IB 

Union Calendar No. 325 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 745 

[Report No. 116–403, Part I] 

To amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to provide for reform 

in the operations of the Office of Government Ethics, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 24, 2019 

Mr. RASKIN (for himself, Mr. CUMMINGS, and Mr. NADLER) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period 

to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

FEBRUARY 21, 2020 

Reported from the Committee on Oversight and Reform with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

FEBRUARY 21, 2020 

Committee on the Judiciary discharged; committed to the Committee of the 

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

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 24, 2019] 


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A BILL 

To amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to provide 

for reform in the operations of the Office of Government 

Ethics, and for other purposes. 


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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 ‘‘Executive Branch Com5 prehensive Ethics Enforcement Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF THE OFFICE OF GOVERN7 MENT ETHICS. 

8 Section 405 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 

9 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by striking ‘‘fiscal year 2007’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 2019 through 2023.’’. 

11 SEC. 3. TENURE OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF GOV12 ERNMENT ETHICS. 

13 Section 401(b) of the Ethics in Government Act of 

14 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by striking the period 

15 at the end and inserting ‘‘, subject to removal only for inef16 ficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office. The Direc17 tor may continue to serve beyond the expiration of the term 

18 until a successor is appointed and has qualified, except that 

19 the Director may not continue to serve for more than one 

20 year after the date on which the term would otherwise ex21 pire under this subsection.’’. 

22 SEC. 4. DUTIES OF DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF GOVERN23 MENT ETHICS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 402(a) of the Ethics in 

25 Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by 


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1 striking ‘‘, in consultation with the Office of Personnel 

2 Management,’’. 

3 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DIRECTOR.—Section 

4 402(b) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 

5 App.) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘developing, in consultation 

8 with the Attorney General and the Office of Per9 sonnel Management, rules and regulations to be 

10 promulgated by the President or the Director’’ 

11 and inserting ‘‘developing and promulgating 

12 rules and regulations’’; and 

13 (B) by striking ‘‘title II’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘title I’’; 

15 (2) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(2) providing mandatory education and train18 ing programs for designated agency ethics officials, 

19 which may be delegated to each agency or the White 

20 House Counsel as deemed appropriate by the Direc21 tor;’’; 

22 (3) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘title II’’ and 

23 inserting ‘‘title I’’; 

24 (4) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘problems’’ 

25 and inserting ‘‘issues’’; 


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1 (5) in paragraph (6)— 

2 (A) by striking ‘‘issued by the President or 

3 the Director’’; and 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘problems’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘issues’’; 

6 (6) in paragraph (7)— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘, when requested,’’; and 

8 (B) by striking ‘‘conflict of interest prob9 lems’’ and inserting ‘‘conflicts of interest, as well 

10 as other ethics issues’’; 

11 (7) in paragraph (9)— 

12 (A) by striking ‘‘ordering’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘receiving allegations of violations of this Act or 

14 regulations of the Office of Government Ethics 

15 and, when necessary, investigating an allegation 

16 to determine whether a violation occurred, and 

17 ordering’’; and 

18 (B) by inserting before the semi-colon the 

19 following: ‘‘, and recommending appropriate dis20 ciplinary action’’; 

21 (8) in paragraph (12)— 

22 (A) by striking ‘‘evaluating, with the assist23 ance of’’ and inserting ‘‘promulgating, with 

24 input from’’; 

25 (B) by striking ‘‘the need for’’; and 


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1 (C) by striking ‘‘conflict of interest and eth2 ical problems’’ and inserting ‘‘conflict of interest 

3 and ethics issues’’; 

4 (9) in paragraph (13)— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘with the Attorney General’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘with the Inspectors General and 

7 the Attorney General’’; 

8 (B) by striking ‘‘violations of the conflict of 

9 interest laws’’ and inserting ‘‘conflict of interest 

10 issues and allegations of violations of ethics laws 

11 and regulations and this Act’’; and 

12 (C) by striking ‘‘, as required by section 535 

13 of title 28, United States Code’’; 

14 (10) in paragraph (14), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

15 end; 

16 (11) in paragraph (15)— 

17 (A) by striking ‘‘, in consultation with the 

18 Office of Personnel Management,’’; 

19 (B) by striking ‘‘title II’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘title I’’; and 

21 (C) by striking the period at the end and 

22 inserting a semicolon; and 

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

24 ‘‘(16) directing and providing final approval, 

25 when determined appropriate by the Director, for desVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:18 Feb 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H745.RH H745

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1 ignated agency ethics officials regarding the resolu2 tion of conflicts of interest as well as any other ethics 

3 issues under the purview of this Act in individual 

4 cases; and 

5 ‘‘(17) reviewing and approving, when deter6 mined appropriate by the Director, any recusals, ex7 emptions, or waivers from the conflicts of interest and 

8 ethics laws, rules, and regulations and making ap9 proved recusals, exemptions, and waivers made pub10 licly available by the relevant agency available in a 

11 central location on the official website of the Office of 

12 Government Ethics.’’. 

13 (c) WRITTEN PROCEDURES.—Paragraph (1) of section 

14 402(d) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 

15 App.) is amended— 

16 (1) by striking ‘‘, by the exercise of any author17 ity otherwise available to the Director under this 

18 title,’’; 

19 (2) by striking ‘‘the agency is’’; and 

20 (3) by inserting after ‘‘filed by’’ the following: ‘‘, 

21 or written documentation of recusals, waivers, or eth22 ics authorizations relating to,’’. 

23 (d) CORRECTIVE ACTIONS.—Section 402(f) of the Eth24 ics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amend25 ed— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

2 (A) in clause (i) of subparagraph (A), by 

3 striking ‘‘of such agency’’; and 

4 (B) in subparagraph (B), by inserting be5 fore the period at the end ‘‘and determine that 

6 a violation of this Act has occurred and issue ap7 propriate administrative or legal remedies as 

8 prescribed in paragraph (2)’’; 

9 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

10 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

11 (i) in clause (ii)— 

12 (I) in subclause (I)— 

13 (aa) by inserting ‘‘to the 

14 President or the President’s des15 ignee if the matter involves em16 ployees of the Executive Office of 

17 the President or’’ after ‘‘may rec18 ommend’’; 

19 (bb) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

20 end; and 

21 (II) in subclause (II)— 

22 (aa) by inserting ‘‘President 

23 or’’ after ‘‘determines that the’’; 

24 and 


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1 (bb) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the 

2 end; 

3 (ii) in subclause (II) of clause (iii)— 

4 (I) by striking ‘‘notify, in writ5 ing,’’ and inserting ‘‘advise the Presi6 dent or order’’; 

7 (II) by inserting ‘‘to take appro8 priate disciplinary action including 

9 reprimand, suspension, demotion, or 

10 dismissal against the officer or em11 ployee (provided, however, that any 

12 order issued by the Director shall not 

13 affect an employee’s right to appeal a 

14 disciplinary action under applicable 

15 law, regulation, collective bargaining 

16 agreement, or contractual provision).’’ 

17 after ‘‘employee’s agency’’; and 

18 (III) by striking ‘‘of the officer’s 

19 or employee’s noncompliance, except 

20 that, if the officer or employee involved 

21 is the agency head, the notification 

22 shall instead be submitted to the Presi23 dent; and’’; and 

24 (iii) by striking clause (iv); 

25 (B) in subparagraph (B)(i)— 


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1 (i) by striking ‘‘subparagraph (A)(iii) 

2 or (iv)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (A)’’; 

3 (ii) by inserting ‘‘(I)’’ before ‘‘In order 

4 to’’; and 

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

7 ‘‘(II)(aa) The Director may secure directly 

8 from any agency information necessary to enable 

9 the Director to carry out this Act. Upon request 

10 of the Director, the head of such agency shall fur11 nish that information to the Director. 

12 ‘‘(bb) The Director may require by sub13 poena the production of all information, docu14 ments, reports, answers, records, accounts, pa15 pers, and other data in any medium and docu16 mentary evidence necessary in the performance 

17 of the functions assigned by this Act, which sub18 poena, in the case of refusal to obey, shall be en19 forceable by order of any appropriate United 

20 States district court.’’; 

21 (C) in subparagraph (B)(ii)(I)— 

22 (i) by striking ‘‘Subject to clause (iv) 

23 of this subparagraph, before’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘Before’’; and 


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1 (ii) by striking ‘‘subparagraphs (A) 

2 (iii) or (iv)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph 

3 (A)(iii)’’; 

4 (D) in subparagraph (B)(iii), by striking 

5 ‘‘Subject to clause (iv) of this subparagraph, be6 fore’’ and inserting ‘‘Before’’; and 

7 (E) in subparagraph (B)(iv)— 

8 (i) by striking ‘‘title 2’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘title I’’; and 

10 (ii) by striking ‘‘section 206’’ and in11 serting ‘‘section 106’’; and 

12 (3) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘(iv),’’. 

13 (e) DEFINITIONS.—Section 402 of the Ethics in Gov14 ernment Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by adding 

15 at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(g) For purposes of this title— 

17 ‘‘(1) the term ‘agency’ shall include the Executive 

18 Office of the President; and 

19 ‘‘(2) the term ‘officer or employee’ shall include 

20 any individual occupying a position, providing any 

21 official services, or acting in an advisory capacity, in 

22 the White House or the Executive Office of the Presi23 dent. 

24 ‘‘(h) In this title, a reference to the head of an agency 

25 shall include the President or the President’s designee. 


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1 ‘‘(i) The Director shall not be required to obtain the 

2 prior approval, comment, or review of any officer or agency 

3 of the United States, including the Office of Management 

4 and Budget, before submitting to Congress, or any com5 mittee or subcommittee thereof, any information, reports, 

6 recommendations, testimony, or comments, if such submis7 sions include a statement indicating that the views ex8 pressed therein are those of the Director and do not nec9 essarily represent the views of the President.’’. 

10 SEC. 5. AGENCY ETHICS OFFICIALS TRAINING AND DUTIES. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 403 of the Ethics in Gov12 ernment Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (a), by adding a period at the 

14 end of the matter following paragraph (2); and 

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

16 ‘‘(c)(1) All designated agency ethics officials and alter17 nate designated agency ethics officials shall register with 

18 the Director as well as with the appointing authority of 

19 the official. 

20 ‘‘(2) The Director shall provide ethics education and 

21 training to all designated and alternate designated agency 

22 ethics officials in a time and manner deemed appropriate 

23 by the Director. 

24 ‘‘(3) Each designated agency ethics official and each 

25 alternate designated agency ethics official shall biannually 


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1 attend ethics education and training, as provided by the 

2 Director under paragraph (2). 

3 ‘‘(d) Each Designated Agency Ethics Official, includ4 ing the Designated Agency Ethics Official for the Executive 

5 Office of the President— 

6 ‘‘(1) shall provide to the Director, in writing, in 

7 a searchable, sortable, and downloadable format, all 

8 approvals, authorizations, certifications, compliance 

9 reviews, determinations, directed divestitures, public 

10 financial disclosure reports, notices of deficiency in 

11 compliance, records related to the approval or accept12 ance of gifts, recusals, regulatory or statutory advi13 sory opinions, waivers, including waivers under sec14 tion 207 or 208 of title 18, United States Code, and 

15 any other records designated by the Director, unless 

16 disclosure is prohibited by law; 

17 ‘‘(2) shall, for all information described in para18 graph (1) that is permitted to be disclosed to the pub19 lic under law, make the information available to the 

20 public by publishing the information on the website 

21 of the Office of Government Ethics, providing a link 

22 to download an electronic copy of the information, or 

23 providing printed paper copies of such information to 

24 the public; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) may charge a reasonable fee for the cost of 

2 providing paper copies of the information pursuant 

3 to paragraph (2). 

4 ‘‘(e)(1) For all information that is provided by an 

5 agency to the Director under paragraph (1) of subsection 

6 (d), the Director shall make the information available to 

7 the public in a searchable, sortable, downloadable format 

8 by publishing the information on the website of the Office 

9 of Government Ethics or providing a link to download an 

10 electronic copy of the information. 

11 ‘‘(2) The Director may, upon request, provide printed 

12 paper copies of the information published under paragraph 

13 (1) and charge a reasonable fee for the cost of printing such 

14 copies.’’. 

15 (b) REPEAL.—Section 408 of the Ethics in Govern16 ment Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is hereby repealed. 


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Union Calendar No. 325 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 745 

[Report No. 116–403, Part I] 

A BILL 

To amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 

poses. fice of Government Ethics, and for other purto provide for reform in the operations of the OfFEBRUARY 21, 2020 

Reported from the Committee on Oversight and Reform 

F

with an amendment 

EBRUARY 21, 2020 

Committee on the Judiciary discharged; committed to the 

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


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