115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1132 

AN ACT 

To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide for a 

2-year prohibition on employment in a career civil service 

position for any former political appointee, 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, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Political Appointee 

3 Burrowing Prevention Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON EMPLOYMENT OF POLITICAL AP5 POINTEES IN CAREER CIVIL SERVICE POSI6 TIONS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 31 of title 

8 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

9 the following: 

10 ‘‘§ 3115. Employment of political appointees 

11 ‘‘(a) APPOINTMENT APPROVAL REQUIRED.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The head of an agency may 

13 not appoint any individual described in paragraph 

14 (5) to a career position within the agency without 

15 receiving prior written approval from the Associate 

16 Director of Merit Systems Accountability and Com17 pliance, consistent with the requirements of this sub18 section. 

19 ‘‘(2) REQUEST.—The head of an agency shall 

20 submit a request to the Associate Director to ap21 prove the appointment of any individual described in 

22 paragraph (5) to a career position. Any such request 

23 shall include certification by the head of the agency 

24 to the Associate Director that the appointment is 

25 necessary for the agency to meet its mission. 
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1 ‘‘(3) REVIEW AND DETERMINATION.—The As2 sociate Director shall review any request received 

3 pursuant to paragraph (2) and deny any such re4 quest unless the Associate Director determines that 

5 the appointment process with respect to the request 

6 was fair, open, and free from political influence. If 

7 the Associate Director makes that determination, 

8 the Associate Director may approve the request. 

9 ‘‘(4) NOTIFICATION TO CONGRESS.—With re10 spect to any request approved under paragraph (3), 

11 the Associate Director shall, not less than five days 

12 before the date the Associate Director provides ap13 proval to the head of the requesting agency, provide 

14 to the Committee on Oversight and Government Re15 form of the House of Representatives and the Com16 mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af17 fairs of the Senate the agency certification under 

18 paragraph (2) and the agency head’s rationale for 

19 that certification. 

20 ‘‘(5) COVERED INDIVIDUALS.—An individual 

21 described in this paragraph is— 

22 ‘‘(A) a political appointee; 

23 ‘‘(B) a former political appointee who held 

24 any political position during the 5-year period 
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1 before the date of the request described in para2 graph (2); or 

3 ‘‘(C) at the discretion of the Director of 

4 the Office of Personnel Management, a former 

5 political appointee who held any political posi6 tion before the five-year period described in 

7 subparagraph (B). 

8 ‘‘(b) RESTRICTION ON APPOINTMENT.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

10 law, rule, or regulation, during the 2-year period fol11 lowing the date a political appointee leaves or de12 parts from a political position, such appointee may 

13 not be appointed to any career position in the civil 

14 service. 

15 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 

16 apply to a political appointee who has not personally 

17 and substantially participated in any particular mat18 ter while employed in a political position. 

19 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—Nothing in this section shall be 

20 construed to restrict the appointment of an individual who 

21 is— 

22 ‘‘(1) entitled to reinstatement under section 

23 3593(b); or 

24 ‘‘(2) eligible for reinstatement under section 

25 3593(a). 
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1 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

2 ‘‘(1) the term ‘agency’ has the meaning given 

3 the term ‘Executive agency’ in section 105; 

4 ‘‘(2) the term ‘Associate Director’ means the 

5 Associate Director of Merit Systems Accountability 

6 and Compliance at the Office of Personnel Manage7 ment; 

8 ‘‘(3) the term ‘political appointee’ means an in9 dividual serving in an appointment of any duration 

10 to a political position; 

11 ‘‘(4) the term ‘political position’ means— 

12 ‘‘(A) a position with respect to which ap13 pointment is made— 

14 ‘‘(i) by the President; or 

15 ‘‘(ii) by the President, by and with the 

16 advice and consent of the Senate; 

17 ‘‘(B) a position which has been excepted 

18 from the competitive service by reason of its 

19 confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, 

20 or policy-advocating character; 

21 ‘‘(C) a position described under sections 

22 5312 through 5316 (relating to the Executive 

23 Schedule); and 
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1 ‘‘(D) a general position in the Senior Exec2 utive Service during such time as it is filled 

3 by— 

4 ‘‘(i) a noncareer appointee, as defined 

5 in paragraph (7) of section 3132(a); or 

6 ‘‘(ii) a limited term appointee or lim7 ited emergency appointee, as defined in 

8 paragraphs (5) and (6) of section 3132(a), 

9 who is serving under a political appoint10 ment. 

11 ‘‘(5) the term ‘career position’ means— 

12 ‘‘(A) a position in the competitive service 

13 filled by career or career-conditional appoint14 ment; 

15 ‘‘(B) a position in the excepted service 

16 filled by an appointment of equivalent tenure as 

17 a position described in subparagraph (A); 

18 ‘‘(C) a career reserved position, as defined 

19 in paragraph (8) of section 3132(a), in the Sen20 ior Executive Service; or 

21 ‘‘(D) a general position in the Senior Exec22 utive Service when filled by a career appointee, 

23 as defined in section 3132(a)(4); 

24 ‘‘(6) the term ‘participated’ means an action 

25 taken as an officer or employee through decision, ap-
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1 proval, disapproval, recommendation, the rendering 

2 of advice, investigation, or other such action; and 

3 ‘‘(7) the term ‘particular matter’ includes any 

4 investigation, application, request for a ruling or de5 termination, rulemaking, contract, controversy, 

6 claim, charge, accusation, arrest, or judicial or other 

7 proceeding.’’. 

8 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

9 of chapter 31 of title 5, United States Code, is amended 

10 by adding after the item relating to section 3114 the fol11 lowing: 

‘‘3115. Employment of political appointees.’’. 

12 (c) APPLICATION.— 

13 (1) APPOINTMENT REQUESTS.—Section 

14 3115(a) of title 5, United States Code, as added by 

15 subsection (a), shall apply to any appointment or re16 quest for appointment described in such section sub17 mitted to the Associate Director of Merit Systems 

18 Accountability and Compliance after the date of en19 actment of this Act. 

20 (2) LIMITATION ON APPOINTMENTS.—Section 

21 3115(b) of title 5, United States Code, as added by 

22 subsection (a), shall apply to any individual who 

23 leaves or departs from a political position (as that 

24 term is defined in section 3115(c)(2) of such title, 
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1 as added by such subsection) after the date of enact2 ment of this Act. 

3 (d) REGULATIONS REQUIRED.—The Director of the 

4 Office of Personnel Management shall issue regulations 

5 necessary to carry out this Act. Such regulations shall in6 clude guidance on the definition of the term ‘‘personally 

7 and substantially participated in a particular matter’’ in 

8 section 3115(b)(2) of title 5, United States Code, as added 

9 by subsection (a), consistent with section 2641.201 of title 

10 5, Code of Federal Regulations. 

Passed the House of Representatives March 6, 

2018. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1132 

AN ACT 

To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide 

appointee, and for other purposes. reer civil service position for any former political for a 2-year prohibition on employment in a ca-