H. R. 5277 

One Hundred Sixteenth Congress 

of the 

United States of America 

AT THE FIRST SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Thursday, 

the third day of January, two thousand and nineteen 

An Act 

To amend section 442 of title 18, United States Code, to exempt certain interests 

in mutual funds, unit investment trusts, employee benefit plans, and retirement 

plans from conflict of interest limitations for the Government Publishing Office. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 

the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 442 of title 18, United States Code, 

is amended to read as follows: 

‘‘§ 442. Government Publishing Office 

‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

‘‘(1) the terms ‘diversified’, ‘employee benefit plan’, 

‘holdings’, ‘mutual fund’, and ‘unit investment trust’ have the 

meanings given those terms under section 2640.102 of title 

5, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor thereto; and 

‘‘(2) the term ‘printing-related interest’ means an interest, 

direct or indirect, in— 

‘‘(A) the publication of any newspaper or periodical; 

‘‘(B) any printing, binding, engraving, or lithographing 

of any kind; or 

‘‘(C) any contract for furnishing paper or other material 

connected with the public printing, binding, lithographing, 

or engraving. 

‘‘(b) OFFENSE.— 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in paragraph (2), 

the Director of the Government Publishing Office, Deputy 

Director of the Government Publishing Office, nor any of their 

assistants as determined by the Director of the Government 

Publishing Office shall not, during his or her continuance in 

office, have any printing-related interest. 

‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, UNIT INVESTMENT

TRUSTS, EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS, AND RETIREMENT PLANS.— 

It shall not be a violation of paragraph (1) for an individual 

who is described in such paragraph to have an interest in 

a diversified mutual fund, diversified unit investment trust, 

employee benefit plan, investment fund under the Thrift 

Savings Plan under subchapter III of chapter 84 of title 5, 

or pension plan established or maintained by a State government or any political subdivision of a State government for 

its employees that has 1 or more holdings that are printingrelated interests if the fund, trust, or plan does not exhibit 

a practice of concentrating in printing-related interests. 
H. R. 5277—2 

‘‘(3) AUTHORITY OF SUPERVISING ETHICS OFFICE.—The 

supervising ethics office for the Government Publishing Office 

under the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) 

shall have the authority to issue rules and promulgate regulations governing the implementation of this subsection. 

‘‘(c) PENALTY.—Whoever violates subsection (b)(1) shall be fined 

under this title, imprisoned for not more than 1 year, or both.’’. 

(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of 

sections for chapter 23 of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

by striking the item relating to section 442 and inserting the 

following: 

‘‘442. Government Publishing Office.’’. 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.