I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7853 

To require executive branch employees to report certain royalties, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 2, 2024 

Mr. GRIFFITH (for himself, Mr. DAVIDSON, and Mr. DUNN of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each 

case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 

the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To require executive branch employees to report certain 

royalties, 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 ‘‘Royalty Transparency 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE REPORTS OF EXECUTIVE 

7 BRANCH EMPLOYEES. 

8 (a) INDIVIDUALS REQUIRED TO FILE.— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
2 

•HR 7853 IH

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 13103 of title 5, 

2 United States Code, is amended— 

3 (A) in subsection (f)— 

4 (i) in paragraph (11), by striking ‘‘; 

5 and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 

6 (ii) in paragraph (12), by striking the 

7 period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

8 (iii) by adding at the end the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(13) any member of— 

11 ‘‘(A) the National Science Advisory Board 

12 for Biosecurity; 

13 ‘‘(B) the Advisory Committee on Immuni14 zation Practices; 

15 ‘‘(C) the Advisory Commission on Child16 hood Vaccines; 

17 ‘‘(D) the National Vaccine Advisory Com18 mittee; 

19 ‘‘(E) the Vaccines and Related Biological 

20 Products Advisory Committee; 

21 ‘‘(F) the Defense Science Board; 

22 ‘‘(G) the Board of Scientific Advisors of 

23 the National Cancer Institute; 

24 ‘‘(H) the Homeland Security Science and 

25 Technology Advisory Committee; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
3 

•HR 7853 IH

1 ‘‘(I) the Medical Review Board Advisory 

2 Committee; 

3 ‘‘(J) the President’s Council of Advisors on 

4 Science and Technology; or 

5 ‘‘(K) any other advisory committee, as de6 fined in section 1001, including a successor to 

7 a committee described in this paragraph, that 

8 the Government Accountability Office deter9 mines, in accordance with subsection (j)— 

10 ‘‘(i) makes recommendations relating 

11 to public health to an agency or the Presi12 dent; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) has had any recommendation 

14 fully or partially implemented during the 

15 10 years preceding the determination.’’; 

16 and 

17 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(j) DETERMINATION REGARDING ADVISORY COM19 MITTEES.—Not later than 180 days after the date of en20 actment of the Royalty Transparency Act, and annually 

21 thereafter, the Government Accountability Office shall 

22 publish a list of each advisory committee that the Govern23 ment Accountability Office determines— 

24 ‘‘(1) makes recommendations relating to public 

25 health to an agency or the President; and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
4 

•HR 7853 IH

1 ‘‘(2) has had any recommendation fully or par2 tially implemented during the 10 years preceding the 

3 determination.’’. 

4 (2) SUNSET.—Effective on the date that is 5 

5 years after the date of enactment of this Act, section 

6 13103 of title 5, United States Code, as amended by 

7 this Act, is amended— 

8 (A) in subsection (f)(13), by striking sub9 paragraph (K) and inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘(K) a successor to a committee described 

11 in subparagraphs (A) through (J) of this para12 graph.’’; and 

13 (B) by striking subsection (j). 

14 (b) NOTIFICATION OF WAIVER.— 

15 (1) TITLE 5.—Section 13103(i) of title 5, 

16 United States Code, is amended— 

17 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 

18 through (4) as subparagraphs (A) through (D), 

19 respectively, and adjusting the margins accord20 ingly; 

21 (B) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

22 (A), as so redesignated, by striking ‘‘the super23 vising ethics office determines’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘the supervising ethics office— 

25 ‘‘(1) determines’’; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
5 

•HR 7853 IH

1 (C) in subparagraph (D), as so redesig2 nated, by striking the period at the end and in3 serting ‘‘; and’’; and 

4 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(2) provides notification of such waiver to the 

6 Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 

7 Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Over8 sight and Accountability of the House of Represent9 atives.’’. 

10 (2) TITLE 18.—Section 208 of title 18, United 

11 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(e) Any exemption— 

14 ‘‘(1) granted under paragraph (1) or (3) of sub15 section (b) shall be immediately reported to the 

16 Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 

17 Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Over18 sight and Accountability of the House of Represent19 atives, including a detailed justification for granting 

20 the waiver; or 

21 ‘‘(2) granted under subpart (C) of part 2640 of 

22 title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations, or any 

23 successor regulation, shall be immediately reported 

24 to the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov25 ernmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
6 

•HR 7853 IH

1 on Oversight and Accountability of the House of 

2 Representatives, including a detailed justification for 

3 granting the waiver.’’. 

4 (c) CONTENTS OF REPORTS.—Section 13104(a)(1) of 

5 title 5, United States Code, is amended— 

6 (1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘, subject 

7 to subparagraph (C)’’ after ‘‘employment by the 

8 United States Government’’; and 

9 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(C) ROYALTIES RECEIVED BY GOVERN12 MENT EMPLOYEES AND COMMITTEE FILERS.— 

13 Notwithstanding section 12(c) of the Stevenson14 Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 

15 U.S.C. 3710a(c)) and section 209 of title 35, if 

16 the reporting individual is an officer or em17 ployee in the executive branch (including a spe18 cial Government employee, as defined in section 

19 202 of title 18), or an individual described in 

20 section 13103(f)(13), the original source and 

21 amount or value of any royalties received by the 

22 reporting individual, the spouse of the reporting 

23 individual, or a dependent child of the reporting 

24 individual during the reporting period described 

25 in subsection (d) or (e) of section 13103, as apVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Apr 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7853.IH H7853

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
7 

•HR 7853 IH

1 plicable, that were received as a result of an in2 vention developed by the reporting individual in 

3 the course of employment of the reporting indi4 vidual with the United States Government, in5 cluding any royalty interest payment made 

6 under the Federal Technology Transfer Act of 

7 1986 (Public Law 99–502; 100 Stat. 1785), an 

8 amendment made by such Act, or any other ap9 plicable authority.’’. 

10 (d) REVIEW OF REPORTS.—Section 13107(b) of title 

11 5, United States Code, is amended— 

12 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

13 (A) in the first sentence, by inserting ‘‘and 

14 shall, in the case of an agency or office and not15 withstanding section 12 of the Stevenson16 Wydler Technology Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 

17 3710a) and section 209 of title 35, publish such 

18 report on the internet website of the agency or 

19 office, as the case may be’’ after ‘‘to any person 

20 requesting such inspection or copy’’; and 

21 (B) in the second sentence— 

22 (i) by inserting ‘‘, notwithstanding 

23 section 12 of the Stevenson-Wydler Tech24 nology Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3710a) and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
8 

•HR 7853 IH

1 section 209 of title 35,’’ after ‘‘such report 

2 shall’’; and 

3 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and, in the case of 

4 an agency or office, published on the inter5 net website of the agency or office, as the 

6 case may be,’’ after ‘‘made available for 

7 public inspection’’; 

8 (2) by striking paragraph (2) and the matter 

9 following paragraph (2); 

10 (3) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para11 graph (2); and 

12 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(3) PROCEDURE FOR RELEASING REPORTS TO

14 MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.—Notwithstanding any 

15 other provision of law, not later than 30 days after 

16 receiving a request from a Member of Congress, any 

17 agency or supervising ethics office in the executive 

18 branch shall furnish to the Member of Congress a 

19 copy of any report submitted under subsection (b), 

20 which shall be unredacted, except with respect to so21 cial security numbers.’’. 

22 (e) CONFIDENTIAL REPORTS AND OTHER ADDI23 TIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—Section 13109 of title 5, 

24 United States Code, is amended— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
9 

•HR 7853 IH

1 (1) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as 

2 subsections (f) and (g), respectively; and 

3 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(b) ROYALTIES RECEIVED BY CONFIDENTIAL FIL6 ERS.—Notwithstanding section 12(c) of the Stevenson7 Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 

8 3710a(c)) and section 209 of title 35, the information re9 quired to be reported under this section shall include the 

10 original source and amount or value of any royalties re11 ceived by the reporting individual, or the spouse or any 

12 dependent child of the reporting individual, that were re13 ceived as a result of an invention, including any royalty 

14 interest payment made under the Federal Technology 

15 Transfer Act of 1986 (Public Law 99–502; 100 Stat. 

16 1785), an amendment made by such Act, or any other ap17 plicable authority. 

18 ‘‘(c) PROCEDURE FOR RELEASING REPORTS TO

19 MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.—Notwithstanding any other 

20 provision of law, not later than 30 days after receiving 

21 a request from a Member of Congress, any agency or su22 pervising ethics office in the executive branch shall furnish 

23 to the Member of Congress a copy of any report submitted 

24 under subsection (a), which shall be unredacted, except 

25 with respect to social security numbers, home addresses, 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
10 

•HR 7853 IH

1 phone numbers, email addresses, and the personally iden2 tifiable information of dependents. 

3 ‘‘(d) REPORTS.—Not later than 60 days after the 

4 date of enactment of the Royalty Transparency Act, and 

5 each year thereafter, the head of each agency shall submit 

6 to the Committee on Homeland Security and Govern7 mental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Over8 sight and Accountability of the House of Representatives 

9 a report relating to confidential financial disclosures of of10 ficers and employees under the jurisdiction of such agency 

11 for the preceding fiscal year, which shall include— 

12 ‘‘(1) the number of individuals who filed such 

13 disclosures with the agency under this section, in14 cluding, if applicable, the subcomponent of the agen15 cy that has jurisdiction over the individual and the 

16 reason for filing confidentially; 

17 ‘‘(2) the number of special Government employ18 ees, as defined in section 202 of title 18, that are 

19 required to file confidential financial disclosure re20 ports with the agency under this section; and 

21 ‘‘(3) any additional information determined to 

22 be relevant by the Director of the Office of Govern23 ment Ethics after consultation with the Committee 

24 on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
11 

•HR 7853 IH

1 the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Ac2 countability of the House of Representatives. 

3 ‘‘(e) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF ROYALTIES RECEIVED

4 BY CERTAIN FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.— 

5 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this 

6 subsection, the term ‘covered individual’ means an 

7 individual who— 

8 ‘‘(A) is required to file a confidential finan9 cial disclosure report under this section; and 

10 ‘‘(B) reports receiving a royalty interest 

11 under subsection (b). 

12 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 180 days 

13 after the date of enactment of the Royalty Trans14 parency Act, and annually thereafter, each agency 

15 shall publish a report on the internet website of the 

16 agency, listing— 

17 ‘‘(A) the names of all covered individuals; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(B) the original source and amount or 

20 value of any royalties reported under this sec21 tion by each covered individual.’’. 

22 SEC. 3. PREVENTING ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICTS OF IN23 TEREST IN FEDERAL ACQUISITION. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Acquisition Regu25 latory Council and the Office of Management and Budget 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
12 

•HR 7853 IH

1 shall, as appropriate, enact or update any regulation nec2 essary to ensure that conflict of interest reviews for pro3 spective contractors or grantees include reviews of royal4 ties paid to prospective contractors or grantees in the pre5 ceding calendar year. 

6 (b) ONGOING REVIEWS.—Not later than 1 year after 

7 the date of enactment of this Act, and each year there8 after, each agency conducting any conflict of interest re9 view described in subsection (a) shall report to the Com10 mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

11 of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Ac12 countability of the House of Representatives on the num13 ber of identified cases of potential conflict of interest re14 lated to royalty payments and the steps taken to mitigate 

15 those cases. 

16 SEC. 4. SEVERABILITY. 

17 If any provision of this Act, an amendment made by 

18 this Act, or the application of such provision or amend19 ment to any person or circumstance is held to be unconsti20 tutional, the remainder of this Act and the amendments 

21 made by this Act, and the application of the provision or 

22 the amendment to any other person or circumstance, shall 

23 not be affected. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB