Office of Government Ethics Authorization Act of 1994

Summary: Office of Government Ethics Authorization Act of 1994 - Amends the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to:  (1) extend the authorization of appropriations for the Office of Government Ethics (OGE); and (2) authorize the OGE Director to accept gifts for OGE use. 
Amends the Federal criminal code to revise postemployment restrictions on former Federal officers, employees, and elected officials of the executive and legislative branches, adding exceptions for communications or appearances made solely on behalf of a candidate in his or her capacity as a candidate, an authorized committee, a national committee, a national Federal campaign committee, a State committee, or a political party.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Office of Government Ethics 
Authorization Act of 1994''.

SEC. 2. GIFT ACCEPTANCE AUTHORITY.

    Section 403 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 
5) is amended by--
            (1) inserting ``(a)'' before ``Upon the request''; and
            (2) adding at the end thereof the following:
    ``(b)(1) The Director is authorized to accept and utilize on behalf 
of the United States, any gift, donation, bequest, or devise of money, 
use of facilities, personal property, or services for the purpose of 
aiding or facilitating the work of the Office of Government Ethics.
    ``(2) No gift may be accepted--
            ``(A) that attaches conditions inconsistent with applicable 
        laws or regulations; or
            ``(B) that is conditioned upon or will require the 
        expenditure of appropriated funds that are not available to the 
        Office of Government Ethics.
    ``(3) The Director shall establish written rules setting forth the 
criteria to be used in determining whether the acceptance of 
contributions of money, services, use of facilities, or personal 
property under this subsection would reflect unfavorably upon the 
ability of the Office of Government Ethics or any employee to carry out 
its responsibilities or official duties in a fair and objective manner, 
or would compromise the integrity or the appearance of the integrity of 
its programs or any official involved in those programs.''.

SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    The text of section 405 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 
U.S.C. App. 5) is amended to read as follows: ``There are authorized to 
be appropriated to carry out the provisions of this title and for no 
other purpose, not to exceed $14,000,000 for fiscal year 1995 and for 
each of the next 7 fiscal years thereafter.''.

SEC. 4. ASSISTANCE FROM OTHER AGENCIES.

    Section 403(a) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 
App. 5), as designated by section 2, is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1) by striking ``under this Act; and'' 
        and inserting ``of the Office of Government Ethics; and''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2) by striking ``duties.'' and inserting 
        ``duties under this Act or any other Act.''.

SEC. 5. LIMITATION ON POSTEMPLOYMENT RESTRICTIONS.

    Section 207(j) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(7) Political parties and campaign committees.--(A) 
        Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the restrictions 
        contained in subsections (c), (d), and (e) shall not apply to a 
        communication or appearance made solely on behalf of a 
        candidate in his or her capacity as a candidate, an authorized 
        committee, a national committee, a national Federal campaign 
        committee, a State committee, or a political party.
            ``(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to--
                    ``(i) any communication to, or appearance before, 
                the Federal Election Commission by a former officer or 
                employee of the Federal Election Commission; or
                    ``(ii) a communication or appearance made by a 
                person who is subject to the restrictions contained in 
                subsections (c), (d), or (e) if, at the time of the 
                communication or appearance, the person is employed by 
                a person or entity other than--
                            ``(I) a candidate, an authorized committee, 
                        a national committee, a national Federal 
                        campaign committee, a State committee, or a 
                        political party; or
                            ``(II) a person or entity who represents, 
                        aids, or advises only persons or entities 
                        described in subclause (I).
            ``(C) For purposes of this paragraph--
                    ``(i) the term `candidate' means any person who 
                seeks nomination for election, or election, to Federal 
                or State office or who has authorized others to explore 
                on his or her behalf the possibility of seeking 
                nomination for election, or election, to Federal or 
                State office;
                    ``(ii) the term `authorized committee' means any 
                political committee designated in writing by a 
                candidate as authorized to receive contributions or 
                make expenditures to promote the nomination for 
                election, or the election, of such candidate, or to 
                explore the possibility of seeking nomination for 
                election, or the election, of such candidate, except 
                that a political committee that receives contributions 
                or makes expenditures to promote more than 1 candidate 
                may not be designated as an authorized committee for 
                purposes of subparagraph (A);
                    ``(iii) the term `national committee' means the 
                organization which, by virtue of the bylaws of a 
                political party, is responsible for the day-to-day 
                operation of such political party at the national 
                level;
                    ``(iv) the term `national Federal campaign 
                committee' means an organization that, by virtue of the 
                bylaws of a political party, is established primarily 
                for the purpose of providing assistance, at the 
                national level, to candidates nominated by that party 
                for election to the office of Senator or Representative 
                in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the 
                Congress;
                    ``(v) the term `State committee' means the 
                organization which, by virtue of the bylaws of a 
                political party, is responsible for the day-to-day 
                operation of such political party at the State level;
                    ``(vi) the term `political party' means an 
                association, committee, or organization that nominates 
                a candidate for election to any Federal or State 
                elected office whose name appears on the election 
                ballot as the candidate of such association, committee, 
                or organization; and
                    ``(vii) the term `State' means a State of the 
                United States, the District of Columbia, the 
                Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any territory or 
                possession of the United States.''.

SEC. 6. REPEAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

    (a) Repeal of Display Requirement.--The Act entitled ``An Act to 
provide for the display of the Code of Ethics for Government Service'', 
approved July 3, 1980 (Public Law 96-303; 5 U.S.C. 7301 note) is 
repealed.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) FDIA.--Section 12(f)(3) of the Federal Deposit 
        Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1822 (f)(3)) is amended by striking 
        ``, with the concurrence of the Office of Government Ethics,''.
            (2) Ethics in government act of 1978.--(A) The heading for 
        section 401 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 is amended 
        to read as follows:

              ``establishment; appointment of director''.

            (B) Section 408 is amended by striking ``March 31'' and 
        inserting ``April 30''.

SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act shall take effect on October 1, 1994, except section 5 
shall take effect and apply to communications or appearances made on 
and after the date of enactment of this Act.

            Passed the Senate October 6 (legislative day, September 
      12), 1994.

            Attest:






                                                             Secretary.