II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3855 

To ensure ethical and accountable use of COVID–19 relief funds, to prevent 

corruption and bias in the disbursement and supervision of those funds, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 1, 2020 

Ms. WARREN (for herself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. COONS, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. 

MARKEY, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. UDALL, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. 

BOOKER, Mr. DURBIN, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Ms. HIRONO, and Mr. HEINRICH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To ensure ethical and accountable use of COVID–19 relief 

funds, to prevent corruption and bias in the disbursement and supervision of those funds, 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 ‘‘Coronavirus Oversight 

5 and Recovery Ethics Act of 2020’’ or the ‘‘CORE Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act— 


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1 (1) the term ‘‘abuse of authority’’ means an ar2 bitrary and capricious exercise of authority by a con3 tracting officer or employee that adversely affects 

4 the rights of any individual, or that results in per5 sonal gain or advantage to the officer or employee 

6 or to preferred other individuals; 

7 (2) the term ‘‘CARES Act’’ means the CARES 

8 Act (Public Law 116–136); 

9 (3) the term ‘‘Coronavirus pandemic-related 

10 program, project, or activity’’— 

11 (A) means a program, project, or activity 

12 of the executive branch of the Federal Govern13 ment authorized under or carried out using 

14 amounts made available under an Act to re15 spond to or to provide aid or assistance to ad16 dress, relief from, or funding to address the 

17 outbreak of COVID–19 that is enacted before, 

18 on, or after the date of enactment of this Act; 

19 and 

20 (B) includes any program, project, or ac21 tivity of the executive branch of the Federal 

22 Government authorized under or carried out 

23 using amounts made available under— 

24 (i) the Paycheck Protection Program 

25 and Health Care Enhancement Act (Public 


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1 Law 116–139), or an amendment made by 

2 that Act; 

3 (ii) the CARES Act, or an amend4 ment made by that Act; 

5 (iii) the Families First Coronavirus 

6 Response Act (Public Law 116–127), or an 

7 amendment made by that Act; or 

8 (iv) the Coronavirus Preparedness and 

9 Response Supplemental Appropriations 

10 Act, 2020 (Public Law 116–123), or an 

11 amendment made by that Act; 

12 (4) the term ‘‘covered contract’’ means a con13 tract that— 

14 (A) has a value of more than $150,000; 

15 and 

16 (B) relates to the administration or execu17 tion of authorities under a Coronavirus pan18 demic-related program, project, or activity; 

19 (5) the term ‘‘covered contractor’’ means a pri20 vate sector contractor (at any tier) or advisor pro21 viding goods, property, or services under a covered 

22 contract; 

23 (6) the term ‘‘covered funds’’ means any con24 tract, subcontract, grant, subgrant, loan, loan guar25 antee, or other payment for which— 


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1 (A) the Federal Government provides any 

2 portion of the funds or property that is pro3 vided, requested, or demanded; and 

4 (B) any portion of the funds are appro5 priated or otherwise made available under or to 

6 carry out a Coronavirus pandemic-related pro7 gram, project, or activity; 

8 (7) the term ‘‘designated agency ethics official’’ 

9 has the meaning given that term under section 109 

10 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 

11 App.); 

12 (8) the term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of 

13 the Office of Government Ethics; 

14 (9) the term ‘‘employee’’— 

15 (A) except as provided under subparagraph 

16 (B), means an individual performing services on 

17 behalf of an employer, including any individual 

18 working for an employer under a contract with 

19 such employer (including a contractor, subcon20 tractor, or agent of an employer); and 

21 (B) does not include any Federal employee 

22 or member of the uniformed services (as that 

23 term is defined in section 101(a)(5) of title 10, 

24 United States Code); 


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1 (10) the term ‘‘ethics and conflicts of interest 

2 regulations’’ means the regulations issued by the Di3 rector under subsection (b) of section 3, in accord4 ance with the requirements under section 3; 

5 (11) the term ‘‘non-Federal employer’’— 

6 (A) means any employer— 

7 (i) with respect to covered funds— 

8 (I) the contractor, subcontractor, 

9 grantee, subgrantee, or recipient, as 

10 the case may be, if the contractor, 

11 subcontractor, grantee, subgrantee, or 

12 recipient is an employer; and 

13 (II) any professional membership 

14 organization, certification or other 

15 professional body, any agent or li16 censee of the Federal Government, or 

17 any person acting directly or indi18 rectly in the interest of an employer 

19 receiving covered funds; or 

20 (ii) with respect to covered funds re21 ceived by a State or local government, the 

22 State or local government receiving the 

23 funds and any contractor or subcontractor 

24 of the State or local government; and 


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1 (B) does not mean any department, agen2 cy, or other entity of the Federal Government; 

3 (12) the term ‘‘reprisal’’, for purposes of sec4 tion 11, means an action (or, as applicable, inaction) 

5 that is discharging, demoting, blacklisting, or acting 

6 or failing to take an action in a manner prejudicial 

7 against, or otherwise discriminating against in any 

8 way (including in the hiring process and including 

9 by the threat of any such action or inaction) an em10 ployee, former employee, or individual seeking em11 ployment as described in section 11(a)(1) for engag12 ing in, being perceived as engaging in, or preparing 

13 to engage in the disclosure of information as de14 scribed in such section; 

15 (13) the term ‘‘senior executive’’ means an indi16 vidual— 

17 (A) employed by a private employer; and 

18 (B) who— 

19 (i) receives annual compensation from 

20 the private employer in an amount that is 

21 more that $1,000,000; 

22 (ii) has direct authority over more 

23 than 1 percent of the funds provided under 

24 a Coronavirus pandemic-related program, 

25 project, or activity; or 


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1 (iii) for an employee of a private em2 ployer for which the annual average rev3 enue for the period of 2017, 2018, and 

4 2019 is not less than $1,000,000,000, is 1 

5 of the 100 most highly compensated execu6 tives of the private employer; and 

7 (14) the term ‘‘State or local government’’ 

8 means— 

9 (A) the government of each of the several 

10 States, the District of Columbia, the Common11 wealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, 

12 the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the 

13 Northern Mariana Islands, or any other terri14 tory or possession of the United States; or 

15 (B) the government of any political sub16 division of a government listed in subparagraph 

17 (A). 

18 SEC. 3. ETHICS AND CONFLICTS OF INTEREST. 

19 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to set 

20 forth standards to address and prevent conflicts of interest 

21 or abuses of authority that may arise in connection with 

22 the administration and execution of the authorities under 

23 a Coronavirus pandemic-related program, project, or activ24 ity, including under the CARES Act. 


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1 (b) STANDARDS REQUIRED.—The Director shall 

2 issue regulations necessary to address and prevent con3 flicts of interest or abuses of authority that may arise in 

4 connection with the administration or execution of the au5 thorities under a Coronavirus pandemic-related program, 

6 project, or activity, including— 

7 (1) conflicts arising in the selection or hiring of 

8 covered contractors or advisors, including contrac9 tors, banks, and other private sector entities involved 

10 in the administration of programs or services au11 thorized under paragraph (36) of section 7(a) of the 

12 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)) or under 

13 section 4003 of the CARES Act; 

14 (2) the management, administration, or dis15 tribution of funds, grants, loans, loan guarantees, or 

16 other investments under a Coronavirus pandemic-re17 lated program, project, or activity; 

18 (3) post-employment restrictions on Federal of19 ficers and employees; 

20 (4) any exercise of authority by Federal officers 

21 and employees that adversely affects the rights of 

22 any person, or that results in personal gain or ad23 vantage to the officer or employee; and 


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1 (5) any other potential conflict of interest or 

2 abuse of authority, as the Director determines nec3 essary or appropriate in the public interest. 

4 (c) TIMING.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after 

6 the date of enactment of this Act, but in any event 

7 not later than 60 days after such date of enactment, 

8 the Director shall issue the ethics and conflicts of in9 terest regulations. 

10 (2) WAIVER TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH

11 TIMING.—To the extent compliance with the require12 ments under subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5, 

13 United States Code, would prevent the Director 

14 from complying with the timeframe specified under 

15 paragraph (1) for issuance of the ethics and con16 flicts of interest regulations, such subchapter shall 

17 not apply to the issuance of the ethics and conflicts 

18 of interest regulations. 

19 (d) SCOPE.—The ethics and conflicts of interest regu20 lations shall address actual and potential conflicts of inter21 est, or circumstances that give rise to the appearance of 

22 a conflict of interest to a reasonable person, including— 

23 (1) any actual or potential personal conflict of 

24 interest, including any personal, business, or finan25 cial interest of any individual involved in the adminVerDate Sep 11 2014 17:38 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3855.IS S3855

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1 istration or execution of the authorities under a 

2 Coronavirus pandemic-related program, project, or 

3 activity or such an interest of a spouse, child, par4 ent, sibling, son-in-law, or daughter-in-law of such 

5 an individual; and 

6 (2) any actual or potential conflict of interest of 

7 a covered contractor, including any political activity 

8 that creates the appearance of a conflict of interest 

9 to a reasonable person, or any situation in which a 

10 covered contractor has an interest or relationship 

11 that could cause a reasonable person with knowledge 

12 of the relevant facts to question the objectivity, im13 partiality, or judgment of the covered contractor to 

14 perform under a covered contract or to represent the 

15 Federal Government. 

16 (e) CONTRACTORS AND ADVISORS.— 

17 (1) COMPLIANCE PROGRAM.—The ethics and 

18 conflicts of interest regulations shall require— 

19 (A) a covered contractor to maintain a 

20 compliance program reasonably designed to de21 tect and prevent violations of Federal law, in22 cluding Federal securities laws, and conflicts of 

23 interest; and 

24 (B) that such a compliance program— 


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1 (i) include plans to mitigate any con2 flict of interest, including any personal 

3 conflict of interest of any individual per4 forming duties under a covered contract; 

5 (ii) allow for the Director or the des6 ignated agency ethics official for the appli7 cable Federal agency to disapprove any 

8 plan described in clause (i) that is insuffi9 cient; 

10 (iii) be posted by the covered con11 tractor on the public website of the covered 

12 contractor; and 

13 (iv) be provided to the Director or to 

14 the designated agency ethics official for the 

15 applicable Federal agency. 

16 (2) INFORMATION REQUIRED.—The ethics and 

17 conflicts of interest regulations shall require a cov18 ered contractor to provide to the Director or the des19 ignated agency ethics official for the applicable Fed20 eral agency, upon request or through a process spec21 ified in the ethics and conflicts of interest regula22 tions, sufficient information to evaluate any conflict 

23 of interest, which may include— 


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1 (A) the relationship of the covered con2 tractor to any other involved contractors or ad3 visors; 

4 (B) information concerning all other busi5 ness or financial interests of the covered con6 tractor, the proposed subcontractors of the cov7 ered contractor, or entities related to the cov8 ered contractor (including any parent company 

9 or subsidiary of a covered contractor, any entity 

10 holding more than a 5 percent equity interest in 

11 the covered contractor, and any entity in which 

12 the covered contractor holds more than a 5 per13 cent equity interest); 

14 (C) a description of all of the conflicts of 

15 interest and potential conflicts of interest of the 

16 covered contractor; 

17 (D) a detailed written plan to mitigate all 

18 of the conflicts of interest and potential con19 flicts of interest of the covered contractor, along 

20 with supporting documents; and 

21 (E) any other information or documenta22 tion about the covered contractor, the proposed 

23 subcontractors of the covered contractor, or en24 tities related to the covered contractor that the 


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1 Director or the designated agency ethics official 

2 for the applicable Federal agency may request. 

3 (3) TERMS OF CONTRACT OR AGREEMENT.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—On and after the effec5 tive date of the ethics and conflicts of interest 

6 regulations, the Federal Government may not 

7 enter into (or renew) a covered contract, unless 

8 the covered contract includes enforceable terms 

9 and conditions to enforce the ethics and con10 flicts of interest regulations. 

11 (B) EXISTING CONTRACTS.—With respect 

12 to a covered contract entered into before the ef13 fective date of the ethics and conflicts of inter14 est regulations, the head of the Federal agency 

15 that entered into the covered contract and the 

16 contracting officers of the Federal agency shall 

17 make efforts, to the maximum extent prac18 ticable and as part of the first amendment or 

19 modification to the contract after such effective 

20 date, to update the covered contract to include 

21 and enforce the ethics and conflicts of interest 

22 regulations. 

23 (4) WRITTEN CERTIFICATION.—The ethics and 

24 conflicts of interest regulations— 


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1 (A) shall require a covered contractor to 

2 submit, under penalty of perjury, to the Direc3 tor or the designated agency ethics official for 

4 the applicable Federal agency a written certifi5 cation— 

6 (i) certifying that no conflicts of inter7 est exists (and that individuals performing 

8 services under the covered contract have no 

9 personal conflicts of interest); or 

10 (ii) explaining in detail— 

11 (I) the extent to which the cov12 ered contractor can certify and de13 scribe the actions the covered con14 tractor has taken and plans to take to 

15 mitigate any conflict of interest; and 

16 (II) the timeframe for implemen17 tation for the actions described in 

18 subclause (I); and 

19 (B) may specify the frequency with which 

20 a covered contractor shall submit a written cer21 tification described in subparagraph (A). 

22 (5) RETENTION OF INFORMATION.—The ethics 

23 and conflicts of interest regulations shall require 

24 covered contractors to— 


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1 (A) retain the information needed to com2 ply with this section, including the written cer3 tifications required by this section, for a speci4 fied period of time; and 

5 (B) make such information available to the 

6 Director or the designated agency ethics official 

7 for the applicable Federal agency upon request. 

8 (6) CONCURRENT ACTIVITIES.—The ethics and 

9 conflicts of interest regulations may restrict certain 

10 market activities by a covered contractor that are 

11 likely to cause impermissible conflicts of interest. 

12 (7) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING PRO13 CUREMENT INTEGRITY ACT.—Nothing in this section 

14 shall be construed to modify the application of chap15 ter 21 of title 41, United States Code, to covered 

16 contracts or to covered contractors. 

17 (f) INDIVIDUAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.— 

18 (1) PERSONAL OR FINANCIAL CONFLICTS OF

19 INTEREST.—The ethics and conflicts of interest reg20 ulations shall ensure that any individual (including 

21 any officer or employee of the executive branch of 

22 the Federal Government) who participates personally 

23 and substantially in the administration or execution 

24 of any Coronavirus pandemic-related program, 

25 project, or activity, through, for example, decision, 


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1 approval, disapproval, recommendation, or the ren2 dering of advice, has no personal or financial conflict 

3 of interest (including a situation that would cause a 

4 reasonable person with knowledge of the relevant 

5 facts to question the objectivity, impartiality, or 

6 judgment of the individual in such performance, or 

7 the ability of the individual to represent the interests 

8 of the Federal Government), unless mitigation meas9 ures have addressed the conflict to the satisfaction 

10 of the Director or the designated agency ethics offi11 cial for the applicable Federal agency, or the conflict 

12 is waived in accordance with waiver rules. 

13 (2) INFORMATION REQUIRED.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The ethics and conflicts 

15 of interest regulations may require certain offi16 cers or employees of the Federal Government to 

17 submit, in writing, information about their per18 sonal, business, and financial relationships, and 

19 such relationships of their spouses and depend20 ent children, that would cause a reasonable per21 son with knowledge of the relevant facts to 

22 question the objectivity, impartiality, or judg23 ment of the officer or employee or the ability of 

24 the officer or employee to represent the inter25 ests of the Federal Government. 


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1 (B) MINIMIZATION OF DUPLICATION.—To 

2 the extent practicable, the ethics and conflicts 

3 of interest regulations should ensure that the 

4 submission of information under subparagraph 

5 (A) does duplicate the financial disclosures re6 quired under the Ethics in Government Act of 

7 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.). 

8 (C) DISCLOSURE.—The ethics and con9 flicts of interest regulations shall provide for 

10 appropriate and reasonable public disclosure of 

11 any information submitted under subparagraph 

12 (A). 

13 (3) DISQUALIFICATION.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The ethics and conflicts 

15 of interest regulations shall specify cir16 cumstances in which an officer or employee of 

17 the Federal Government with an actual or po18 tential personal conflict of interest is disquali19 fied from performing work as part of the ad20 ministration or execution of any Coronavirus 

21 pandemic-related program, project, or activity 

22 unless mitigation measures have addressed the 

23 conflict to the satisfaction of the Director or the 

24 designated agency ethics official for the applica25 ble Federal agency. 


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1 (B) WAIVER.—The ethics and conflicts of 

2 interest regulations may establish a process by 

3 which individuals may seek a waiver of disquali4 fication from the Director or the designated 

5 agency ethics official for the applicable Federal 

6 agency if it is clear from the totality of the cir7 cumstances that a waiver is in the interest of 

8 the Federal Government. 

9 (g) GIFTS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The ethics and conflicts of 

11 interest regulations shall restrict officers and em12 ployees of the Federal Government and covered con13 tractors involved in the administration or execution 

14 of the authorities under a Coronavirus pandemic-re15 lated program, project, or activity and covered con16 tractors from accepting or soliciting favors, gifts, or 

17 other items of significant monetary value from any 

18 individual or entity seeking official action from the 

19 Federal Government in connection with the adminis20 tration or execution of the authorities under a 

21 Coronavirus pandemic-related program, project, or 

22 activity. 

23 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING EX24 ISTING GIFT LIMITATIONS.—Nothing in this sub25 section shall be construed to modify the application 


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1 of subpart B of part 2635 of title 5, Code of Federal 

2 Regulations (relating to gifts from outside sources). 

3 (h) IMPROPER USE.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The ethics and conflicts of 

5 interest regulations shall restrict the improper use of 

6 property of the United States for the benefit of any 

7 individual or entity other than the United States in 

8 the administration or execution of the authorities 

9 under a Coronavirus pandemic-related program, 

10 project, or activity. 

11 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING EX12 ISTING USE OF INFORMATION LIMITATIONS.—Noth13 ing in this subsection shall be construed to modify 

14 the application of section 2635.703 of title 5, Code 

15 of Federal Regulations (relating to use of nonpublic 

16 information). 

17 (i) PROMISES AND PLEDGES.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The ethics and conflicts of 

19 interest regulations shall restrict officers and em20 ployees of the Federal Government involved in the 

21 administration or execution of the authorities under 

22 a Coronavirus pandemic-related program, project, or 

23 activity and covered contractors from making any 

24 unauthorized promise or commitment on behalf of 

25 the United States in the administration or execution 


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1 of the authorities under a Coronavirus pandemic-re2 lated program, project, or activity. 

3 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING

4 ANTIDEFICIENCY ACT.—Nothing in this subsection 

5 shall be construed to modify the application of sec6 tion 1341 of title 31, United States Code (relating 

7 to limitations on expending and obligating amounts). 

8 (j) POST-EMPLOYMENT RESTRICTIONS.—The ethics 

9 and conflicts of interest regulations— 

10 (1) shall establish post-employment restrictions 

11 (in addition to the restrictions in effect under sec12 tion 207 of title 18, United States Code) applicable 

13 to officers and employees of the Federal Government 

14 involved in the administration or execution of the 

15 authorities under a Coronavirus pandemic-related 

16 program, project, or activity necessary to ensure eth17 ical administration of the Coronavirus pandemic-re18 lated program, project, or activity, which shall, at a 

19 minimum, prohibit such an officer or employee of an 

20 executive agency from engaging in lobbying activities 

21 with respect to the executive agency during the 5- 

22 year period beginning on the date of separation from 

23 service with the executive agency; and 

24 (2) may include restrictions on officers and em25 ployees of the Federal Government involved in the 


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1 administration or execution of the authorities under 

2 a Coronavirus pandemic-related program, project, or 

3 activity seeking, negotiating, discussing, or accepting 

4 employment or compensation from any private sector 

5 entity with respect to which the officer or employee 

6 personally or substantially participated in (through 

7 decision, approval, disapproval, recommendation) the 

8 provision of funds, grants, loans, loan guarantees, or 

9 other investments under the Coronavirus pandemic10 related program, project, or activity. 

11 (k) COMMUNICATIONS WITH GOVERNMENT EMPLOY12 EES.—The ethics and conflicts of interest regulations shall 

13 prohibit, during the course of any process for selecting a 

14 covered contractor (including any process using non-com15 petitive procedures), an entity participating in the process 

16 or a representative of the entity from— 

17 (1) directly or indirectly making any offer or 

18 promise of future employment or business oppor19 tunity to, or engaging directly or indirectly in any 

20 discussion of future employment or business oppor21 tunity with, any officer or employee of the Federal 

22 Government with personal or direct responsibility for 

23 that procurement; 

24 (2) offering, giving, or promising to offer or 

25 give, directly or indirectly, any money, gratuity, or 


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1 other thing of value to any officer or employee of the 

2 Federal Government, except as otherwise permitted 

3 by law; or 

4 (3) soliciting or obtaining from any officer or 

5 employee of the Federal Government, directly or in6 directly, any information that is not public and was 

7 prepared for use by the United States for the pur8 pose of evaluating an offer, quotation, or response to 

9 enter into an arrangement with the United States. 

10 (l) LAWS APPLIED.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this section shall 

12 be construed to modify that any individual who acts 

13 for or on behalf of the United States in the adminis14 tration and execution of the authorities under a 

15 Coronavirus pandemic-related program, project, or 

16 activity— 

17 (A) shall comply with sections 201 and 

18 208 of title 18, United States Code; and 

19 (B) may be subject to criminal penalties 

20 for violating such sections. 

21 (2) FALSE STATEMENTS.—Nothing in this sec22 tion shall be construed to modify the application of 

23 section 1001 of title 18, United States Code (relat24 ing to the making of any false or fraudulent state25 ment to a Federal officer), to any information or 


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1 certification submitted to the United States by an 

2 individual or entity under the ethics and conflicts of 

3 interest regulations. 

4 (3) CRIMINAL REFERRAL AND REPORTING.—If 

5 the Director or a designated agency ethics official 

6 receives information indicating that any individual or 

7 entity has violated any provision of title 18, United 

8 States Code, or another provision of criminal law 

9 (including any provision involving fraud, conflict of 

10 interest, bribery, or gratuity violations under title 

11 18, United States Code) or violated sections 3729 

12 through 3733 of title 31, United States Code (com13 monly known as the ‘‘False Claims Act’’), in the ad14 ministration or execution of the authorities under a 

15 Coronavirus pandemic-related program, project, or 

16 activity, the Director or designated agency ethics of17 ficial shall refer the alleged violation to the Attorney 

18 General and report the alleged violation to the Spe19 cial Inspector General for Pandemic Relief, the Con20 gressional Oversight Commission, and the Pandemic 

21 Response Accountability Committee. 

22 (m) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST ENFORCEMENT.— 

23 (1) PENALTIES.—The ethics and conflicts of in24 terest regulations shall provide that— 


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1 (A) if an officer or employee of the Federal 

2 Government violates a requirement under the 

3 ethics and conflicts of interest regulations, the 

4 Director may take necessary and appropriate 

5 action authorized under section 402 of the Eth6 ics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.); 

7 and 

8 (B) if a covered contractor violates a re9 quirement under the ethics and conflicts of in10 terest regulations, the Director may impose or 

11 pursue sanctions, which may include— 

12 (i) termination of the covered con13 tract; 

14 (ii) debarment of the covered con15 tractor for Federal Government con16 tracting or otherwise disqualifying the cov17 ered contractor from receiving Federal con18 tracts; 

19 (iii) requiring the covered contractor 

20 to remove 1 or more employees of the cov21 ered contractor from the performance of 

22 the covered contract; 

23 (iv) requiring the covered contractor 

24 to terminate a subcontract; 


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1 (v) suspension of payments under the 

2 covered contract until the covered con3 tractor has taken appropriate remedial ac4 tion; 

5 (vi) loss of award fee, consistent with 

6 the award fee plan, for the performance 

7 period during which the Director deter8 mines the covered contractor violated the 

9 requirement; 

10 (vii) declining to exercise available op11 tions under the covered contract; or 

12 (viii) the imposition or recommenda13 tion of any other remedy available under 

14 the terms of the covered contract or an15 other provision of law. 

16 (2) REPORTING TO OTHER OVERSIGHT ENTI17 TIES.—The ethics and conflicts of interest regula18 tions shall require the Director and a designated 

19 agency ethics official to report any violation of a re20 quirement under the ethics and conflicts of interest 

21 regulations and any action taken by the Director re22 lating to the violation to the Special Inspector Gen23 eral for Pandemic Recovery, the Congressional Over24 sight Commission, and the Pandemic Response Ac25 countability Committee. 


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1 (n) WAIVERS.—The ethics and conflicts of interest 

2 regulations may establish a process under which a require3 ment under the ethics and conflicts of interest regulations 

4 may be waived if it is clear from the totality of the cir5 cumstances that a waiver is in the interest of the Federal 

6 Government. 

7 (o) FUNDING.—There is appropriated to the Director 

8 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, out of any 

9 money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 

10 $25,000,000 to carry out this section, to remain available 

11 until expended. 

12 SEC. 4. SPECIAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE AND WHITE 

13 HOUSE TASK FORCE MEMBER ETHICS. 

14 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

15 (1) COVERED SPECIAL GOVERNMENT EM16 PLOYEE.—The term ‘‘covered special Government 

17 employee’’ means an individual who— 

18 (A) is appointed by the President to serve 

19 on a White House task force to address the out20 break of COVID–19; or 

21 (B)(i) is— 

22 (I) appointed by the President under 

23 section 710(b)(1) of the Defense Produc24 tion Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4560(b)(1)); 


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•S 3855 IS

1 (II) a provider of a voluntary and un2 compensated service described in section 

3 621(c)(3) of the Robert T. Stafford Dis4 aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

5 (42 U.S.C. 5197(c)(3)); or 

6 (III) a special Government employee 

7 (as defined in section 202(a) of title 18, 

8 United States Code); and 

9 (ii) advises, consults, or otherwise works 

10 on a Coronavirus pandemic-related program, 

11 project, or activity. 

12 (2) PERIODIC TRANSACTION REPORT.—The 

13 term ‘‘periodic transaction report’’ means a report 

14 containing the information required for a report of 

15 a transaction under section 103(l) of the Ethics in 

16 Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.). 

17 (3) PUBLIC FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE REPORT.— 

18 The term ‘‘public financial disclosure report’’ means 

19 a report that includes a full and complete statement 

20 with respect to the items described in paragraphs 

21 (1) through (8) of section 102(a) of the Ethics in 

22 Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.). 

23 (4) TRANSACTION.—The term ‘‘transaction’’ 

24 means a transaction required to be reported under 


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•S 3855 IS

1 section 102(a)(5)(B) of the Ethics in Government 

2 Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.). 

3 (b) REQUIREMENT.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—A covered special Govern5 ment employee shall file with the Director or the 

6 designated agency ethics official of the agency served 

7 by the covered special Government employee— 

8 (A) for an individual serving as a covered 

9 special Government employee on the date of en10 actment of this Act, not later than the later of 

11 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

12 a public financial disclosure report; 

13 (B) for an individual appointed to a posi14 tion as a covered special Government employee 

15 on or after the date of enactment of this Act, 

16 not later than 30 days after the date of the ap17 pointment, a public financial disclosure report; 

18 (C) not later than 30 days after the special 

19 Government employee is notified of a trans20 action to which the special Government em21 ployee is a party, but in no case later than 45 

22 days after such transaction, a periodic trans23 action report; and 


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•S 3855 IS

1 (D) not later than 30 days after separating 

2 from service as a covered special Government 

3 employee, a public financial disclosure report. 

4 (2) SUBMISSION TO OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT

5 ETHICS.—Not later than 15 days after a designated 

6 agency ethics official receives a report from a cov7 ered special Government employee under paragraph 

8 (1), the designated agency ethics official shall sub9 mit a copy of the report to the Director. 

10 (c) OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS.— 

11 (1) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—Not later than 15 

12 days after the date on which the Director receives a 

13 report under subsection (b)(1) or (b)(2), the Direc14 tor shall make the report publicly available on the 

15 website of the Office of Government Ethics. 

16 (2) QUARTERLY REVIEWS.—Not later than 90 

17 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and 

18 every 90 days thereafter until the date that is 2 

19 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

20 Director shall— 

21 (A) conduct a review to create and update 

22 a list of the names of every covered special Gov23 ernment employee; and 

24 (B) ensure that— 


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•S 3855 IS

1 (i) each covered special Government 

2 employee on the list described in subpara3 graph (A) has timely filed— 

4 (I) the public financial disclosure 

5 report required under subparagraph 

6 (A) or (B) of subsection (b)(1); 

7 (II) each periodic transaction re8 port required under subsection 

9 (b)(1)(C); and 

10 (III) if appropriate, the public fi11 nancial disclosure report required 

12 under subsection (b)(1)(D); and 

13 (ii) each report received by the Direc14 tor under subsection (b)(1) and (b)(2) has 

15 been made publicly available on the website 

16 of the Office of Government Ethics. 

17 SEC. 5. CARES ACT CONFLICT OF INTEREST EXPANSIONS. 

18 (a) SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAMS.—Section 4019 of 

19 the CARES Act (Public Law 116–136) is amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(7) SMALL BUSINESS ASSISTANCE.—The term 

23 ‘small business assistance’ means assistance pro24 vided under— 


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•S 3855 IS

1 ‘‘(A) paragraph (36) of section 7(a) of the 

2 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)), as 

3 added by section 1102 of this Act; or 

4 ‘‘(B) section 1103, 1108, 1110, or 1112 of 

5 this Act.’’; 

6 (2) in subsection (b)— 

7 (A) by inserting ‘‘or provisions relating to 

8 small business assistance’’ after ‘‘this subtitle’’; 

9 and 

10 (B) by inserting ‘‘or for any small business 

11 assistance’’ before the period at the end; and 

12 (3) in subsection (c)— 

13 (A) by inserting ‘‘or seeking any small 

14 business assistance’’ after ‘‘4003’’; 

15 (B) by inserting ‘‘or small business assist16 ance’’ after ‘‘that transaction’’; 

17 (C) by inserting ‘‘or the Administrator of 

18 the Small Business Administration, as applica19 ble,’’ after ‘‘System’’; and 

20 (D) by inserting ‘‘or receive the small busi21 ness assistance’’ after ‘‘in that transaction’’. 

22 (b) DEFINITION OF COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—Section 

23 4019(a) of the CARES Act is amended by striking para24 graph (3) and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(3) COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘cov2 ered individual’ means— 

3 ‘‘(A) the President, the Vice President, the 

4 head of an Executive department, a Member of 

5 Congress, an individual appointed by the Presi6 dent under subsection (a) or (b) of section 105 

7 of title 3, United States Code, or an individual 

8 who is otherwise appointed by the President to 

9 serve as assistant to the President or deputy as10 sistant to the President and holds a commission 

11 of appointment from the President as a civilian 

12 employee; and 

13 ‘‘(B) the spouse, parent, sibling, child, son14 in-law, or daughter-in-law, as determined under 

15 applicable common law, of an individual de16 scribed in subparagraph (A).’’. 

17 SEC. 6. LOBBYING DISCLOSURES AND RESTRICTIONS. 

18 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The terms ‘‘client’’, ‘‘covered 

20 executive branch official’’, ‘‘covered legislative 

21 branch official’’, ‘‘employee’’, ‘‘lobbying activities’’, 

22 ‘‘lobbying contact’’, and ‘‘person or entity’’ have the 

23 meanings given the terms in section 3 of the Lob24 bying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602). 


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1 (2) REGISTRANT.—The term ‘‘registrant’’ 

2 means a person registered under section 4 of the 

3 Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1603). 

4 (b) REGISTRANT REPORT.—Every 30 days beginning 

5 on the date of enactment of this Act, any registrant who 

6 engages in lobbying activities related to a Coronavirus 

7 pandemic-related program, project, or activity on behalf 

8 of the client of the registrant shall file a report with the 

9 Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of 

10 Representatives on its lobbying activities during such 30 

11 day period. A separate report shall be filed for each client 

12 of the registrant. 

13 (c) CONTENTS OF THE REPORT.—The reports re14 quired under subsection (b) shall include— 

15 (1) a statement of— 

16 (A) each specific issue with respect to 

17 which the registrant, or any employee of the 

18 registrant, engaged in lobbying activities, in19 cluding, to the maximum extent practicable, a 

20 statement of each Coronavirus pandemic-related 

21 program, project, or activity and reference to 

22 any specific Federal rule or regulation, Execu23 tive order, or any other program, policy, or po24 sition of the United States Government; 


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1 (B) each lobbying activity related to a 

2 Coronavirus pandemic-related program, project, 

3 or activity that the registrant has engaged in on 

4 behalf of the client, including— 

5 (i) each Coronavirus pandemic-related 

6 document submitted by the registrant to 

7 any executive branch official; 

8 (ii) each Coronavirus pandemic-re9 lated meeting conducted that constituted a 

10 lobbying contact, including the specific 

11 subject of the meeting, the date of the 

12 meeting, and the name and position of 

13 each individual who was a party to the 

14 meeting; 

15 (iii) each Coronavirus pandemic-re16 lated phone call made that constituted a 

17 lobbying contact, including the subject of 

18 the phone call, the date of the phone call, 

19 and the name and position of each indi20 vidual who was a party to the phone call; 

21 and 

22 (iv) each Coronavirus pandemic-re23 lated email or other electronic communica24 tion sent that constituted a lobbying con25 tact, including the subject of the email, the 


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•S 3855 IS

1 date of the email, and the name and posi2 tion of each individual who was a party to 

3 the email; 

4 (C) the name of each employee of the reg5 istrant who did not participate in the lobbying 

6 contact but engaged in lobbying activities re7 lated to a Coronavirus pandemic-related pro8 gram, project, or activity in support of the lob9 bying contact and a description of any such lob10 bying activity; and 

11 (D) with respect to any person or entity 

12 retained by the registrant to engage in lobbying 

13 activities related to a Coronavirus pandemic-re14 lated program, project, or activity on behalf of 

15 the client of the registrant— 

16 (i) the name, address, business tele17 phone number, and principal place of busi18 ness of the person or entity; 

19 (ii) a description of any lobbying ac20 tivity by the person or entity on behalf of 

21 the client of the registrant; 

22 (iii) the amount the registrant paid to 

23 the person or entity for any lobbying activ24 ity by the person or entity on the behalf of 

25 the client of the registrant; 


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•S 3855 IS

1 (iv) the name of each employee of the 

2 person or entity who supervised any lob3 bying activity by the person or entity on 

4 behalf of the client of the registrant; and 

5 (v) the official action or inaction re6 quested in the course of the lobbying activ7 ity; and 

8 (2) a copy of any document transmitted to an 

9 executive branch official in the course of any lob10 bying activity related to a Coronavirus pandemic-re11 lated program, project, or activity by the registrant 

12 on behalf of the client. 

13 (d) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—Not later than 7 days 

14 after the date on which the Secretary of the Senate and 

15 the Clerk of the House of Representatives receive a sub16 mission under subsection, Secretary of the Senate and the 

17 Clerk of the House of Representatives shall— 

18 (1) make such submission publicly available on 

19 a website; and 

20 (2) submit to the Special Inspector General for 

21 Pandemic Relief and the Pandemic Relief Account22 ability Committee records documenting all lobbying 

23 activities related to a Coronavirus pandemic-related 

24 program, project, or activity during the previous 30- 

25 day period. 


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1 (e) PROHIBITION.—An executive department or agen2 cy official shall not consider the view of a registrant con3 cerning a Coronavirus pandemic-related program, project, 

4 or activity unless such views are expressed in writing and 

5 in accordance with this Section. 

6 (f) ORAL COMMUNICATION LOBBYING RESTRIC7 TION.—Upon the scheduling of, and again at the outset 

8 of, any oral communication (in-person or telephonic) with 

9 any person or entity concerning a Coronavirus pandemic10 related program, project, or activity, an executive depart11 ment or agency official shall inquire whether any of the 

12 individuals or parties appearing or communicating con13 cerning such program, project, or activity is a registrant. 

14 If so, the registrant may not attend or participate in the 

15 telephonic or in-person contact, but may submit a commu16 nication in writing and in accordance with this section. 

17 (g) GENERAL POLICY COMMUNICATION.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—An executive department or 

19 agency official may generally communicate orally 

20 with registrants regarding a Coronavirus pandemic21 related program, project, or activity if the oral com22 munication does not extend to or touch upon par23 ticular applications or applicants for covered funds. 

24 (2) REQUIRED INQUIRY.—Upon the scheduling 

25 of, and at the outset of, any oral communication 


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•S 3855 IS

1 with any person or entity concerning general policy 

2 issues related to a Coronavirus pandemic-related 

3 program, project, or activity, an executive depart4 ment or agency official shall inquire whether any of 

5 the individuals or parties appearing or commu6 nicating concerning such issues is a registrant. If so, 

7 the official shall comply with paragraph (1). 

8 (h) ENFORCEMENT.— 

9 (1) VIOLATIONS.—A violation of this section by 

10 a registrant or an individual who should have reg11 istered as a registrant shall constitute a violation of 

12 the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601 

13 et seq.). 

14 (2) DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ENFORCE15 MENT.—The Civil Division of the Department of 

16 Justice shall enforce and investigate alleged viola17 tions of this section. 

18 (3) ENFORCEMENT CAPACITY.—The Civil Divi19 sion of the Department of Justice shall— 

20 (A) designate at least 1 full-time investi21 gator, 1 full-time paralegal and 1 full-time at22 torney to enforce this section; and 

23 (B) publicize a phone number and email 

24 that the public may use to report possible viola25 tions of this section. 


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•S 3855 IS

1 (4) REPORTING VIOLATIONS.—The Office of the 

2 Clerk of the House of Representatives, the Secretary 

3 of the Senate, and private individuals may report 

4 suspected violations of this section. 

5 (5) EGREGIOUS VIOLATIONS.—The Civil Divi6 sion of the Department of Justice shall refer egre7 gious or willful violations to the Criminal Division of 

8 the Department of Justice for possible criminal en9 forcement. In determining investigation and enforce10 ment priorities, the Department of Justice shall 

11 prioritize repeated violations of this section and vio12 lations that demonstrate disregard for public health 

13 and safety. 

14 (6) REFERRALS.—The Special Inspector Gen15 eral for Pandemic Relief shall refer any evidence of 

16 alleged violation of this section to the Civil Division 

17 of the Department of Justice. 

18 SEC. 7. BAN ON POLITICAL SPENDING AND LOBBYING EX19 PENDITURES. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4003(c) of the CARES 

21 Act is amended— 

22 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

23 (A) in subparagraph (H), by striking 

24 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 


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1 (B) in subparagraph (I), by striking the 

2 period at the end and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(J) the agreement provides that, until the 

4 date 12 months after the date the loan or loan 

5 guarantee is no longer outstanding, the eligible 

6 business shall not make— 

7 ‘‘(i) any expenditures relating to Fed8 eral lobbying activities, as defined in sec9 tion 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 

10 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602); or 

11 ‘‘(ii) any dues payment to an organi12 zation described in section 501(c)(6) of the 

13 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that may 

14 be used for expenditures described in 

15 clause (i); and 

16 ‘‘(K) the agreement provides that, until the 

17 date 12 months after the date the loan or loan 

18 guarantee is no longer outstanding, the eligible 

19 business shall not engage in political spending, 

20 including independent expenditures through 

21 third-party organizations, including payments 

22 to organizations described in section 501(c)(6) 

23 or 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

24 1986 or any political action committee that may 

25 be used for political spending.’’; and 


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1 (2) in paragraph (3)(A)— 

2 (A) in clause (ii)— 

3 (i) in subclause (II), by striking 

4 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

5 (ii) in subclause (III), by striking the 

6 period at the end and inserting a semi7 colon; and 

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

10 ‘‘(VI) until the date 12 months 

11 after the date on which the loan or 

12 loan guarantee is no longer out13 standing, not to make— 

14 ‘‘(aa) any expenditures re15 lating to Federal lobbying activi16 ties, as defined in section 3 of 

17 the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 

18 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602); or 

19 ‘‘(bb) any dues payment to 

20 an organization described in sec21 tion 501(c)(6) of the Internal 

22 Revenue Code of 1986 that may 

23 be used for expenditures de24 scribed in item (aa); and 


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1 ‘‘(VII) until the date 12 months 

2 after the date on which the loan or 

3 loan guarantee is no longer out4 standing, not to engage in political 

5 spending, including independent ex6 penditures through third-party organi7 zations, including payments to organi8 zations described in section 501(c)(6) 

9 or 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue 

10 Code of 1986 or any political action 

11 committee that may be used for polit12 ical spending.’’; and 

13 (B) by striking clause (iii). 

14 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by sub15 section (a) shall apply to any loan, loan guarantee, or 

16 other investment under paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (4) of 

17 section 4003(b) of the CARES Act made on or after the 

18 date of enactment of this Act. 

19 SEC. 8. REMOVAL OF INSPECTORS GENERAL; VACANCIES; 

20 CHANGE IN STATUS; TERMS. 

21 (a) REMOVAL FOR CAUSE.— 

22 (1) INSPECTORS GENERAL OF ESTABLISH23 MENTS AND DESIGNATED FEDERAL ENTITIES.—The 

24 Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is 

25 amended— 


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1 (A) in section 3(b), by inserting after the 

2 first sentence the following: ‘‘An Inspector Gen3 eral may only be removed by the President for 

4 permanent incapacity, neglect of duty, malfea5 sance, conviction of a felony or conduct involv6 ing moral turpitude, knowing violation of a law, 

7 gross mismanagement, gross waste of funds, or 

8 abuse of authority.’’; and 

9 (B) in section 8G(e), by adding at the end 

10 the following: 

11 ‘‘(3) An Inspector General may only be removed by 

12 the head of a designated Federal entity for permanent in13 capacity, neglect of duty, malfeasance, conviction of a fel14 ony or conduct involving moral turpitude, knowing viola15 tion of a law, gross mismanagement, gross waste of funds, 

16 or abuse of authority.’’. 

17 (2) INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE INTEL18 LIGENCE COMMUNITY.—Section 103H(c)(4) of the 

19 National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 

20 3033(c)(4)) is amended, in the first sentence, by in21 serting ‘‘, and only for permanent incapacity, neglect 

22 of duty, malfeasance, conviction of a felony or con23 duct involving moral turpitude, knowing violation of 

24 a law, gross mismanagement, gross waste of funds, 

25 or abuse of authority’’ before the period at the end. 


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1 (3) INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE CENTRAL IN2 TELLIGENCE AGENCY.—Section 17(b)(6) of the Cen3 tral Intelligence Act of 1949 (50 U.S.C. 3517(b)(6)) 

4 is amended, in the first sentence, by inserting ‘‘, and 

5 only for permanent incapacity, neglect of duty, mal6 feasance, conviction of a felony or conduct involving 

7 moral turpitude, knowing violation of a law, gross 

8 mismanagement, gross waste of funds, or abuse of 

9 authority’’ before the period at the end. 

10 (4) INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE GOVERNMENT

11 ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE.—Section 705(b)(2) of 

12 title 31, United States Code, is amended, in the first 

13 sentence, by inserting ‘‘only for permanent inca14 pacity, neglect of duty, malfeasance, conviction of a 

15 felony or conduct involving moral turpitude, knowing 

16 violation of a law, gross mismanagement, gross 

17 waste of funds, or abuse of authority’’ before the pe18 riod at the end. 

19 (5) INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR THE UNITED

20 STATES CAPITOL POLICE.—Section 1004(b)(3) of 

21 the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2006 (2 

22 U.S.C. 1909(b)(3)) is amended by adding at the end 

23 the following: ‘‘The Board may only remove the In24 spector General for permanent incapacity, neglect of 

25 duty, malfeasance, conviction of a felony or conduct 


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•S 3855 IS

1 involving moral turpitude, knowing violation of a 

2 law, gross mismanagement, gross waste of funds, or 

3 abuse of authority.’’. 

4 (6) INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE ARCHITECT

5 OF THE CAPITOL.—Section 1301(c)(2)(A) of the Ar6 chitect of the Capitol Inspector General Act of 2007 

7 (2 U.S.C. 1808(c)(2)(A)) is amended by inserting 

8 ‘‘only for permanent incapacity, neglect of duty, 

9 malfeasance, conviction of a felony or conduct involv10 ing moral turpitude, knowing violation of a law, 

11 gross mismanagement, gross waste of funds, or 

12 abuse of authority’’ before the period at the end. 

13 (7) INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE LIBRARY OF

14 CONGRESS.—Section 1307(c)(2)(A) of the Library of 

15 Congress Inspector General Act of 2005 (2 U.S.C. 

16 185(c)(2)(A)) is amended by inserting ‘‘only for per17 manent incapacity, neglect of duty, malfeasance, 

18 conviction of a felony or conduct involving moral tur19 pitude, knowing violation of a law, gross mismanage20 ment, gross waste of funds, or abuse of authority’’ 

21 before the period at the end. 

22 (8) INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE GOVERNMENT

23 PUBLISHING OFFICE.—Section 3902(b)(1) of title 

24 44, United States Code, is amended by inserting 

25 ‘‘only for permanent incapacity, neglect of duty, 


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•S 3855 IS

1 malfeasance, conviction of a felony or conduct involv2 ing moral turpitude, knowing violation of a law, 

3 gross mismanagement, gross waste of funds, or 

4 abuse of authority’’ before the period at the end. 

5 (9) SEVERABILITY.—If any provision of the 

6 amendments made by this subsection, or the applica7 tion of such a provision to any person or cir8 cumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the re9 maining provisions of the amendments made by this 

10 subsection, and the application of such provisions to 

11 any person or circumstance, shall not be affected by 

12 the holding. 

13 (b) CIGIE REPORT ON REMOVALS.—Section 11(c) of 

14 the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is 

15 amended by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(6) ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES RELATING

17 TO REMOVAL OF INSPECTORS GENERAL.— 

18 ‘‘(A) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph— 

19 ‘‘(i) the term ‘appropriate congres20 sional committees’ means— 

21 ‘‘(I) the Committee on Homeland 

22 Security and Governmental Affairs 

23 and the Committee on the Judiciary 

24 of the Senate; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) the Committee on Oversight 

2 and Reform and the Committee on 

3 the Judiciary of the House of Rep4 resentatives; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) the term ‘Inspector General’ 

6 means— 

7 ‘‘(I) an Inspector General ap8 pointed under section 3 or 8G; 

9 ‘‘(II) the Inspector General of 

10 the Central Intelligence Agency estab11 lished under section 17 of the Central 

12 Intelligence Agency Act of 1949 (50 

13 U.S.C. 3517); 

14 ‘‘(III) the Inspector General of 

15 the Intelligence Community estab16 lished under section 103H of the Na17 tional Security Act of 1947 (50 

18 U.S.C. 3033); 

19 ‘‘(IV) the Special Inspector Gen20 eral for Afghanistan Reconstruction 

21 established under section 1229 of the 

22 National Defense Authorization Act 

23 for Fiscal Year 2008 (Public Law 

24 110–181; 122 Stat. 379); 


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1 ‘‘(V) the Special Inspector Gen2 eral for the Troubled Asset Relief 

3 Plan established under section 121 of 

4 the Emergency Economic Stabilization 

5 Act of 2008 (12 U.S.C. 5231); 

6 ‘‘(VI) the Inspector General for 

7 the Government Accountability Office 

8 established under section 705 of title 

9 31, United States Code; 

10 ‘‘(VII) the Inspector General for 

11 the United States Capitol Police es12 tablished under section 1004 of the 

13 Legislative Branch Appropriations 

14 Act, 2006 (2 U.S.C. 1909); 

15 ‘‘(VIII) the Inspector General of 

16 the Architect of the Capitol estab17 lished under section 1301 of the Ar18 chitect of the Capitol Inspector Gen19 eral Act of 2007 (2 U.S.C. 1808); 

20 ‘‘(IX) the Inspector General of 

21 the Library of Congress established 

22 under section 1307 of the Library of 

23 Congress Inspector General Act of 

24 2005 (2 U.S.C. 185); and 


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1 ‘‘(X) the Inspector General of the 

2 Government Publishing Office estab3 lished under section 3901 of title 44, 

4 United States Code. 

5 ‘‘(B) REPORT.—In the event of a removal 

6 of an Inspector General or an acting Inspector 

7 General, the Council shall— 

8 ‘‘(i) investigate the reasons for re9 moval provided by the President or rel10 evant head of the establishment, des11 ignated Federal entity (as defined in sec12 tion 8G), or Federal agency, as applicable, 

13 and publish a publicly available report with 

14 the findings of the Council and, in the case 

15 of an Inspector General or acting Inspector 

16 General appointed by the President, wheth17 er the reasons comply with the relevant 

18 provisions relating to for cause removal; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(ii) review any investigation that was 

21 being conducted by the Inspector General 

22 or acting Inspector at the time of the re23 moval and report to the appropriate con24 gressional committees, and any other com25 mittee of Congress that the Council deterVerDate Sep 11 2014 17:38 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00049 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3855.IS S3855

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1 mines to be relevant, on whether the Coun2 cil finds that the investigation led to the 

3 removal.’’. 

4 (c) VACANCY IN THE POSITION OF INSPECTOR GEN5 ERAL.— 

6 (1) INSPECTORS GENERAL OF ESTABLISH7 MENTS AND DESIGNATED FEDERAL ENTITIES.—The 

8 Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is 

9 amended— 

10 (A) in section 3, by adding at the end the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(h)(1) In the event of a vacancy in the position of 

13 Inspector General— 

14 ‘‘(A) section 3345(a) of title 5, United States 

15 Code, shall not apply; 

16 ‘‘(B) the first assistant to the position of In17 spector General who served in that position for not 

18 less than 30 days immediately preceding the vacancy 

19 shall perform the functions and duties of the Inspec20 tor General temporarily in an acting capacity subject 

21 to the time limitations of section 3346 of title 5, 

22 United States Code; 

23 ‘‘(C) if there is no first assistant to the position 

24 of Inspector General serving in that position for not 

25 less than 30 days immediately preceding the vaVerDate Sep 11 2014 17:38 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00050 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3855.IS S3855

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1 cancy, the President may direct a covered employee 

2 of the Office or another Office to perform the func3 tions and duties of the Inspector General tempo4 rarily in an acting capacity, subject to the time limi5 tations of section 3346 of title 5, United States 

6 Code; and 

7 ‘‘(D) the President may only remove the first 

8 assistant described in subparagraph (B) or the cov9 ered employee directed under subparagraph (C) 

10 after a 30-day period beginning on the date on 

11 which the President provides Congress with a writ12 ten notification of the reasons for the removal. 

13 ‘‘(2) If an Inspector General is removed from office, 

14 the following individuals may bring an action in the appro15 priate district court of the United States to challenge the 

16 removal: 

17 ‘‘(A) The removed Inspector General. 

18 ‘‘(B) Any member of the staff of the removed 

19 Inspector General. 

20 ‘‘(C) Any individual harmed by an action of the 

21 establishment following the removal of the Inspector 

22 General and before the position is filled by an indi23 vidual appointed by the President, with the advice 

24 and consent of the Senate. 


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1 ‘‘(3) Nothing in paragraph (1)(D) shall be construed 

2 to affect any protection provided to a covered employee 

3 under title 5, United States Code. 

4 ‘‘(4) In this subsection, the term ‘covered employee’ 

5 means an officer or employee who, as of the date on which 

6 the individual is directed under paragraph (1)(C), is an 

7 employee, as that term is defined in section 2105 of title 

8 5, United States Code, who— 

9 ‘‘(A) is permitted to submit an appeal to the 

10 Merit Systems Protection Board from any action 

11 which is appealable to the Board under any law, 

12 rule, or regulation; and 

13 ‘‘(B) may obtain judicial review of the final 

14 order or decision of the Board if the employee is ad15 versely affected or aggrieved by that order or deci16 sion.’’; and 

17 (B) in section 8G, by adding at the end 

18 the following: 

19 ‘‘(i)(1) In the event of a vacancy in the position of 

20 Inspector General— 

21 ‘‘(A) the first assistant to the position of In22 spector General who served in that position for not 

23 less than 30 days immediately preceding the vacancy 

24 shall perform the functions and duties of the Inspec25 tor General temporarily in an acting capacity until 


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•S 3855 IS

1 the head of the designated Federal entity appoints 

2 a permanent Inspector General; 

3 ‘‘(B) if there is no first assistant to the position 

4 of Inspector General serving in that position for not 

5 less than 30 days immediately preceding the va6 cancy, the head of the designated Federal entity 

7 shall direct a covered employee of the Office of In8 spector General or another Office of Inspector Gen9 eral to perform the functions and duties of the In10 spector General temporarily in an acting capacity, 

11 until the head of the designated Federal entity ap12 points a permanent Inspector General; and 

13 ‘‘(C) the head of the designated Federal entity 

14 may only remove the first assistant described in sub15 paragraph (A) or the covered employee directed 

16 under subparagraph (B) after a 30-day period be17 ginning on the date on which the head of the des18 ignated Federal entity provides Congress with a 

19 written notification of the reasons for the removal. 

20 ‘‘(2) If an Inspector General is removed from office, 

21 the following individuals may bring an action in the appro22 priate district court of the United States to challenge the 

23 removal: 

24 ‘‘(A) The removed Inspector General. 


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1 ‘‘(B) Any member of the staff of the removed 

2 Inspector General. 

3 ‘‘(C) Any individual harmed by an action of the 

4 designated Federal entity following the removal of 

5 the Inspector General and before the position is 

6 filled by an individual appointed by the head of the 

7 designated Federal entity. 

8 ‘‘(3) Nothing in paragraph (1)(C) shall be construed 

9 to affect any protection provided to a covered employee 

10 under title 5, United States Code. 

11 ‘‘(4) In this subsection, the term ‘covered employee’ 

12 means an officer or employee who, as of the date on which 

13 the individual is directed under paragraph (1)(B), is an 

14 employee, as that term is defined in section 2105 of title 

15 5, United States Code, who— 

16 ‘‘(A) is permitted to submit an appeal to the 

17 Merit Systems Protection Board from any action 

18 which is appealable to the Board under any law, 

19 rule, or regulation; and 

20 ‘‘(B) may obtain judicial review of the final 

21 order or decision of the Board if the employee is ad22 versely affected or aggrieved by that order or deci23 sion.’’. 

24 (2) INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE INTEL25 LIGENCE COMMUNITY.—Section 103H(c) of the NaVerDate Sep 11 2014 17:38 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00054 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3855.IS S3855

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1 tional Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3033(c)) is 

2 amended by adding at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(5) In the event of a vacancy in the position of In4 spector General of the Intelligence Community, the provi5 sions of section 3(h) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 

6 (5 U.S.C. App.) shall apply as if the Inspector General 

7 were an Inspector General of an establishment (as defined 

8 in section 12 of such Act (5 U.S.C. App.)).’’. 

9 (3) INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE CENTRAL IN10 TELLIGENCE AGENCY.—Section 17(b) of the Central 

11 Intelligence Agency Act of 1949 (50 U.S.C. 

12 3517(b)) is amended by adding at the end the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(7) In the event of a vacancy in the position of In15 spector General of the Agency, the provisions of section 

16 3(h) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) 

17 shall apply as if the Inspector General were an Inspector 

18 General of an establishment (as defined in section 12 of 

19 such Act (5 U.S.C. App.)).’’. 

20 (4) INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE GOVERNMENT

21 ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE.—Section 705(b) of title 

22 31, United States Code, is amended— 

23 (A) in the subsection heading, by inserting 

24 ‘‘; VACANCY; TERM’’ after ‘‘REMOVAL’’; and 

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


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1 ‘‘(4) In the event of a vacancy in the position 

2 of Inspector General, the provisions of section 3(h) 

3 of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 

4 App.) shall apply as if the Inspector General were an 

5 Inspector General of an establishment (as defined in 

6 section 12 of such Act (5 U.S.C. App.)).’’. 

7 (5) INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR THE UNITED

8 STATES CAPITOL POLICE.—Section 1004(b) of the 

9 Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2006 (2 

10 U.S.C. 1909(b)) is amended by adding at the end 

11 the following: 

12 ‘‘(6) VACANCY.—In the event of a vacancy in 

13 the position of Inspector General, the provisions of 

14 section 3(h) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 

15 U.S.C. App.) shall apply as if the Inspector General 

16 were an Inspector General of an establishment (as 

17 defined in section 12 of such Act (5 U.S.C. App.)).’’. 

18 (6) INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE ARCHITECT

19 OF THE CAPITOL.—Section 1301(c) of the Architect 

20 of the Capitol Inspector General Act of 2007 (2 

21 U.S.C. 1808(c)) is amended— 

22 (A) in the subsection heading, by inserting 

23 ‘‘; VACANCY; TERM’’ after ‘‘COUNSEL’’; and 

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


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1 ‘‘(6) VACANCY.—In the event of a vacancy in 

2 the position of Inspector General, the provisions of 

3 section 3(h) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 

4 U.S.C. App.) shall apply as if the Inspector General 

5 were an Inspector General of an establishment (as 

6 defined in section 12 of such Act (5 U.S.C. App.)).’’. 

7 (7) INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE LIBRARY OF

8 CONGRESS.—Section 1307(c) of the Library of Con9 gress Inspector General Act of 2005 (2 U.S.C. 

10 185(c)) is amended— 

11 (A) in the subsection heading, by inserting 

12 ‘‘; VACANCY; TERM’’ after ‘‘COUNSEL’’; and 

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

14 ‘‘(6) VACANCY.—In the event of a vacancy in 

15 the position of Inspector General, the provisions of 

16 section 3(h) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 

17 U.S.C. App.) shall apply as if the Inspector General 

18 were an Inspector General of an establishment (as 

19 defined in section 12 of such Act (5 U.S.C. App.)).’’. 

20 (8) INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE GOVERNMENT

21 PUBLISHING OFFICE.—Section 3902 of title 44, 

22 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

23 end the following: 

24 ‘‘(f) In the event of a vacancy in the position of In25 spector General, the provisions of section 3(h) of the InVerDate Sep 11 2014 17:38 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00057 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3855.IS S3855

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1 spector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) shall apply 

2 as if the Inspector General were an Inspector General of 

3 an establishment (as defined in section 12 of such Act (5 

4 U.S.C. App.)).’’. 

5 (9) SPECIAL INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR AF6 GHANISTAN RECONSTRUCTION.—Section 1229(c) of 

7 the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

8 Year 2008 (Public Law 110–181; 122 Stat. 379) is 

9 amended— 

10 (A) in the subsection heading, by inserting 

11 ‘‘VACANCY; TERM’’ after ‘‘REMOVAL’’; and 

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

13 ‘‘(7) VACANCY.—In the event of a vacancy in 

14 the position of Inspector General, the provisions of 

15 section 3(h) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 

16 U.S.C. App.) shall apply as if the Inspector General 

17 were an Inspector General of an establishment (as 

18 defined in section 12 of such Act (5 U.S.C. App.)).’’. 

19 (10) SPECIAL INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR THE

20 TROUBLED ASSET RELIEF PLAN.—Section 121(b) of 

21 the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 

22 (12 U.S.C. 5231(b)) is amended by adding at the 

23 end the following: 

24 ‘‘(7) In the event of a vacancy in the position 

25 of Special Inspector General, the provisions of secVerDate Sep 11 2014 17:38 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00058 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3855.IS S3855

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1 tion 3(h) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 

2 U.S.C. App.) shall apply as if the Special Inspector 

3 General were an Inspector General of an establish4 ment (as defined in section 12 of such Act (5 U.S.C. 

5 App.)).’’. 

6 (d) TEMPORARY INSPECTOR GENERAL.—Section 

7 3345 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding 

8 at the end the following:— 

9 ‘‘(d) Notwithstanding subsection (a), if the President 

10 fails to submit a nominee to the Senate for an Inspector 

11 General of an office established under section 2 of the In12 spector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) within 210 

13 days after a vacancy occurs in the position, a temporary 

14 Inspector General shall be appointed to the vacant position 

15 by a panel of not fewer than 3 inspectors general, who 

16 shall be appointed by the Chair of the Council of the In17 spectors General on Integrity and Efficiency for the pur18 pose of making such an appointment. 

19 ‘‘(e) When appointing a temporary Inspector General 

20 pursuant to subsection (d), the panel shall select the ap21 pointee from the list of suggested individuals submitted 

22 by the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and 

23 Efficiency pursuant to section 11(c)(1)(F) of the Inspec24 tor General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.). 


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1 ‘‘(f) A temporary Inspector General appointed in ac2 cordance with subsection (d)— 

3 ‘‘(1) is not subject to the term limitations of 

4 section 3346; and 

5 ‘‘(2) may serve as Temporary Inspector Gen6 eral— 

7 ‘‘(A) until such time that a permanent In8 spector General is confirmed by the Senate; or 

9 ‘‘(B) until the temporary Inspector Gen10 eral is removed from office by the President, 

11 who may only remove the temporary Inspector 

12 General if the President, not later than 30 days 

13 before the removal, communicates in writing the 

14 reasons for the removal to both Houses of Con15 gress.’’. 

16 (e) CHANGE IN STATUS.— 

17 (1) CHANGE IN STATUS OF INSPECTORS GEN18 ERAL OF ESTABLISHMENTS.—Section 3(b) of the In19 spector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is 

20 amended, in the second sentence— 

21 (A) by inserting ‘‘, is placed on paid or un22 paid non-duty status,’’ after ‘‘is removed from 

23 office’’; 

24 (B) by inserting ‘‘, change in status,’’ after 

25 ‘‘any such removal’’; and 


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1 (C) by inserting ‘‘, change in status,’’ after 

2 ‘‘before the removal’’. 

3 (2) CHANGE IN STATUS OF INSPECTORS GEN4 ERAL OF DESIGNATED FEDERAL ENTITIES.—Section 

5 8G(e)(2) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 

6 U.S.C. App.) is amended, in the first sentence— 

7 (A) by inserting ‘‘, is placed on paid or un8 paid non-duty status,’’ after ‘‘office’’; 

9 (B) by inserting ‘‘, change in status,’’ after 

10 ‘‘any such removal’’; and 

11 (C) by inserting ‘‘, change in status,’’ after 

12 ‘‘before the removal’’. 

13 (f) TERM OF OFFICE.— 

14 (1) INSPECTORS GENERAL OF ESTABLISH15 MENTS AND DESIGNATED FEDERAL ENTITIES.—The 

16 Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is 

17 amended— 

18 (A) in section 3, as amended by this sec19 tion, by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(i) The term of office of each Inspector General shall 

21 be 7 years. An individual may serve for more than 1 term 

22 in such office, if the individual is appointed by the Presi23 dent, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 

24 for each such term. Any individual appointed and con25 firmed to fill a vacancy in such position, occurring before 


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1 the expiration of the term for which his or her predecessor 

2 was appointed, shall be appointed and confirmed for a full 

3 7-year term.’’; and 

4 (B) in section 8G(c)— 

5 (i) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(c)’’; and 

6 (ii) by adding at the end the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(2) The term of office of each Inspector General 

9 shall be 7 years. An individual may serve for more than 

10 1 term in such office. Any individual appointed to fill a 

11 vacancy in such position, occurring before the expiration 

12 of the term for which his or her predecessor was ap13 pointed, shall be appointed for a full 7-year term.’’. 

14 (2) INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE INTEL15 LIGENCE COMMUNITY.—Section 103H(c) of the Na16 tional Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3033(c)), as 

17 amended by this section, is amended by adding at 

18 the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(6) The term of office of the Inspector General shall 

20 be 7 years. An individual may serve for more than 1 term 

21 in such office. Any individual appointed to fill a vacancy 

22 in such position, occurring before the expiration of the 

23 term for which his or her predecessor was appointed, shall 

24 be appointed for a full 7-year term.’’. 


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1 (3) INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE CENTRAL IN2 TELLIGENCE AGENCY.—Section 17(b) of the Central 

3 Intelligence Agency Act of 1949 (50 U.S.C. 

4 3517(b)), as amended by this section, is amended by 

5 adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(8) The term of office of the Inspector General shall 

7 be 7 years. An individual may serve for more than 1 term 

8 in such office. Any individual appointed to fill a vacancy 

9 in such position, occurring before the expiration of the 

10 term for which his or her predecessor was appointed, shall 

11 be appointed for a full 7-year term.’’. 

12 (4) INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE GOVERNMENT

13 ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE.—Section 705(b) of title 

14 31, United States Code, as amended by this section, 

15 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(5) The term of office of the Inspector General 

17 shall be 7 years. An individual may serve for more 

18 than 1 term in such office. Any individual appointed 

19 to fill a vacancy in such position, occurring before 

20 the expiration of the term for which his or her pred21 ecessor was appointed, shall be appointed for a full 

22 7-year term.’’. 

23 (5) INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR THE UNITED

24 STATES CAPITOL POLICE.—Section 1004(b) of the 

25 Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2006 (2 


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1 U.S.C. 1909(b)), as amended by this section, is 

2 amended by adding at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(7) TERM.—The term of office of the Inspec4 tor General shall be 7 years. An individual may 

5 serve for more than 1 term in such office. Any indi6 vidual appointed to fill a vacancy in such position, 

7 occurring before the expiration of the term for which 

8 his or her predecessor was appointed, shall be ap9 pointed for a full 7-year term.’’. 

10 (6) INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE ARCHITECT

11 OF THE CAPITOL.—Section 1301(c) of the Architect 

12 of the Capitol Inspector General Act of 2007 (2 

13 U.S.C. 1808(c)), as amended by this section, is 

14 amended by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(7) TERM.—In the event of a vacancy in the 

16 position of Inspector General, the provisions of sec17 tion 3(h) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 

18 U.S.C. App.) shall apply as if the Inspector General 

19 were an Inspector General of an establishment (as 

20 defined in section 12 of such Act (5 U.S.C. App.)).’’. 

21 (7) INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE LIBRARY OF

22 CONGRESS.—Section 1307(c) of the Library of Con23 gress Inspector General Act of 2005 (2 U.S.C. 

24 185(c)), as amended by this section, is amended by 

25 adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(7) TERM.—The term of office of the Inspec2 tor General shall be 7 years. An individual may 

3 serve for more than 1 term in such office. Any indi4 vidual appointed to fill a vacancy in such position, 

5 occurring before the expiration of the term for which 

6 his or her predecessor was appointed, shall be ap7 pointed for a full 7-year term.’’. 

8 (8) INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE GOVERNMENT

9 PUBLISHING OFFICE.—Section 3902 of title 44, 

10 United States Code, as amended by this section, is 

11 amended by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(g) The term of office of the Inspector General shall 

13 be 7 years. An individual may serve for more than 1 term 

14 in such office. Any individual appointed to fill a vacancy 

15 in such position, occurring before the expiration of the 

16 term for which his or her predecessor was appointed, shall 

17 be appointed for a full 7-year term.’’. 

18 (9) SPECIAL INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR AF19 GHANISTAN RECONSTRUCTION.—Section 1229(c) of 

20 the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

21 Year 2008 (Public Law 110–181; 122 Stat. 379), as 

22 amended by this section, is amended by adding at 

23 the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(8) TERM.—The term of office of the Inspec25 tor General shall be 7 years. An individual may 


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1 serve for more than 1 term in such office. Any indi2 vidual appointed to fill a vacancy in such position, 

3 occurring before the expiration of the term for which 

4 his or her predecessor was appointed, shall be ap5 pointed for a full 7-year term.’’. 

6 (10) SPECIAL INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR THE

7 TROUBLED ASSET RELIEF PLAN.—Section 121(b) of 

8 the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 

9 (12 U.S.C. 5231(b)), as amended by this section, is 

10 amended by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(9) The term of office of the Special Inspector 

12 General shall be 7 years. An individual may serve 

13 for more than 1 term in such office. Any individual 

14 appointed to fill a vacancy in such position, occur15 ring before the expiration of the term for which his 

16 or her predecessor was appointed, shall be appointed 

17 for a full 7-year term.’’. 

18 (11) APPLICATION.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made 

20 by this subsection shall apply to an Inspector 

21 General of the Intelligence Community, an In22 spector General of the Central Intelligence 

23 Agency, an Inspector General of the Govern24 ment Accountability Office, an Inspector Gen25 eral for the United States Capitol Police, an InVerDate Sep 11 2014 17:38 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00066 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3855.IS S3855

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1 spector General of the Architect of the Capitol, 

2 an Inspector General of the Library of Con3 gress, an Inspector General of the Government 

4 Publishing Office, a Special Inspector General 

5 for Afghanistan Reconstruction, a Special In6 spector General for the Troubled Asset Relief 

7 Plan, and an Inspector General of an establish8 ment or a designated Federal entity, as defined 

9 in sections 12 and 8G(a) of the Inspector Gen10 eral Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.), respectively, 

11 appointed before, on, or after the date of enact12 ment of this Act. 

13 (B) TERM.—The term of office of an In14 spector General described in subparagraph (A) 

15 serving on the date of enactment of this Act is 

16 deemed to begin on such date of enactment. 

17 (g) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec18 tion shall be construed to supersede or otherwise affect 

19 any protection for an Inspector General against an adverse 

20 job action that is in existence as of the date of enactment 

21 of this Act. 

22 SEC. 9. STRENGTHENING THE CONGRESSIONAL OVER23 SIGHT COMMISSION. 

24 Section 4020 of the CARES Act is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (b)(1)(A), by striking ‘‘this 

2 subtitle by the Department of the Treasury and the 

3 Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 

4 including efforts of the Department and the Board 

5 to provide economic stability as a result of the 

6 coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID–19) pandemic of 

7 2020’’ and inserting ‘‘each Coronavirus pandemic-re8 lated program, project, or activity, as defined in sec9 tion 2 of the Coronavirus Oversight and Recovery 

10 Ethics Act’’; and 

11 (2) in subsection (e), by striking paragraph (1) 

12 and inserting the following: 

13 ‘‘(1) HEARINGS AND EVIDENCE.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Oversight Com15 mission, or any subcommittee or member there16 of, may, for the purpose of carrying out this 

17 section hold hearings, sit and act at times and 

18 places, take testimony, and receive evidence as 

19 the Oversight Commission considers appropriate 

20 and may administer oaths or affirmations to 

21 witnesses appearing before it. 

22 ‘‘(B) SUBPOENAS.— 

23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In holding hear24 ings and receiving evidence under this 

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1 poenas to compel the attendance of and 

2 testimony by witnesses and the production 

3 any book, check, canceled check, cor4 respondence, communication, document, 

5 email, papers, physical evidence, record, re6 cording, tape, or other material (including 

7 electronic records) relating to any matter 

8 or question the Commission is authorized 

9 to oversee. 

10 ‘‘(ii) ENFORCEMENT.—In the case of 

11 contumacy or failure to obey a subpoena 

12 issued under clause (i), the United States 

13 district court for the judicial district in 

14 which the subpoenaed person resides, is 

15 served, or may be found, or where the sub16 poena is returnable, may issue an order re17 quiring such person to appear at any des18 ignated place to testify or to produce docu19 mentary or other evidence. Any failure to 

20 obey the order of the court may be pun21 ished by the court as a contempt of that 

22 court.’’. 


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1 SEC. 10. CONSULTATION WITH PANDEMIC RESPONSE AC2 COUNTABILITY COMMITTEE AND SPECIAL IN3 SPECTOR GENERAL. 

4 Section 15010 of the CARES Act (Public Law 116– 

5 136) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(l)(1) Not less frequently than once per week, the 

7 Secretary shall— 

8 ‘‘(A) confer with the Chairman of the Com9 mittee, the Executive Director of the Committee, 

10 and the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Re11 covery; and 

12 ‘‘(B) submit to the appropriate congressional 

13 committees a list of each request for assistance or 

14 information that was unreasonably withheld or not 

15 provided to the Committee or the Special Inspector 

16 General for Pandemic Recovery, as determined by 

17 the Chairman of the Committee and the Executive 

18 Director of the Committee or the Special Inspector 

19 General for Pandemic Recovery, as applicable. 

20 ‘‘(2) The Secretary and the Chairman of the Com21 mittee and the Executive Director of the Committee or 

22 the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery, as 

23 applicable, shall include with the list described in para24 graph (1)(B) a written certification, under penalty of per25 jury, that the list is true and correct. 


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1 ‘‘(3) None of the funds made available under this Act 

2 or any other Act may be used to pay the salary of the 

3 Secretary or any political appointee of the Department of 

4 the Treasury if the Secretary does not submit the list de5 scribed in paragraph (1)(B). 

6 ‘‘(4) If any provision of this section is held to be un7 constitutional or if the Secretary does not comply with this 

8 section, the provisions of this Act giving the Secretary dis9 cretion to provide assistance shall be deemed void and un10 enforceable.’’. 

11 SEC. 11. PROTECTING WHISTLEBLOWERS. 

12 (a) PROHIBITION OF REPRISALS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—An employee of, former em14 ployee of, or individual seeking employment with any 

15 non-Federal employer or Federal personal services 

16 contractor receiving covered funds may not be dis17 charged, demoted, blacklisted, prejudiced by any ac18 tion or lack of action, or otherwise discriminated 

19 against in any way (including in the hiring process 

20 and including by the threat of any such action or in21 action) for disclosing, being perceived as disclosing, 

22 or preparing to disclose (including a disclosure made 

23 in the ordinary course of an employee’s duties) to an 

24 officer or entity described in paragraph (2) informa25 tion that the employee, former employee, or indiVerDate Sep 11 2014 17:38 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00071 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3855.IS S3855

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1 vidual seeking employment reasonably believes would 

2 require the employee to violate this Act, or that the 

3 employee, former employee, or individual seeking 

4 employment reasonably believes is evidence of mis5 conduct that violates, obstructs, or undermines any 

6 statutes, rules, or regulations with respect to any 

7 Coronavirus pandemic-related program, project, or 

8 activity, including— 

9 (A) gross mismanagement of an agency 

10 contract, subcontract, grant, or subgrant relat11 ing to covered funds; 

12 (B) a gross waste of covered funds; 

13 (C) a substantial and specific danger to 

14 public health or safety; 

15 (D) an abuse of authority related to the 

16 distribution, implementation, or use of covered 

17 funds, including conflict of interest or parti18 ality; and 

19 (E) a violation of any statute, rule, or reg20 ulation related to an agency contract, sub21 contract (including the competition for or nego22 tiation of a contract or subcontract), grant, or 

23 subgrant, awarded, or issued relating to covered 

24 funds. 


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1 (2) OFFICERS AND ENTITIES.—The officers and 

2 entities described in this paragraph are— 

3 (A) the Pandemic Response Accountability 

4 Committee; 

5 (B) an inspector general, including the 

6 Special Inspector General for Pandemic Relief; 

7 (C) the Congressional Oversight Commis8 sion; 

9 (D) the Comptroller General of the United 

10 States; 

11 (E) a Member of Congress; 

12 (F) a congressional committee; 

13 (G) a State or Federal regulatory or law 

14 enforcement agency; 

15 (H) an individual with supervisory author16 ity over the employee (or such other person 

17 working for the non-Federal employer who has 

18 the authority to investigate, discover, or termi19 nate misconduct); 

20 (I) a court or grand jury; 

21 (J) an officer or representative of a labor 

22 organization; or 

23 (K) the head of a Federal agency or a des24 ignee of such a head. 

25 (3) APPLICATION.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of 

2 paragraph (1)— 

3 (i) an employee, former employee, or 

4 individual seeking employment who initi5 ates or provides evidence of misconduct by 

6 a contractor, subcontractor, grantee, or 

7 subgrantee in any judicial or administra8 tive proceeding relating to waste, fraud, or 

9 abuse in connection with a Federal con10 tract or grant shall be deemed to have 

11 made a disclosure covered by such para12 graph; and 

13 (ii) any discharge, demotion, discrimi14 nation, or other reprisal described in para15 graph (1) is prohibited even if it is under16 taken at the request of an executive branch 

17 officer or employee, unless the request 

18 takes the form of a non-discretionary di19 rective and is within the authority of the 

20 executive branch official making the re21 quest. 

22 (B) PROTECTION OF WHISTLEBLOWER

23 IDENTITY.— 

24 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as required 

25 by law, an officer or entity described in 


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1 paragraph (2) that receives information 

2 under paragraph (1) and any individual or 

3 entity to which the officer or entity dis4 closes the information may not disclose the 

5 identity or identifying information of the 

6 individual providing the information with7 out explicit written consent of the indi8 vidual. 

9 (ii) NOTICE.—If disclosure of the 

10 identity or identifying information of an 

11 individual providing information under 

12 paragraph (1) is required by law, the re13 cipient shall provide timely notice of the 

14 disclosure to the individual. 

15 (b) INVESTIGATION OF COMPLAINTS.— 

16 (1) COMPLAINTS.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—An individual who be18 lieves that the individual has been subjected to 

19 a reprisal prohibited under subsection (a) may, 

20 within 3 years after learning of the alleged re21 prisal, submit a complaint regarding the re22 prisal to the Secretary of Labor in accordance 

23 with the rules and procedures under subsection 

24 (c)(1). 


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1 (B) RESPONSE.—Not later than 60 days 

2 after the submission of a complaint under sub3 paragraph (A), the applicable non-Federal em4 ployer shall submit an answer to the complaint 

5 to the Secretary of Labor. 

6 (C) INVESTIGATION.—Except as provided 

7 under paragraph (3), and unless the Secretary 

8 of Labor determines that a complaint submitted 

9 under subparagraph (A) is frivolous, does not 

10 relate to covered funds, or another Federal or 

11 State judicial or administrative proceeding has 

12 previously been invoked to resolve such com13 plaint, the Secretary of Labor shall investigate 

14 the complaint and, upon completion of such in15 vestigation, submit a report to the individual 

16 submitting the complaint, the applicable non17 Federal employer, the head of the appropriate 

18 agency, Congress, the Congressional Oversight 

19 Committee, the Special Inspector General for 

20 Pandemic Relief (as appropriate), any appro21 priate inspector general, and the Pandemic Re22 sponse Accountability Committee detailing the 

23 findings of the investigation. 

24 (D) OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH

25 ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary of Labor 


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1 shall ensure that investigations of complaints 

2 under this subsection are carried out by the As3 sistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and 

4 Health, which may be through a whistleblower 

5 protection program or office of the Occupa6 tional Safety and Health Administration. 

7 (2) TIME LIMITATIONS FOR ACTIONS.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

9 under subparagraph (B), not later than 180 

10 days after receiving a complaint under para11 graph (1), the Secretary of Labor shall— 

12 (i) make a determination that the 

13 complaint is frivolous, does not relate to 

14 covered funds, or another Federal or State 

15 judicial or administrative proceeding pre16 viously has been invoked to resolve such 

17 complaint; or 

18 (ii) submit a report described in para19 graph (1)(C). 

20 (B) EXTENSIONS.— 

21 (i) VOLUNTARY EXTENSION AGREED

22 TO BETWEEN THE SECRETARY OF LABOR

23 AND COMPLAINANT.—If the Secretary of 

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1 mit a report within the 180-day period 

2 specified under subparagraph (A) and the 

3 individual submitting the complaint agrees 

4 to an extension of time, the Secretary of 

5 Labor shall submit a report described in 

6 paragraph (1)(C) within such additional 

7 period of time as shall be agreed upon be8 tween the Secretary of Labor and the indi9 vidual submitting the complaint. 

10 (ii) EXTENSION GRANTED BY THE

11 SECRETARY OF LABOR.—If the Secretary 

12 of Labor is unable to complete an inves13 tigation under this subsection in time to 

14 submit a report within the 180-day period 

15 specified under subparagraph (A), the Sec16 retary of Labor may extend the period for 

17 not more than an additional 180 days 

18 without the individual submitting the com19 plaint agreeing to such extension, if the 

20 Secretary of Labor provides to the indi21 vidual and the non-Federal employer, if the 

22 employer is a defendant in the individual’s 

23 complaint a written explanation for the de24 cision, from which the Secretary of Labor 


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1 may exclude information in accordance 

2 with paragraph (4)(C). 

3 (3) DISCRETION NOT TO INVESTIGATE COM4 PLAINTS.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor 

6 may decide not to conduct or continue an inves7 tigation under this subsection upon providing to 

8 the individual submitting the complaint and the 

9 non-Federal employer, if applicable, a written 

10 explanation for such decision, from which the 

11 Secretary of Labor may exclude information in 

12 accordance with paragraph (4)(C). 

13 (B) ASSUMPTION OF RIGHTS TO CIVIL

14 REMEDY.—Upon receipt of an explanation of a 

15 decision not to conduct or continue an inves16 tigation under subparagraph (A), the individual 

17 submitting the complaint shall be deemed to 

18 have exhausted all administrative remedies with 

19 respect to the complaint for purposes of sub20 section (c), without regard to the 210-day pe21 riod specified under paragraph (4) of such sub22 section, and immediately assume the right to a 

23 civil remedy under subsection (c)(4). 

24 (4) ACCESS TO INVESTIGATIVE FILE OF THE

25 SECRETARY OF LABOR.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—An individual alleging a 

2 reprisal under this section shall have access to 

3 the investigation file of the Secretary of Labor 

4 in accordance with section 552a of title 5, 

5 United States Code (commonly referred to as 

6 the ‘‘Privacy Act’’). The investigation of the 

7 Secretary of Labor shall be deemed closed for 

8 purposes of disclosure under such section when 

9 an individual files an appeal to an agency head 

10 or a court of competent jurisdiction. 

11 (B) CIVIL ACTION.—In the event an indi12 vidual alleging the reprisal under this section 

13 brings a civil action under subsection (c)(4), the 

14 individual and the non-Federal employer, if ap15 plicable, shall have access to the investigative 

16 file of the Secretary of Labor in accordance 

17 with section 552a of title 5, United States 

18 Code. 

19 (C) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary of Labor 

20 may exclude from disclosure— 

21 (i) information protected from disclo22 sure by a provision of law; and 

23 (ii) any additional information the 

24 Secretary of Labor determines disclosure 

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1 tigation, if such information is disclosed 

2 once such disclosure would no longer im3 pede such investigation, unless the Sec4 retary of Labor determines that disclosure 

5 of law enforcement techniques, procedures, 

6 or information could reasonably be ex7 pected to risk circumvention of the law or 

8 disclose the identity of a confidential 

9 source. 

10 (5) PRIVACY OF INFORMATION.—The Secretary 

11 of Labor investigating an alleged reprisal under this 

12 section may not respond to any inquiry or disclose 

13 any information from or about any individual alleg14 ing such reprisal, except in accordance with the pro15 visions of section 552a of title 5, United States 

16 Code, or as required by any other applicable Federal 

17 law. 

18 (6) SEMIANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 180 

19 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and 

20 every 6 months thereafter for 5 years, the Secretary 

21 of Labor shall submit a report to Congress, which 

22 shall include— 

23 (A) a list of any investigations for which 

24 the period was extended under clause (i) or (ii) 

25 of paragraph (2)(B); and 


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1 (B) a list of any investigations the Sec2 retary of Labor decided not to conduct or con3 tinue, pursuant to paragraph (3). 

4 (c) REMEDY AND ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY.— 

5 (1) RULES AND PROCEDURES.—Except to the 

6 extent provided otherwise in this section, the Sec7 retary of Labor shall establish rules and procedures 

8 for administrative investigations, administrative 

9 hearings, appeals, and relief under this section that, 

10 to the maximum extent practicable, are similar to 

11 the rules and procedures set forth in section 7623(d) 

12 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that apply to 

13 persons alleging a discharge or other reprisal under 

14 paragraph (1) of such section. 

15 (2) BURDEN OF PROOF.—The Secretary of 

16 Labor, head of an agency, or officer presiding in a 

17 judicial or administrative proceeding shall apply the 

18 legal burdens of proof specified in section 1221(e) of 

19 title 5, in determining whether a reprisal prohibited 

20 under this section has occurred in accordance with 

21 the rules and procedures under paragraph (1). 

22 (3) AGENCY ACTION.— 

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

24 after receiving a report of the Secretary of 


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1 Labor under subsection (b), the head of the ap2 plicable agency shall— 

3 (i) determine whether there is suffi4 cient basis to conclude that the non-Fed5 eral employer has subjected the complain6 ant to a reprisal prohibited by subsection 

7 (a); and 

8 (ii)(I) issue an order denying relief in 

9 whole or in part; or 

10 (II) take 1 or more of the actions de11 scribed in subparagraph (B). 

12 (B) ACTIONS.—The actions described in 

13 this subparagraph are the following: 

14 (i) Order the non-Federal employer to 

15 take affirmative action to abate the re16 prisal. 

17 (ii) Order the non-Federal employer 

18 to reinstate the individual to the position 

19 that the individual held before the reprisal, 

20 together with the compensation (including 

21 double back pay), compensatory damages, 

22 employment benefits, and other terms and 

23 conditions of employment that would apply 

24 to the individual in that position if the re25 prisal had not been taken. 


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1 (iii) Order the non-Federal employer 

2 to pay the individual an amount equal to 

3 the aggregate amount of all costs and ex4 penses (including attorney’s fees and ex5 pert witness’s fees) that were reasonably 

6 incurred by the individual for, or in con7 nection with, bringing the complaint re8 garding the reprisal, as determined by the 

9 head of the agency or a court of competent 

10 jurisdiction. 

11 (iv) Order the non-Federal employer 

12 to pay a monetary fine to the agency in an 

13 amount determined by the head of the 

14 agency or a court of competent jurisdic15 tion. 

16 (v) Provide a report to Congress, in17 cluding findings of fact and conclusions of 

18 law relevant to the decision, if the head of 

19 the agency concerned does not accept or 

20 does not implement the recommendations 

21 of the Secretary of Labor report. 

22 (4) CIVIL ACTION.— 

23 (A) EXHAUSTION.—An individual submit24 ting a complaint under subsection (b) shall be 


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1 deemed to have exhausted all administrative 

2 remedies with respect to the complaint if— 

3 (i)(I) the head of the applicable agen4 cy— 

5 (aa) issues an order denying re6 lief in whole or in part under para7 graph (3); or 

8 (bb) has not issued an order— 

9 (AA) within 210 days after 

10 the submission of a complaint 

11 under subsection (b); or 

12 (BB) in the case of an ex13 tension of time under clause (i) 

14 or (ii) of subsection (b)(2)(B), 

15 within 30 days after the expira16 tion of the extension of time; or 

17 (II) the Secretary of Labor decides 

18 under subsection (b)(3) not to investigate 

19 or to discontinue an investigation; and 

20 (ii) there is no showing that such 

21 delay or decision is due to the bad faith of 

22 the individual. 

23 (B) FILING.—An individual who has ex24 hausted all administrative remedies with respect 

25 to a complaint submitted under subsection (b) 


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1 may bring a de novo action at law or equity 

2 against the non-Federal employer to seek com3 pensatory damages and other relief available 

4 under this section in the appropriate district 

5 court of the United States, which shall have ju6 risdiction over such an action without regard to 

7 the amount in controversy. 

8 (C) JURY TRIAL.—An action brought 

9 under subparagraph (B) shall, at the request of 

10 either party to the action, be tried by the court 

11 with a jury. 

12 (5) JUDICIAL ENFORCEMENT OF ORDER.—If 

13 any person fails to comply with an order issued 

14 under paragraph (3), the head of the agency shall 

15 file an action for enforcement of such order in the 

16 United States district court for a district in which 

17 the reprisal was found to have occurred. In any ac18 tion brought under this paragraph, the court may 

19 grant appropriate relief, including injunctive relief, 

20 compensatory and exemplary damages, and attor21 ney’s fees and costs. 

22 (6) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Any person adversely 

23 affected or aggrieved by an order issued under para24 graph (3) may obtain review of whether the order is 

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1 tions issued to carry out this section, in the United 

2 States court of appeals for a circuit in which the re3 prisal is alleged in the order to have occurred. No 

4 petition seeking such review may be filed more than 

5 60 days after issuance of the order by the head of 

6 the agency. Review under this paragraph shall be in 

7 accordance with chapter 7 of title 5, United States 

8 Code. 

9 (7) RIGHTS RETAINED BY EMPLOYEE.—Noth10 ing in this section shall diminish the rights, privi11 leges, or remedies of any employee, former employee, 

12 or individual seeking employment under any Federal 

13 or State law, or under any collective bargaining 

14 agreement. 

15 (8) LIABILITY.—Notwithstanding any other 

16 provision of law, an individual shall be immune from 

17 civil and criminal liability with respect to a disclo18 sure by the individual if the individual would be pro19 tected from reprisal under subsection (a) for making 

20 the disclosure. The individual shall bear the burden 

21 of proving that the individual would be protected 

22 from reprisal under subsection (a) for making the 

23 disclosure. 


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1 (d) NONENFORCEABILITY OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS

2 WAIVING RIGHTS AND REMEDIES OR REQUIRING ARBI3 TRATION OF DISPUTES.— 

4 (1) WAIVER OF RIGHTS AND REMEDIES.—Ex5 cept as provided under paragraph (3), the rights and 

6 remedies provided for in this section may not be 

7 waived by any public or private agreement, policy, 

8 form, or condition of employment, including by any 

9 predispute arbitration agreement. 

10 (2) PREDISPUTE ARBITRATION AGREEMENTS.— 

11 Except as provided under paragraph (3), no 

12 predispute arbitration agreement shall be valid or 

13 enforceable if it requires arbitration of a dispute 

14 arising under this section. 

15 (3) EXCEPTION FOR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

16 AGREEMENTS.—Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) 

17 and (2), an arbitration provision in a collective bar18 gaining agreement shall be enforceable as to dis19 putes arising under the collective bargaining agree20 ment. 

21 (e) REQUIREMENT TO POST NOTICE OF RIGHTS AND

22 REMEDIES.—Any non-Federal employer receiving covered 

23 funds shall post notice of the rights and remedies provided 

24 under this section. 

25 (f) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 


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1 (1) NO IMPLIED AUTHORITY TO RETALIATE

2 FOR NON-PROTECTED DISCLOSURES.—Nothing in 

3 this section may be construed to authorize the dis4 charge of, demotion of, or discrimination or other re5 prisal against an employee, a former employee, or an 

6 individual seeking employment for a disclosure other 

7 than a disclosure protected by subsection (a) or to 

8 modify or derogate from a right or remedy otherwise 

9 available to the employee, former employee, or indi10 vidual seeking employment. 

11 (2) RELATIONSHIP TO STATE LAWS.—Nothing 

12 in this section may be construed to preempt, pre13 clude, or limit the protections provided for public or 

14 private employees under State whistleblower laws. 

15 (g) COMPLAINT PORTAL.—The Special Inspector 

16 General for Pandemic Relief, the Pandemic Relief Ac17 countability Committee, and the Congressional Oversight 

18 Commission shall each establish a public website where 

19 any individual who believes that the individual has been 

20 subjected to a reprisal prohibited under subsection (a) 

21 may submit a complaint regarding the reprisal. Such com22 plaints shall be transmitted to the Secretary of Labor for 

23 enforcement in accordance with this section. 

24 (h) FUNDING.—There is appropriated to the Sec25 retary of Labor for the fiscal year ending September 30, 


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1 2020, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise ap2 propriated, $20,000,000 to carry out this section, to re3 main available until expended. 

4 SEC. 12. STRENGTHENING TRANSPARENCY AND DISCLO5 SURE AROUND BAILOUT FUNDS. 

6 (a) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR RECIPIENTS OF

7 ASSISTANCE.—Section 4003 of division A of the CARES 

8 Act (Public Law 116–136) is amended by adding at the 

9 end the following: 

10 ‘‘(i) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each recipient of assist12 ance, including a loan, loan guarantee, or other in13 vestment made by the Secretary under paragraph 

14 (1), (2), or (3) of subsection (b) or as part of a pro15 gram or facility under paragraph (4) of subsection 

16 (b), shall, not later than 7 days after receipt of the 

17 assistance, submit to the Secretary— 

18 ‘‘(A) all documents related to the accept19 ance of the assistance; 

20 ‘‘(B) a written description of how the re21 cipient intends to use the assistance; 

22 ‘‘(C) compensation and workforce data of 

23 the recipient, including the mean, median, and 

24 minimum wages of all non-executive employees; 


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1 ‘‘(D) the number of employees of the re2 cipient before and after receipt of the assist3 ance; 

4 ‘‘(E) the salaries of executives of the re5 cipient, including bonuses and capital distribu6 tions; 

7 ‘‘(F) whether the recipient has been 

8 charged with violations of Federal law and, if 

9 so, the nature of each alleged violation; 

10 ‘‘(G) with respect to a recipient of assist11 ance from a program or facility of the Federal 

12 Reserve that purchases corporate bonds— 

13 ‘‘(i) the applicable Committee on Uni14 form Securities Identification Procedures 

15 (CUSIP) number; 

16 ‘‘(ii) the bond rating and the identity 

17 of the agency providing that bond rating; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(iii) the identities of any syndicated 

20 loan participants; and 

21 ‘‘(H) with respect to a recipient of assist22 ance from a program or facility of the Federal 

23 Reserve that purchases asset-backed securi24 ties— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the loan data, including the 

2 amount of collateral for the securitization; 

3 ‘‘(ii) the credit ratings and the iden4 tity of the agency providing that credit rat5 ing; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) the identities of the securitiza7 tion issuers and arrangers and the fees the 

8 issuers and arrangers received. 

9 ‘‘(2) PUBLICATION.—Not later than 7 days 

10 after the date on which the Secretary receives the in11 formation described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) 

12 of paragraph (1), the Secretary shall publish that in13 formation on the website of the Federal Reserve.’’. 

14 (b) TRANSPARENCY FOR PAYCHECK PROTECTION

15 LOANS.—Section 7(a)(36) of the Small Business Act (15 

16 U.S.C. 636(a)(36)) is amended by adding at the end the 

17 following: 

18 ‘‘(T) WEEKLY PUBLICATION OF LOAN

19 DATA.— 

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

21 shall, on a weekly basis, publish on the 

22 website of the Administration in an acces23 sible and easily downloadable format data 

24 for loans approved under this paragraph, 

25 including— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the name of each lender; 

2 ‘‘(II) the amount of each loan; 

3 ‘‘(III) the amount each lender 

4 was paid in fees; 

5 ‘‘(IV) the amount of any agent 

6 fees; 

7 ‘‘(V) the types of lenders, includ8 ing whether the lender was a commu9 nity development financial institution 

10 or a minority depository institution, 

11 as defined in section 308 of the Fi12 nancial Institutions Reform, Recovery, 

13 and Enforcement Act of 1989 (12 

14 U.S.C. 1463 note); 

15 ‘‘(VI) the North American Indus16 try Classification System Code for 

17 each industry in which a borrower op18 erates; 

19 ‘‘(VII) the number of individuals 

20 employed by each borrower; 

21 ‘‘(VIII) the zip code of each bor22 rower; and 

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1 eran status, gender, race, and eth2 nicity. 

3 ‘‘(ii) REPORTING BY BORROWER.— 

4 For purposes of publishing the information 

5 under clause (i), the Administrator shall, 

6 at the time at which the borrower applies 

7 for loan forgiveness under section 1106 of 

8 the CARES Act (Public Law 116–136), re9 quest that the borrower provide to the Ad10 ministrator any information described in 

11 that clause that was not otherwise pro12 vided by the borrower at the time of the 

13 initial application for the covered loan.’’. 

14 (c) PUBLICATION OF PANDEMIC RESPONSE AC15 COUNTABILITY COMMITTEE REPORTS.—Section 

16 15010(d)(2)(C)(i) of division B of the CARES Act (Public 

17 Law 116–136) is amended by inserting ‘‘not later than 

18 7 days after the date on which the report is submitted’’ 

19 before the period at the end. 

20 (d) PUBLICATION OF MAJOR CONTRACTS OF THE

21 PANDEMIC RESPONSE ACCOUNTABILITY COMMITTEE.— 

22 Section 15010(g)(3)(A) of division B of the CARES Act 

23 (Public Law 116–136) is amended— 

24 (1) by redesignating clause (xiii) as clause (xiv); 

25 and 


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1 (2) by inserting after clause (xii) the end the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(xiii) Notwithstanding paragraph (4), the 

4 website shall include a machine-readable and 

5 searchable copy of each contract with a value 

6 greater than $150,000 that is awarded under 

7 this Act or under any other Act related to the 

8 Coronavirus response and that is entered into 

9 by an agency after the date of enactment of 

10 this clause. The copy of a contract described in 

11 the preceding sentence shall be posted not later 

12 than 30 days after the date on which the agen13 cy enters into the contract. The contractor pro14 viding property or services under a contract 

15 posted under this clause may request to redact 

16 from such contract any national security, sen17 sitive, or classified information. An agency may 

18 not redact from a contract posted under this 

19 clause any information that would be required 

20 to be made available to the public under section 

21 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly 

22 known as the ‘Freedom of Information Act’).’’. 

23 SEC. 13. STRENGTHENING ENFORCEMENT. 

24 Section 4003 of the CARES Act is amended by add25 ing at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(i) ENFORCEMENT.— 

2 ‘‘(1) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any person harmed 

4 by a violation of the terms and conditions of 

5 subsection (c) of an eligible business may bring 

6 an action in an appropriate district court of the 

7 United States. 

8 ‘‘(B) AWARD OF PORTION OF FINE.—The 

9 court may award a plaintiff who prevails in an 

10 action under subparagraph (A) a portion of any 

11 fine imposed on an eligible business for a viola12 tion of the terms and conditions of subsection 

13 (c). 

14 ‘‘(2) DISGORGEMENT.—The Secretary or the 

15 Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery 

16 shall require disgorgement from any senior executive 

17 of an eligible business that receives a loan, loan 

18 guarantee, or other investment authorized under this 

19 section that violates the terms and conditions estab20 lished under subsection (c).’’. 

Æ 


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