527 Reform Act of 2006

H.R. 4975, the 527 Reform Act of 2006, was designed to increase transparency in government by tightening rules for lobbyists and changing how certain political organizations are regulated. The bill would have required lobbyists to file disclosure reports more frequently, prohibited them from providing certain gifts or private travel to members of Congress, and mandated ethics training for registered lobbyists. Additionally, it sought to bring "527 organizations"—groups that influence elections but are often not regulated as strictly as traditional political action committees—under the oversight of federal election laws.

For the average citizen, these changes were intended to reduce the influence of special interests and provide more public information about who is spending money to influence federal policy and elections. The bill also included "revolving door" restrictions to prevent former members of Congress from immediately lobbying their former colleagues and established rules to strip federal retirement benefits from members of Congress convicted of certain felonies, such as bribery. Although this specific bill was not enacted into law, many of its core transparency and ethics provisions were addressed in subsequent legislation.