II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 65 

To address financial conflicts of interest of the President and Vice President. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 9, 2017 

Ms. WARREN (for herself, Mr. CARDIN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. COONS, Mr. 

DURBIN, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. LEAHY, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. 

REED, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. BROWN, Mr. CASEY, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. 

WHITEHOUSE, Mr. BENNET, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. FRANKEN, Mr. 

BLUMENTHAL, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. PETERS, 

and Ms. DUCKWORTH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice 

and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 

Affairs 

A BILL 

To address financial conflicts of interest of the President 

and Vice President. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Presidential Conflicts 

5 of Interest Act of 2017’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DIVESTITURE OF PERSONAL FINANCIAL INTERESTS 

2 OF THE PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT 

3 THAT POSE A POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF IN4 TEREST. 

5 (a) DEFINITIONS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—In this section— 

7 (A) the term ‘‘conflict-free holding’’ means 

8 a financial interest described in section 

9 102(f)(8) of the Ethics in Government Act of 

10 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.); 

11 (B) the term ‘‘financial interest posing a 

12 potential conflict of interest’’ means a financial 

13 interest of the President, the Vice President, 

14 the spouse of the President or Vice President, 

15 or a minor child of the President or Vice Presi16 dent, as applicable, that— 

17 (i) would constitute a financial inter18 est described in subsection (a) of section 

19 208 of title 18, United States Code— 

20 (I) if— 

21 (aa) for purposes of such 

22 section 208, the terms ‘‘officer’’ 

23 and ‘‘employee’’ included the 

24 President and the Vice President; 

25 and 


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1 (bb) the President or Vice 

2 President, as applicable, partici3 pated as described in subsection 

4 (a) of such section 208 in rela5 tion to such financial interest; 

6 and 

7 (II) determined without regard to 

8 any exception under subsection (b) of 

9 such section 208; or 

10 (ii) may constitute a present, emolu11 ment, office, or title, of any kind whatever, 

12 from any king, prince, or foreign state (in13 cluding from an entity owned or controlled 

14 by a foreign government), within the 

15 meaning of article I, section 9 of the Con16 stitution of the United States; 

17 (C) the term ‘‘qualified blind trust’’ has 

18 the meaning given that term in section 

19 102(f)(3) of the Ethics in Government Act of 

20 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.), unless otherwise speci21 fied in this Act; and 

22 (D) the term ‘‘tax return’’— 

23 (i) means any Federal income tax re24 turn and any amendment or supplement 

25 thereto, including supporting schedules, atVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:40 Jan 19, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S65.IS S65

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1 tachments, or lists which are supplemental 

2 to, or part of, the return for the taxable 

3 year; and 

4 (ii) includes any information return 

5 that reports information that does or may 

6 affect the liability for tax for the taxable 

7 year. 

8 (2) APPLICABILITY OF ETHICS IN GOVERNMENT

9 ACT OF 1978.—For purposes of the definition of 

10 ‘‘qualified blind trust’’ in this section, the term ‘‘su11 pervising ethics officer’’ in section 102(f)(3) of the 

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

13 means the Director of the Office of Government 

14 Ethics. 

15 (b) INITIAL FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE.— 

16 (1) SUBMISSION OF DISCLOSURE.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days 

18 after assuming the office of President or Vice 

19 President, respectively, the President and Vice 

20 President shall submit to Congress and the Di21 rector of the Office of Government Ethics a dis22 closure of financial interests. 

23 (B) APPLICATION TO SITTING PRESIDENT

24 AND VICE PRESIDENT.—For any individual who 

25 is serving as the President or Vice President on 


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1 the date of enactment of this Act, the disclosure 

2 of financial interests shall be submitted to Con3 gress and the Director of the Office of Govern4 ment Ethics not later than 30 days after the 

5 date of enactment of this Act. 

6 (2) CONTENTS.— 

7 (A) PRESIDENT.—The disclosure of finan8 cial interests submitted under paragraph (1) by 

9 the President shall— 

10 (i) describe in detail each financial in11 terest of the President, the spouse of the 

12 President, or a minor child of the Presi13 dent; 

14 (ii) at a minimum, include the infor15 mation relating to each such financial in16 terest that is required for reports under 

17 section 102 of the Ethics in Government 

18 Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.); and 

19 (iii) include the tax returns filed by or 

20 on behalf of the President for— 

21 (I) the 3 most recent taxable 

22 years; and 

23 (II) each taxable year for which 

24 an audit of the return by the Internal 


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1 Revenue Service is pending on the 

2 date the report is filed. 

3 (B) VICE PRESIDENT.—The disclosure of 

4 financial interests submitted under paragraph 

5 (1) by the Vice President shall— 

6 (i) describe in detail each financial in7 terest of the Vice President, the spouse of 

8 the Vice President, or a minor child of the 

9 Vice President; 

10 (ii) at a minimum, include the infor11 mation relating to each such financial in12 terest that is required for reports under 

13 section 102 of the Ethics in Government 

14 Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.); and 

15 (iii) include the tax returns filed by or 

16 on behalf of the Vice President for— 

17 (I) the 3 most recent taxable 

18 years; and 

19 (II) each taxable year for which 

20 an audit of the return by the Internal 

21 Revenue Service is pending on the 

22 date the report is filed. 

23 (c) DIVESTITURE OF FINANCIAL INTERESTS POSING

24 A POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President, the Vice 

2 President, the spouse of the President or Vice Presi3 dent, and any minor child of the President or Vice 

4 President shall divest of any financial interest posing 

5 a potential conflict of interest by transferring such 

6 interest to a qualified blind trust. 

7 (2) TRUSTEE DUTIES.—Within a reasonable pe8 riod of time after the date a financial interest is 

9 transferred to a qualified blind trust under para10 graph (1), the trustee of the qualified blind trust 

11 shall— 

12 (A) sell the financial interest; and 

13 (B) use the proceeds of the sale of the fi14 nancial interest to purchase conflict-free hold15 ings. 

16 (d) REVIEW BY OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of 

18 Government Ethics shall submit to Congress, the 

19 President, and the Vice President an annual report 

20 regarding the financial interests of the President, 

21 the Vice President, the spouse of the President or 

22 Vice President, and any minor child of the President 

23 or Vice President. 

24 (2) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under 

25 paragraph (1) shall— 


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1 (A) indicate whether any financial interest 

2 of the President, the Vice President, the spouse 

3 of the President or Vice President, or a minor 

4 child of the President or Vice President is a fi5 nancial interest posing a potential conflict of in6 terest; 

7 (B) evaluate whether any previously held 

8 financial interest of the President, the Vice 

9 President, the spouse of the President or Vice 

10 President, or a minor child of the President or 

11 Vice President that was a financial interest pos12 ing a potential conflict of interest was divested 

13 in accordance with subsection (c); and 

14 (C) redact such information as the Direc15 tor of the Office of Government Ethics deter16 mines necessary for preventing identity theft, 

17 such as social security numbers or taxpayer 

18 identification numbers. 

19 (e) ENFORCEMENT.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General, the 

21 attorney general of any State, or any person ag22 grieved by any violation of subsection (c) may seek 

23 declaratory or injunctive relief in a court of com24 petent jurisdiction if— 


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1 (A) the Director of the Office of Govern2 ment Ethics is unable to issue a report indi3 cating whether the President or the Vice Presi4 dent is in substantial compliance with sub5 section (c); or 

6 (B) there is probable cause to believe that 

7 the President or the Vice President has not 

8 complied with subsection (c). 

9 (2) FAIR MARKET VALUE.—In granting injunc10 tive relief to the plaintiff, the court shall ensure that 

11 any divestment procedure shall ensure the fair mar12 ket return for any asset that is liquidated. 

13 SEC. 3. RECUSAL OF APPOINTEES. 

14 Section 208 of title 18, United States Code, is 

15 amended by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(e)(1) Any officer or employee appointed by the 

17 President shall recuse himself or herself from any par18 ticular matter involving specific parties in which a party 

19 to that matter is— 

20 ‘‘(A) the President who appointed the officer or 

21 employee, which shall include any entity in which the 

22 President has a substantial interest; or 

23 ‘‘(B) the spouse of the President who appointed 

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1 ty in which the spouse of the President has a sub2 stantial interest. 

3 ‘‘(2)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), if an officer or 

4 employee is recused under paragraph (1), a career ap5 pointee in the agency of the officer or employee shall per6 form the functions and duties of the officer or employee 

7 with respect to the matter. 

8 ‘‘(B)(i) In this subparagraph, the term ‘Commission’ 

9 means a board, commission, or other agency for which the 

10 authority of the agency is vested in more than 1 member. 

11 ‘‘(ii) If the recusal of a member of a Commission 

12 from a matter under paragraph (1) would result in there 

13 not being a statutorily required quorum of members of the 

14 Commission available to participate in the matter, not15 withstanding such statute or any other provision of law, 

16 the members of the Commission not recused under para17 graph (1) may— 

18 ‘‘(I) consider the matter without regard to the 

19 quorum requirement under such statute; 

20 ‘‘(II) delegate the authorities and responsibil21 ities of the Commission with respect to the matter 

22 to a subcommittee of the Commission; or 

23 ‘‘(III) designate an officer or employee of the 

24 Commission who was not appointed by the President 

25 who appointed the member of the Commission 


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1 recused from the matter to exercise the authorities 

2 and duties of the recused member with respect to 

3 the matter. 

4 ‘‘(3) Any officer or employee who negligently violates 

5 paragraph (1) shall be subject to the penalties set forth 

6 in section 216. 

7 ‘‘(4) For purposes of this section, the term ‘particular 

8 matter’ shall have the meaning given the term in section 

9 207(i).’’. 

10 SEC. 4. CONTRACTS BY THE PRESIDENT OR VICE PRESI11 DENT. 

12 (a) AMENDMENT.—Section 431 of title 18, United 

13 States Code, is amended— 

14 (1) in the section heading, by inserting ‘‘the 

15 President, Vice President, or a’’ after 

16 ‘‘Contracts by’’; and 

17 (2) in the first undesignated paragraph, by in18 serting ‘‘the President or Vice President,’’ after 

19 ‘‘Whoever, being’’. 

20 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The table of 

21 sections for chapter 23 of title 18, United States Code, 

22 is amended by striking the item relating to section 431 

23 and inserting the following: 

‘‘431. Contracts by the President, Vice President, or a Member of Congress.’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. PRESIDENTIAL TAX TRANSPARENCY. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the Ethics in Govern3 ment Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 

4 (1) by inserting after section 102 the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 102A. DISCLOSURE OF TAX RETURNS. 

6 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

7 ‘‘(1) the term ‘covered candidate’ means an in8 dividual— 

9 ‘‘(A) required to file a report under section 

10 101(c); and 

11 ‘‘(B) who is nominated by a major party 

12 as a candidate for the office of President; and 

13 ‘‘(2) the term ‘covered individual’ means— 

14 ‘‘(A) a President required to file a report 

15 under subsection (a) or (d) of section 101; and 

16 ‘‘(B) an individual who occupies the office 

17 of the President required to file a report under 

18 section 101(e); 

19 ‘‘(3) the term ‘major party’ has the meaning 

20 given the term in section 9002 of the Internal Rev21 enue Code of 1986; and 

22 ‘‘(4) the term ‘income tax return’ means, with 

23 respect to any covered candidate or covered indi24 vidual, any return (within the meaning of section 

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1 lated to Federal income taxes, but does not in2 clude— 

3 ‘‘(A) information returns issued to persons 

4 other than such covered candidate or covered 

5 individual, and 

6 ‘‘(B) declarations of estimated tax. 

7 ‘‘(b) DISCLOSURE.— 

8 ‘‘(1) COVERED INDIVIDUALS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the in10 formation described in subsections (a) and (b) 

11 of section 102, a covered individual shall in12 clude in each report required to be filed under 

13 this title a copy of the income tax returns of the 

14 covered individual for the 3 most recent taxable 

15 years for which a return have been filed with 

16 the Internal Revenue Service as of the date on 

17 which the report is filed. 

18 ‘‘(B) FAILURE TO DISCLOSE.—If an in19 come tax return is not disclosed under subpara20 graph (A), the Director of the Office of Govern21 ment Ethics shall submit to the Secretary of 

22 the Treasury a request that the Secretary of 

23 the Treasury provide the Director of the Office 

24 of Government Ethics with a copy of the in25 come tax return. 


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1 ‘‘(C) PUBLICLY AVAILABLE.—Each income 

2 tax return submitted under this paragraph shall 

3 be filed with the Director of the Office of Gov4 ernment Ethics and made publicly available in 

5 the same manner as the information described 

6 in subsections (a) and (b) of section 102. 

7 ‘‘(D) REDACTION OF CERTAIN INFORMA8 TION.—Before making any income tax return 

9 submitted under this paragraph available to the 

10 public, the Director of the Office of Government 

11 Ethics shall redact such information as the Di12 rector of the Office of Government Ethics, in 

13 consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury 

14 (or a delegate of the Secretary), determines ap15 propriate. 

16 ‘‘(2) CANDIDATES.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 15 

18 days after the date on which a covered can19 didate is nominated, the covered candidate shall 

20 amend the report filed by the covered candidate 

21 under section 101(c) with the Federal Election 

22 Commission to include a copy of the income tax 

23 returns of the covered candidate for the 3 most 

24 recent taxable years for which a return has 

25 been filed with the Internal Revenue Service. 


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1 ‘‘(B) FAILURE TO DISCLOSE.—If an in2 come tax return is not disclosed under subpara3 graph (A) the Federal Election Commission 

4 shall submit to the Secretary of the Treasury a 

5 request that the Secretary of the Treasury pro6 vide the Federal Election Commission with the 

7 income tax return. 

8 ‘‘(C) PUBLICLY AVAILABLE.—Each income 

9 tax return submitted under this paragraph shall 

10 be filed with the Federal Election Commission 

11 and made publicly available in the same manner 

12 as the information described in section 102(b). 

13 ‘‘(D) REDACTION OF CERTAIN INFORMA14 TION.—Before making any income tax return 

15 submitted under this paragraph available to the 

16 public, the Federal Election Commission shall 

17 redact such information as the Federal Election 

18 Commission, in consultation with the Secretary 

19 of the Treasury (or a delegate of the Secretary) 

20 and the Director of the Office of Government 

21 Ethics, determines appropriate. 

22 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULE FOR SITTING PRESI23 DENTS.—Not later than 30 days after the date of 

24 enactment of this section, the President shall submit 

25 to the Director of the Office of Government Ethics 


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1 a copy of the income tax returns described in para2 graph (1)(A).’’; and 

3 (2) in section 104— 

4 (A) in subsection (a)— 

5 (i) in paragraph (1), in the first sen6 tence, by inserting ‘‘or any individual who 

7 knowingly and willfully falsifies or who 

8 knowingly and willfully fails to file an in9 come tax return that such individual is re10 quired to disclose pursuant to section 

11 102A’’ before the period; and 

12 (ii) in paragraph (2)(A)— 

13 (I) in clause (i), by inserting ‘‘or 

14 falsify any income tax return that 

15 such person is required to disclose 

16 under section 102A’’ before the semi17 colon; and 

18 (II) in clause (ii), by inserting 

19 ‘‘or fail to file any income tax return 

20 that such person is required to dis21 closed under section 102A’’ before the 

22 period; 

23 (B) in subsection (b), in the first sentence 

24 by inserting ‘‘or willfully failed to file or has 

25 willfully falsified an income tax return required 


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1 to be disclosed under section 102A’’ before the 

2 period; 

3 (C) in subsection (c), by inserting ‘‘or fail4 ing to file or falsifying an income tax return re5 quired to be disclosed under section 102A’’ be6 fore the period; and 

7 (D) in subsection (d)(1)— 

8 (i) in the matter preceding subpara9 graph (A), by inserting ‘‘or files an income 

10 tax return required to be disclosed under 

11 section 102A’’ after ‘‘title’’; and 

12 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

13 ‘‘or such income tax return, as applicable,’’ 

14 after ‘‘report’’. 

15 (b) AUTHORITY TO DISCLOSE INFORMATION.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 6103(l) of the Inter17 nal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at 

18 the end the following new paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(23) DISCLOSURE OF RETURN INFORMATION

20 OF PRESIDENTS AND CERTAIN PRESIDENTIAL CAN21 DIDATES.— 

22 ‘‘(A) DISCLOSURE OF RETURNS OF PRESI23 DENTS.— 

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

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1 tor of the Office of Government Ethics 

2 pursuant to section 102A(b)(1)(B) of the 

3 Ethics in Government Act of 1978, provide 

4 to officers and employees of the Office of 

5 Government Ethics a copy of any income 

6 tax return of the President which is re7 quired to be filed under section 102A of 

8 such Act. 

9 ‘‘(ii) DISCLOSURE TO PUBLIC.—The 

10 Director of the Office of Government Eth11 ics may disclose to the public the income 

12 tax return of any President which is re13 quired to be filed with the Director pursu14 ant to section 102A of the Ethics in Gov15 ernment Act of 1978. 

16 ‘‘(B) DISCLOSURE OF RETURNS OF CER17 TAIN CANDIDATES FOR PRESIDENT.— 

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

19 shall, upon written request from the Chair20 man of the Federal Election Commission 

21 pursuant to section 102A(b)(2)(B) of the 

22 Ethics in Government Act of 1978, provide 

23 to officers and employees of the Federal 

24 Election Commission copies of the applica25 ble returns of any person who has been 


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1 nominated as a candidate of a major party 

2 (as defined in section 9002(a)) for the of3 fice of President. 

4 ‘‘(ii) DISCLOSURE TO PUBLIC.—The 

5 Federal Election Commission may disclose 

6 to the public applicable returns of any per7 son who has been nominated as a can8 didate of a major party (as defined in sec9 tion 9002(6)) for the office of President 

10 and which is required to be filed with the 

11 Commission pursuant to section 102A of 

12 the Ethics in Government Act. 

13 ‘‘(C) APPLICABLE RETURNS.—For pur14 poses of this paragraph, the term ‘applicable re15 turns’ means, with respect to any candidate for 

16 the office of President, income tax returns for 

17 the 3 most recent taxable years for which a re18 turn has been filed as of the date of the nomi19 nation.’’. 

20 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

21 6103(p)(4) of such Code, in the matter preceding 

22 subparagraph (A) and in subparagraph (F)(ii), is 

23 amended by striking ‘‘or (22)’’ and inserting ‘‘(22), 

24 or (23)’’ each place it appears. 


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1 SEC. 6. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING VIOLATIONS. 

2 It is the sense of Congress that a violation of section 

3 2 of this Act or the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 

4 (5 U.S.C. App.) by the President or the Vice President 

5 would constitute a high crime or misdemeanor under arti6 cle II, section 4 of the Constitution of the United States. 

7 SEC. 7. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

8 Nothing in this Act or an amendment made by this 

9 Act shall be construed to violate the Constitution of the 

10 United States. 

11 SEC. 8. SEVERABILITY. 

12 If any provision of this Act or any amendment made 

13 by this Act, or any application of such provision or amend14 ment to any person or circumstance, is held to be uncon15 stitutional, the remainder of the provisions of this Act and 

16 the amendments made by this Act, and the application of 

17 the provision or amendment to any other person or cir18 cumstance, shall not be affected. 

Æ 


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