I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 10040 

To amend section 7342 of title 5, United States Code, to require agencies 

to submit to the Office of Government Ethics and the Department 

of State the compiled listing of certain statements relating to the receipt 

and disposition of foreign gifts and decorations, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 25, 2024 

Mr. DONALDS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Oversight and Accountability 

A BILL 

To amend section 7342 of title 5, United States Code, to 

require agencies to submit to the Office of Government 

Ethics and the Department of State the compiled listing 

of certain statements relating to the receipt and disposition of foreign gifts and decorations, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Gift Accountability, 

5 Reporting, and Disclosures Act’’ or the ‘‘GARD Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. RECEIPT AND DISPOSITION OF FOREIGN GIFTS AND 

2 DECORATIONS. 

3 (a) REVISIONS TO THE PROCESS REQUIRING COM4 PILATION OF STATEMENTS BY FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.— 

5 Section 7342 of title 5, United States Code, is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a)— 

7 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

8 (i) by redesignating subparagraph (G) 

9 as subparagraph (H); 

10 (ii) by inserting after subparagraph 

11 (F) the following new subparagraph: 

12 ‘‘(G) a candidate as defined in section 301 

13 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 

14 (52 U.S.C. 30101) for nomination or election to 

15 the office of President, Vice President, or Mem16 ber of Congress;’’; 

17 (iii) in subparagraph (H) (as 

18 resdesignated in clause (i))— 

19 (I) by striking ‘‘(F)’’ and insert20 ing ‘‘(G)’’ in each place it occurs; and 

21 (II) by striking ‘‘a dependent 

22 (within the meaning of section 152 of 

23 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986)’’ 

24 and inserting: ‘‘a relative (as defined 

25 in section 13101)’’; and 

26 (B) in paragraph (2)— 


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1 (i) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

2 the ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

3 (ii) in subparagraph (C), by adding at 

4 the end ‘‘and’’; and 

5 (iii) by adding at the end the fol6 lowing new subparagraph: 

7 ‘‘(D) any individual or entity that is not a 

8 United States citizen, a permanent resident 

9 alien, or an entity organized under the laws of 

10 the United States or any jurisdiction within the 

11 United States;’’; 

12 (C) in paragraph (6)— 

13 (i) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘; 

14 and’’; 

15 (ii) by redesignating subparagraph 

16 (D) as subparagraph (G); and 

17 (iii) by inserting after subparagraph 

18 (C), the following new subparagraphs: 

19 ‘‘(D) the Federal Electoral Commission, 

20 for candidates in an election for President, Vice 

21 President, and Member of Congress, except as 

22 provided in subparagraphs (E) and (F); 

23 ‘‘(E) the Select Committee on Ethics of 

24 the Senate, for a candidate in an election for 


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1 the Federal office of Senator who is serving as 

2 a Senator; 

3 ‘‘(F) the Committee on Standards of Offi4 cial Conduct of the House of Representatives, 

5 for a candidate in an election for the Federal 

6 office of Member of the House of Representa7 tives who is serving as a Member; and’’; 

8 (2) in subsection (b)— 

9 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking the ‘‘or’’ 

10 at the end; 

11 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking the pe12 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

13 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

14 paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(3) accept a gift from a country of concern as 

16 designated by the Secretary of State.’’; 

17 (3) in subsection (c)(3), by inserting ‘‘termi18 nating the official use of a gift under subparagraph 

19 (B) or’’ before ‘‘accepting travel’’; 

20 (4) in subsection (f)— 

21 (A) paragraph (1)— 

22 (i) by striking ‘‘January 31’’ and in23 serting ‘‘May 15’’; 


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1 (ii) by inserting ‘‘Office of Govern2 ment Ethics and the’’ before ‘‘Secretary of 

3 State’’; 

4 (iii) by striking ‘‘State who shall’’ and 

5 inserting ‘‘State. The Secretary of State 

6 shall’’; and 

7 (iv) by striking the period and insert8 ing at the end ‘‘within 30 days after May 

9 15 of the filing year.’’; 

10 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

11 (i) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

12 ‘‘brief’’; 

13 (ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

14 ‘‘, if known,’’; 

15 (iii) by amending subparagraph (E) to 

16 read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(E) the estimated fair market value in 

18 the United States of the gift at the time of ac19 ceptance as determined by retail prices, price of 

20 comparable items, or appraisal;’’; 

21 (iv) by redesignating subparagraph 

22 (F) as subparagraph (G); 

23 (v) by inserting after subparagraph 

24 (E) the following: 


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1 ‘‘(F) the Personal Property Management 

2 Foreign Gift Inventory Control Number (PPM) 

3 of gifts transferred to the Government Services 

4 Administration and any internal gift tracking 

5 number relevant to the current location and 

6 final disposition of the gift; and’’; and 

7 (vi) by amending subparagraph (G), 

8 as redesignated under clause (iv), to read 

9 as follows: 

10 ‘‘(G) current location and final disposition 

11 of the gift using any of the following descrip12 tions: 

13 ‘‘(i) Purchased by recipient. 

14 ‘‘(ii) Deposited with the National Ar15 chives and Records Administration. 

16 ‘‘(iii) Retained for official use by 

17 agency. 

18 ‘‘(iv) Approved by employing agency 

19 for official use by employee. 

20 ‘‘(v) Transferred according to agency 

21 policy. 

22 ‘‘(vi) Processed according to agency 

23 guidance.’’; 

24 (C) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking 

25 ‘‘brief’’; and 


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1 (D) in paragraph (4)— 

2 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

3 (I) by striking ‘‘delete’’ and in4 serting ‘‘redact’’; 

5 (II) by inserting ‘‘Office of Gov6 ernment Ethics and the’’ after ‘‘in 

7 writing to the’’; and 

8 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 

9 ‘‘Office of Government Ethics and the’’ 

10 after ‘‘provided to the’’; 

11 (5) in subsection (g)— 

12 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

13 (i) by striking ‘‘Each employing agen14 cy shall’’ and inserting ‘‘Each employing 

15 agency acting through the Designated 

16 Agency Ethics Official (as appointed pur17 suant to chapter 131 of this title) and in 

18 coordination with the Office of Government 

19 Ethics, shall’’; and 

20 (ii) by inserting ‘‘the Office of Gov21 ernment Ethics and’’ before ‘‘the Secretary 

22 of State’’; and 

23 (B) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 

24 paragraph (3); and 


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1 (C) by adding after paragraph (1) the fol2 lowing new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(3) Each employing agency— 

4 ‘‘(A) shall impose a $200 late fee for any em5 ployee who files a statement 30 days after the date 

6 on which such statement is required to be submitted; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(B) may waive the fee described in subpara9 graph (A) if a determination is made by the employ10 ing agency, or a designated agency ethics official as 

11 defined in section 13101, that an employee has good 

12 cause for the late submission.’’; and 

13 (6) by adding at the end the following new sub14 section: 

15 ‘‘(l) Not later than 120 days after enactment of the 

16 GARD Act, each employing agency shall adapt systems 

17 to enable public access to the listings under this section 

18 in a manner similar to the public access of financial disclo19 sure reports required under chapter 131.’’. 

20 (b) APPLICATION.—The amendments by this Act 

21 shall apply to any individual required to submit a state22 ment under section 7342 of title 5, United States Code, 

23 within 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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