliated 
counsel, submit to the court a certification that--
``(i) the money that has been or will be 
used to provide monetary support or satisfy any 
term of the agreement has been or will be 
directly or indirectly sourced, in whole or in 
part, from a foreign person, foreign state, or 
sovereign wealth fund, including the monetary 
amounts that have been or will be used to 
satisfy the agreement; or
``(ii) that the disclosure and 
certification criteria set forth in 
subparagraph (A)(ii) and clause (i) of this 
subparagraph do not apply to the civil action.
``(2) Timing.--
``(A) In general.--Any disclosure and certification 
required under paragraph (1) for a civil action 
described in such paragraph shall be made not later 
than the later of--
``(i) 30 days after the date on which any 
monetary support that is required to be 
disclosed pursuant to paragraph (1)(A)(i)(I), 
or any portion thereof, is initially provided, 
or any agreement described in subclause (I), 
(II), or (III) of paragraph (1)(A)(i) is 
executed; or
``(ii) the date on which the civil action 
is filed.
``(B) Parties served or joined later.--A party that 
has disclosure and certification obligations under 
paragraph (1) that is first joined in the civil action 
after the date on which the civil action is filed shall 
make any disclosure and certification required under 
paragraph (1) not later than 30 days after being 
joined, unless a different time is set by stipulation 
or court order.
``(3) Foreign source disclosure and certification format.--
``(A) In general.--Any disclosure required under 
paragraph (1)(A) and a certification required under 
paragraph (1)(C) shall--
``(i) be made in the form of a declaration 
under penalty of perjury pursuant to section 
1746 and shall be made to the best knowledge, 
information, and belief of the declarant formed 
after reasonable inquiry; and
``(ii) be provided to all other named 
parties to the civil action, to the Attorney 
General, and to the Principal Deputy Assistant 
Attorney General for National Security by the 
party or counsel of record for the party making 
the disclosure and certification, except as 
otherwise stipulated or ordered by the court.
``(B) Supplementation and correction.--Not later 
than 30 days after the date on which a party or counsel 
of record for the party knew or should have known that 
a disclosure made under paragraph (1)(A) or a 
certification made under paragraph (1)(C) is incomplete 
or inaccurate in any material respect, the party or 
counsel of record shall supplement or correct the 
disclosure or certification.
``(d) Failure To Disclose, To Supplement; Sanctions.--A disclosure, 
production, or certification under subsection (b) is deemed to be 
information required by Rule 26(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil 
Procedure and subject to the sanctions provisions of Rule 37 of the 
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
``(e) Definitions.--In this section--
``(1) the term `foreign person'--
``(A) means any person or entity that is not a 
United States person, as defined in section 101 of the 
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 
U.S.C. 1801); and
``(B) does not include a foreign state or a 
sovereign wealth fund;
``(2) the term `foreign state' has the meaning given that 
term in section 1603; and
``(3) the term `sovereign wealth fund' means an investment 
fund owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by a foreign 
state or an agency or instrumentality of a foreign state (as 
defined in section 1603).''.
(b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections 
chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at 
the end the following:

``1660. Transparency and limitations on foreign third-party litigation 
funding.''.

SEC. 3. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and 
annually thereafter, the Attorney General shall submit to the Committee 
on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of 
the House of Representatives a report on the activities involving 
foreign third-party litigation funding in Federal courts, including, if 
applicable--
(1) the identities of foreign third-party litigation 
funders in Federal courts, including names, addresses, and 
citizenship or country of incorporation or registration;
(2) the identities of foreign persons, foreign states, or 
sovereign wealth funds (as such terms are defined in section 
1660 of title 28, United States Code, as added by section 2 of 
this Act) that have been the sources of money for third-party 
litigation funding in Federal courts;
(3) the judicial districts in which foreign third-party 
litigation funding has occurred;
(4) an estimate of the total amount of foreign-sourced 
money used for third-party litigation funding in Federal 
courts, including an estimate of the amount of such money 
sourced from each country; and
(5) a summary of the subject matters of the civil actions 
in Federal courts for which foreign sourced money has been used 
for third-party litigation funding.

SEC. 4. APPLICABILITY.

The amendments made by this Act shall apply to any civil action 
pending on or commenced on or after the date of enactment of this Act.
Union Calendar No. 608

119th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. R. 2675

[Report No. 119-700]

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, to increase 
transparency and oversight of third-party funding by foreign persons, 
to prohibit third-party funding by foreign states and sovereign wealth 
funds, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

June 15, 2026

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed