H.R. 4616

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4616 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4616

To amend the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to provide for disclosure 
regarding foreign jurisdictions that hinder inspections, and for other 
purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

July 22, 2025

Ms. Stefanik introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to provide for disclosure 
regarding foreign jurisdictions that hinder inspections, 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 ``Trusted Foreign Auditing Act of 
2025''.

SEC. 2. INSPECTION OF REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRMS.

Section 104(i) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (15 U.S.C. 
7214(i)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and (B) as 
subparagraphs (C) and (D), respectively; and
(B) by inserting before subparagraph (C), as so 
redesignated, the following:
``(A) the term `compromised auditor' means, with 
respect to a registered public accounting firm, an 
independent branch or office of that firm (or a 
subsidiary of such a branch or office) that--
``(i) is subject to the jurisdiction and 
laws of the government of a covered country;
``(ii) is directly or indirectly 
controlled, directed, or materially influenced 
by a covered country;
``(iii) has a manager or owner, or conducts 
any operation, that is subject to the direct 
influence of a covered country; or
``(iv) has entered into any arrangement, 
agreement, or relationship with the government 
or political party of a covered country that 
could compromise the objectivity, integrity, or 
independence of the branch, office, or 
subsidiary in performing auditing or 
attestation services;
``(B) the term `covered country' means--
``(i) any country (including any special 
administrative region of such country) 
identified as a threat to the national security 
of the United States in the most recent report 
submitted to Congress by the Director of 
National Intelligence pursuant to section 108B 
of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 
3043b) (commonly referred to as the `Annual 
Threat Assessment'); or
``(ii) any covered nation (as defined in 
section 4872(d)(2) of title 10, United States 
Code);'';
(2) in paragraph (2)(A)--
(A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking 
``paragraph (1)(A)'' and inserting ``paragraph 
(1)(C)''; and
(B) in clause (ii), by inserting ``is a compromised 
auditor that'' before ``the Board is unable''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(5) Trading prohibition.--If a covered issuer that is 
headquartered in a country of concern retains a compromised 
auditor to prepare an audit report described in paragraph 
(2)(A) for the covered issuer, the trading prohibition 
described in paragraph (3) shall apply to the covered 
issuer.''.

SEC. 3. PUBLIC HEARINGS.

Section 105(c) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (15 U.S.C. 
7215(c)) is amended by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 
following:
``(2) Public hearings.--
``(A) Definitions.--In this paragraph, the terms 
`compromised auditor' and `covered issuer' have the 
meanings given those terms in section 104(i)(1).
``(B) Conditions.--Hearings under this section 
shall not be public, unless--
``(i) a compromised auditor retained by a 
covered issuer is a party to the hearing; or
``(ii) otherwise ordered by the Board for 
good cause shown, with the consent of the 
parties to such hearing.''.
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