November 18, 2025
Mr. Cornyn (for himself and Mr. Whitehouse) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services
To revoke security clearances for former personnel of the Department of Defense who engage in lobbying activities on behalf of China, 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 Restricting Ex-Vetted Officials from Knowledge Exploitation Act
or the REVOKE Act
.
Sec. 2. Revocation of Security Clearances for Certain Persons
(a) Prohibition
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Defense shall suspend or revoke a security clearance or eligibility for access to classified information for any retired or separated member of the Armed Forces or civilian employee of the Department of Defense who engages in an activity described in subsection (b).
(b) Activities described
The activities described in this subsection are lobbying activities or lobbying contacts for or on behalf of any entity that is—
(1)
identified by the Secretary of Defense in the most recent report submitted under section 1260H of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (10 U.S.C. 113 note) as a Chinese military company; and
(2)
included in the Non-SDN Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Companies List published by the Department of the Treasury.
(c) Waiver
The Secretary of Defense may, for periods not to exceed 180 days, waive the application of the prohibition in subsection (a) for an individual if the Secretary certifies to the congressional defense committees that doing so is in the national security interest of the United States.
(d) Definitions
In this section:
(1)
The term congressional defense committees has the meaning given the term in section 101(a) of title 10, United States Code.
(2)
The term lobbying activities has the meaning given such term in section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602).
(3)
The term lobbying contact has the meaning given such term in section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602), except that clause (iv) of paragraph (8)(B)(iv) of such section shall not apply.