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S5510119th Congress
Anti-Bribery Improvement Act
Sponsored By: Senator Kim, Andy [D-NJ]
Introduced
Summary
This bill expands the federal bribery statute to criminalize promises or undertakings to provide 'access' to public officials as a form of bribery. It also broadens the legal definition of "access" to cover an official's ability to influence any pending or prospective matter and applies to people selected to become public officials.
Show full summary
- Public officials and nominees: Accepting or being induced by explicit promises of access can trigger bribery charges because the law now treats those promises as a prohibited inducement.
- Businesses, lobbyists, and private actors: Making an explicit promise or undertaking to provide access can itself be a federal offense, even when no specific official act is requested beyond the promise.
- Prosecutors and courts: A new statutory definition of "access" and added elements in 18 U.S.C. §201 give prosecutors clearer grounds to bring access-related bribery cases.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
1 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Ban on promising access to officials
This bill would add a new definition of “access” to the federal bribery law. It would make it a crime to explicitly promise or undertake to provide access to a public official or to a person selected to be a public official. "Access" would mean using an official’s ability to influence any decision or action on a pending or prospective matter in their official role or place of trust or profit. If enacted, people or groups who offer, promise, or induce such access could be prosecuted under federal bribery rules.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Kim, Andy [D-NJ]
NJ • D
Cosponsors
Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ]
NJ • D
Sponsored 9/24/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov