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Union Calendar No. 295

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3235

[Report No. 104–595, Part I]

To amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, to extend the authorization

of appropriations for the Office of Government Ethics for 3 years, and

for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 15, 1996

Mr. CANADY of Florida (for himself and Mr. HYDE) introduced the following

bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, 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

MAY 29, 1996

Reported from the Committee on the Judiciary

MAY 29, 1996

Referral to the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight extended for

a period ending not later than May 29, 1996

MAY 29, 1996

Committee on Government Reform and Oversight discharged; committed to

the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

A BILL

To amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, to extend
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the authorization of appropriations for the Office of Government Ethics for 3 years, 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 ‘‘Office of Government

5 Ethics Authorization Act of 1996’’.

6 SEC. 2. GIFT ACCEPTANCE AUTHORITY.

7 Section 403 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978

8 (5 U.S.C. App. 5) is amended—

9 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a)’’ before ‘‘Upon the re10 quest’’; and

11 (2) by adding at the end the following:

12 ‘‘(b)(1) The Director is authorized to accept and uti13 lize on behalf of the United States, any gift, donation, be14 quest, or devise of money, use of facilities, personal prop15 erty, or services for the purpose of aiding or facilitating

16 the work of the Office of Government Ethics.

17 ‘‘(2) No gift may be accepted—

18 ‘‘(A) that attaches conditions inconsistent with

19 applicable laws or regulations; or

20 ‘‘(B) that is conditioned upon or will require

21 the expenditure of appropriated funds that are not

22 available to the Office of Government Ethics.

23 ‘‘(3) The Director shall establish written rules setting

24 forth the criteria to be used in determining whether the
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1 acceptance of contributions of money, services, use of fa2 cilities, or personal property under this subsection would

3 reflect unfavorably upon the ability of the Office of Gov4 ernment Ethics, or any employee of such Office, to carry

5 out its responsibilities or official duties in a fair and objec6 tive manner, or would compromise the integrity or the ap7 pearance of the integrity of its programs or any official

8 involved in those programs.’’.

9 SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA10 TIONS.

11 The text of section 405 of the Ethics in Government

12 Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 5) is amended to read as fol13 lows: ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry

14 out this title such sums as may be necessary for each of

15 fiscal years 1997 through 1999.’’.

16 SEC. 4. REPEAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

17 (a) REPEAL OF DISPLAY REQUIREMENT.—The Act

18 entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the display of the Code

19 of Ethics for Government Service,’’ approved July 3, 1980

20 (5 U.S.C. 7301 note), is repealed.

21 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

22 (1) FDIA.—Section 12(f)(3) of the Federal De23 posit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1822(f)(3)) is

24 amended by striking ‘‘, with the concurrence of the

25 Office of Government Ethics,’’.
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1 (2) ETHICS IN GOVERNMENT ACT OF 1978.—(A)

2 The heading for section 401 of the Ethics in Gov3 ernment Act of 1978 is amended to read as follows:

4 ‘‘ESTABLISHMENT; APPOINTMENT OF DIRECTOR’’.

5 (B) Section 408 of such Act is amended by

6 striking ‘‘March 31’’ and inserting ‘‘April 30’’.

7 SEC. 5. LIMITATION ON POSTEMPLOYMENT RESTRICTIONS.

8 Section 207(j) of title 18, United States Code, is

9 amended by adding at the end the following new para10 graph:

11 ‘‘(7) POLITICAL PARTIES AND CAMPAIGN COM12 MITTEES.—(A) Except as provided in subparagraph

13 (B), the restrictions contained in subsections (c),

14 (d), and (e) shall not apply to a communication or

15 appearance made solely on behalf of a candidate in

16 his or her capacity as a candidate, an authorized

17 committee, a national committee, a national Federal

18 campaign committee, a State committee, or a politi19 cal party.

20 ‘‘(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to—

21 ‘‘(i) any communication to, or appearance

22 before, the Federal Election Commission by a

23 former officer or employee of the Federal Elec24 tion Commission; or

25 ‘‘(ii) a communication or appearance made

26 by a person who is subject to the restrictions
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1 contained in subsections (c), (d), or (e) if, at

2 the time of the communication or appearance,

3 the person is employed by a person or entity

4 other than—

5 ‘‘(I) a candidate, an authorized com6 mittee, a national committee, a national

7 Federal campaign committee, a State com8 mittee, or a political party; or

9 ‘‘(II) a person or entity who rep10 resents, aids, or advises only persons or en11 tities described in subclause (I).

12 ‘‘(C) For purposes of this paragraph—

13 ‘‘(i) the term ‘candidate’ means any person

14 who seeks nomination for election, or election,

15 to Federal or State office or who has authorized

16 others to explore on his or her behalf the possi17 bility of seeking nomination for election, or elec18 tion, to Federal or State office;

19 ‘‘(ii) the term ‘authorized committee’

20 means any political committee designated in

21 writing by a candidate as authorized to receive

22 contributions or make expenditures to promote

23 the nomination for election, or the election, of

24 such candidate, or to explore the possibility of

25 seeking nomination for election, or the election,
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1 of such candidate, except that a political com2 mittee that receives contributions or makes ex3 penditures to promote more than 1 candidate

4 may not be designated as an authorized com5 mittee for purposes of subparagraph (A);

6 ‘‘(iii) the term ‘national committee’ means

7 the organization which, by virtue of the bylaws

8 of a political party, is responsible for the day9 to-day operation of such political party at the

10 national level;

11 ‘‘(iv) the term ‘national Federal campaign

12 committee’ means an organization that, by vir13 tue of the bylaws of a political party, is estab14 lished primarily for the purpose of providing as15 sistance, at the national level, to candidates

16 nominated by that party for election to the of17 fice of Senator or Representative in, or Dele18 gate or Resident Commissioner to, the Con19 gress;

20 ‘‘(v) the term ‘State committee’ means the

21 organization which, by virtue of the bylaws of

22 a political party, is responsible for the day-to23 day operation of such political party at the

24 State level;
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1 ‘‘(vi) the term ‘political party’ means an

2 association, committee, or organization that

3 nominates a candidate for election to any Fed4 eral or State elected office whose name appears

5 on the election ballot as the candidate of such

6 association, committee, or organization; and

7 ‘‘(vii) the term ‘State’ means a State of

8 the United States, the District of Columbia, the

9 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any terri10 tory or possession of the United States.’’.

11 SEC. 6. PAY LEVEL.

12 Section 207(c)(2)(A)(ii) of title 18, United States

13 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘level V of the Executive

14 Schedule,’’ and inserting ‘‘level 5 of the Senior Executive

15 Service,’’.
Union Calendar No. 295

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3235

[Report No. 104–595, Part I]

A BILL

To amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978,

for other purposes.the Office of Government Ethics for 3 years, andto extend the authorization of appropriations for

MAY 29, 1996

Reported from the Committee on the Judiciary

MAY 29, 1996

Referral to the Committee on Government Reform and

May 29, 1996Oversight extended for a period ending not later than

MAY 29, 1996

Committee on Government Reform and Oversight disprinted House on the State of the Union and ordered to be charged; committed to the Committee of the Whole