69–006 

115TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1st Session 115–332 

TO PROTECT THE SAFETY OF JUDGES BY EXTENDING THE AUTHORITY OF 

THE JUDICIAL CONFERENCE TO REDACT SENSITIVE INFORMATION 

CONTAINED IN THEIR FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE REPORTS, AND FOR 

OTHER PURPOSES 

SEPTEMBER 26, 2017.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 

State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. GOODLATTE, from the Committee on the Judiciary, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 3229] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the bill 

(H.R. 3229) to protect the safety of judges by extending the authority of the Judicial Conference to redact sensitive information contained in their financial disclosure reports, and for other purposes, 

having considered the same, report favorably thereon without 

amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

Purpose and Summary ............................................................................................ 2 

Background and Need for the Legislation ............................................................. 2 

Hearings ................................................................................................................... 3 

Committee Consideration ........................................................................................ 3 

Committee Votes ...................................................................................................... 3 

Committee Oversight Findings ............................................................................... 3 

New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures ...................................................... 3 

Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate .......................................................... 3 

Duplication of Federal Programs ............................................................................ 4 

Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings ..................................................................... 4 

Performance Goals and Objectives ......................................................................... 5 

Advisory on Earmarks ............................................................................................. 5 

Section-by-Section Analysis .................................................................................... 5 

Agency Views ........................................................................................................... 6 

Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported ..................................... 8 

2 

1P.L. 105–318. 

2P.L. 110–177. 

Purpose and Summary 

H.R. 3229 extends the current redaction authority for certain judicial public disclosure filings for another ten years until December 

31, 2027. 

Background and Need for the Legislation 

Under the Ethics in Government Act, federal judges are required 

to make annual financial disclosures similar to those made by 

Members of Congress, senior government officials, and certain Congressional staff. There have been longstanding security concerns related to federal judges being targeted by those who appear before 

them. Federal judges were assassinated in 1979, 1988, and 1989 

and the spouse and mother of a federal judge were killed in 2005 

by a disgruntled medical malpractice litigant. Individuals targeting 

judges for harassment have also been known to file false liens on 

property owned by judges and their families. Harassers could use 

judicial financial disclosure reports to more easily identify such 

property. 

In 1998, authority was given to the Judicial Conference to redact 

for the following three years, at the request of individual judges, 

portions of their financial disclosure information that could be used 

to target judges where an actual threat exists.1 An example of this 

would be a home address or the address of a vacation home, but 

not the name of the company holding the mortgage on that property. A judge who seeks redaction must request it from a committee of the Judicial Conference which then determines whether 

or not the request is warranted based upon input from the U.S. 

Marshals Service. 

This judge-only redaction authority was then extended to 2005 

by P.L. 107–126. To respond to threats against family members, 

P.L. 110–24 extended the scope of the redaction authority to cover 

the information of immediate family members. Under the expanded 

redaction authority, information that could potentially be used by 

someone seeking to harm a judge’s family, such as the work location of a spouse or child of a judge with active threats on their life, 

could also now be redacted. The same legislation also extended the 

authority until 2009. Under broader court security legislation enacted later in 2008, redaction authority was further extended until 

2011.2

Finally in 2011, P.L. 112–84 extended redaction authority to December 31, 2017. The 2011 bill was reported out of the House Judiciary Committee by a voice vote and it passed on the House floor 

by a vote of 384–0. Previous reauthorizations have similarly been 

uncontroversial with the only issue being how long should the extension be and/or should it simply be permanent. Although the 

House has consistently supported permanent reauthorization, H.R. 

3229 extends the existing redaction authority for ten years until 

December 31, 2027, due to previous opposition to a permanent reauthorization by the Senate. 

3 

Hearings 

The Committee on the Judiciary held no hearings on H.R. 3229. 

Committee Consideration 

On September 7, 2017, the Committee met in open session and 

ordered the bill H.R. 3229 favorably reported without amendment, 

by voice vote, a quorum being present. 

Committee Votes 

In compliance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee advises that there were 

no recorded votes during the Committee’s consideration of H.R. 

3229. 

Committee Oversight Findings 

In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee advises that the findings 

and recommendations of the Committee, based on oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the descriptive portions of this report. 

New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures 

Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives is inapplicable because this legislation does not provide new 

budgetary authority or increased tax expenditures. 

Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate 

In compliance with clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee sets forth, with respect to 

the bill, H.R. 3229 the following estimate and comparison prepared 

by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section 

402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974: 

U.S. CONGRESS, 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, 

Washington, DC, September 18, 2017. 

Hon. BOB GOODLATTE, Chairman, 

Committee on the Judiciary, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3229, a bill to protect the 

safety of judges by extending the authority of the Judicial Conference to redact sensitive information contained in their financial 

disclosure reports, and for other purposes. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Janani Shankaran, who 

can be reached at 226-2860. 

Sincerely, 

KEITH HALL, 

Director. 

Enclosure. 

4 

cc: Honorable John Conyers, Jr. 

Ranking Member 

H.R. 3229—A bill to protect the safety of judges by extending 

the authority of the Judicial Conference to redact sensitive information contained in their financial disclosure 

reports, and for other purposes. 

As ordered reported by the House Committee on the Judiciary on 

September 7, 2017. 

The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 requires certain government officials to file public disclosures of their financial and employment history. H.R. 3229 would extend through 2027 the authority of the Judicial Conference to redact sensitive information 

contained in financial disclosure reports of judicial officers and employees if the Judicial Conference determines that such disclosure 

could endanger the individual. Under current law, that authority 

expires on December 31, 2017. 

Based on information from the Administrative Office of the 

United States Courts regarding the number of requests to redact 

sensitive information, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 3229 

would have no significant effect on the federal budget. Enacting 

H.R. 3229 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, 

pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. 

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 3229 would not increase net 

direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 

10-year periods beginning in 2028. 

H.R. 3229 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would 

not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments. 

On August 16, 2017, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 1584 

as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on July 26, 2017. The bills are similar, and CBO’s estimates of the budgetary effects are the same. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Janani Shankaran. 

The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 

Duplication of Federal Programs 

No provision of H.R. 3229 establishes or reauthorizes a program 

of the Federal government known to be duplicative of another Federal program, a program that was included in any report from the 

Government Accountability Office to Congress pursuant to section 

21 of Public Law 111–139, or a program related to a program identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance. 

Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings 

The Committee estimates that H.R. 3229 specifically directs to be 

completed no specific rule makings within the meaning of 5 U.S.C. 

551. 

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Performance Goals and Objectives 

The Committee states that pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII 

of the Rules of the House of Representatives, H.R. 3229, extends 

the existing judicial redaction authority for an additional ten years. 

Advisory on Earmarks 

In accordance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, H.R. 3229 does not contain any congressional 

earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined 

in clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of Rule XXI. 

Section-by-Section Analysis 

The following discussion describes the bill as reported by the 

Committee. 

Section 1. Section 1 amends Section 105(b)(3) of the Ethics in 

Government Act of 1978, found at 5 U.S.C. App., by striking the 

existing expiration year of 2017 and replacing it with 2027, thereby 

extending the existing judicial redaction authority until December 

31, 2027. 

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Insert offset folio 7 here HR332.001
7 


Insert offset folio 8 here HR332.002
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CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill, 

as reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in italic, 

and existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in 

roman): 

ETHICS IN GOVERNMENT ACT OF 1978 

* * * * * * * 

TITLE I—FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS OF 

FEDERAL PERSONNEL 

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CUSTODY OF AND PUBLIC ACCESS TO REPORTS

SEC. 105. (a) Each agency, each supervising ethics office in the 

executive or judicial branch, the Clerk of the House of Representatives, and the Secretary of the Senate shall make available to the 

public, in accordance with subsection (b), each report filed under 

this title with such agency or office or with the Clerk or the Secretary of the Senate, except that— 

(1) this section does not require public availability of a report 

filed by any individual in the Office of the Director of National 

Intelligence, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, 

or the National Security Agency, or any individual engaged in 

intelligence activities in any agency of the United States, if the 

President finds or has found that, due to the nature of the office or position occupied by such individual, public disclosure of 

such report would, be revealing the identity of the individual 

or other sensitive information, compromise the national interest of the United States; and such individuals may be authorized, notwithstanding section 104(a), to file such additional reports as are necessary to protect their identity from public disclosure if the President first finds or has found that such filing 

is necessary in the national interest; and 

(2) any report filed by an independent counsel whose identity 

has not been disclosed by the division of the court under chapter 40 of title 28, United States Code, and any report filed by 

any person appointed by that independent counsel under such 

chapter, shall not be made available to the public under this 

title. 

(b)(1) Except as provided in the second sentence of this subsection, each agency, each supervising ethics office in the executive 

or judicial branch, the Clerk of the House of Representatives, and 

the Secretary of the Senate shall, within thirty days after any report is received under this title by such agency or office or by the 

Clerk or the Secretary of the Senate, as the case may be, permit 

inspection of such report by or furnish a copy of such report to any 

person requesting such inspection or copy. With respect to any report required to be filed by May 15 of any year, such report shall 

be made available for public inspection within 30 calendar days 

after May 15 of such year or within 30 days of the date of filing 

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of such a report for which an extension is granted pursuant to section 101(g). The agency, office, Clerk, or Secretary of the Senate, 

as the case may be may require a reasonable fee to be paid in any 

amount which is found necessary to recover the cost of reproduction or mailing of such report excluding any salary of any employee 

involved in such reproduction or mailing. A copy of such report 

may be furnished without charge or at a reduced charge if it is determined that waiver or reduction of the fee is in the public interest. 

(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a report may not be made 

available under this section to any person nor may any copy thereof be provided under this section to any person except upon a written application by such person stating— 

(A) that person’s name, occupation and address; 

(B) the name and address of any other person or organization on whose behalf the inspection or copy is requested; and 

(C) that such person is aware of the prohibitions on the obtaining or use of the report. 

Any such application shall be made available to the public throughout the period during which the report is made available to the 

public. 

(3)(A) This section does not require the immediate and unconditional availability of reports filed by an individual described in section 109(8) or 109(10) of this Act if a finding is made by the Judicial Conference, in consultation with United States Marshals Service, that revealing personal and sensitive information could endanger that individual or a family member of that individual. 

(B) A report may be redacted pursuant to this paragraph only— 

(i) to the extent necessary to protect the individual who filed 

the report or a family member of that individual; and 

(ii) for as long as the danger to such individual exists. 

(C) The Administrative Office of the United States Courts shall 

submit to the Committees on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and of the Senate and the Senate Committee on 

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform an annual report 

with respect to the operation of this paragraph including— 

(i) the total number of reports redacted pursuant to this 

paragraph; 

(ii) the total number of individuals whose reports have been 

redacted pursuant to this paragraph; 

(iii) the types of threats against individuals whose reports 

are redacted, if appropriate; 

(iv) the nature or type of information redacted; 

(v) what steps or procedures are in place to ensure that sufficient information is available to litigants to determine if there 

is a conflict of interest; 

(vi) principles used to guide implementation of redaction authority; and 

(vii) any public complaints received relating to redaction. 

(D) The Judicial Conference, in consultation with the Department of Justice, shall issue regulations setting forth the circumstances under which redaction is appropriate under this paragraph and the procedures for redaction. 

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(E) This paragraph shall expire on December 31, ø2017¿ 2027, and apply to filings through calendar year ø2017¿ 2027. (c)(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to obtain or use a report— 

(A) for any unlawful purpose; 

(B) for any commercial purpose, other than by news and 

communications media for dissemination to the general public; 

(C) for determining or establishing the credit rating of any 

individual; or 

(D) for use, directly or indirectly, in the solicitation of money 

for any political, charitable, or other purpose. 

(2) The Attorney General may bring a civil action against any 

person who obtains or uses a report for any purpose prohibited in 

paragraph (1) of this subsection. The court in which such action is 

brought may assess against such person a penalty in any amount 

not to exceed $10,000. Such remedy shall be in addition to any 

other remedy available under statutory or common law. 

(d)(1) Any report filed with or transmitted to an agency or supervising ethics office or to the Clerk of the House of Representatives 

or the Secretary of the Senate pursuant to this title shall be retained by such agency or office or by the Clerk of the House of Representatives or the Secretary of the Senate, as the case may be. 

(2) Such report shall be made available to the public— 

(A) in the case of a Member of Congress until a date that is 

6 years from the date the individual ceases to be a Member of 

Congress; and 

(B) in the case of all other reports filed pursuant to this title, 

for a period of 6 years after receipt of the report. 

(3) After the relevant time period identified under paragraph (2), 

the report shall be destroyed unless needed in an ongoing investigation, except that in the case of an individual who filed the report pursuant to section 101(b) and was not subsequently confirmed by the Senate, or who filed the report pursuant to section 

101(c) and was not subsequently elected, such reports shall be destroyed 1 year after the individual either is no longer under consideration by the Senate or is no longer a candidate for nomination 

or election to the Office of President, Vice President, or as a Member of Congress, unless needed in an ongoing investigation or inquiry. 

* * * * * * * 

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