Calendar No. 95

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 185

[Report No. 103–57]

A BILL

To amend title 5, United States Code, to restore to

for other purposes.ployees from improper political solicitations, andcal processes of the Nation, to protect such empate voluntarily, as private citizens, in the politiFederal civilian employees their right to particiJUNE 16 (legislative day, JUNE 15), 1993

Reported with an amendment
II

Calendar No. 95

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 185

[Report No. 103–57]

To amend title 5, United States Code, to restore to Federal civilian employees

their right to participate voluntarily, as private citizens, in the political

processes of the Nation, to protect such employees from improper political

solicitations, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JANUARY 26 (legislative day, JANUARY 5), 1993

Mr. GLENN (for himself, Mr. PRYOR, Mr. STEVENS, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr.

LEVIN, Mr. AKAKA, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. CONRAD, Mr. SASSER, Mr.

LEAHY, Mr. DORGAN, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. SIMON, Mr. CAMPBELL, Mr.

BINGAMAN, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. JEFFORDS, Mr.

BRYAN, Mr. BIDEN, Mr. SHELBY, Mr. FEINGOLD, Mr. ROBB, Mr.

DECONCINI, Mr. KOHL, Mr. FORD, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. WELLSTONE,

Mr. REID, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. WOFFORD, Mr. RIEGLE,

Mr. INOUYE, Mr. BREAUX, Mr. EXON, Mr. KERREY, Mr. DASCHLE, Mr.

PELL, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. BRADLEY, and Ms. MOSELEY-BRAUN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs

JUNE 16 (legislative day, JUNE 15), 1993

Reported by Mr. GLENN, with an amendment

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

A BILL

To amend title 5, United States Code, to restore to Federal

civilian employees their right to participate voluntarily,

as private citizens, in the political processes of the Na-
2

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tion, to protect such employees from improper political

solicitations, 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 That this Act may be cited as the ‘‘Hatch Act Reform

4 Amendments of 1993’’.

5 SEC. 2. POLITICAL ACTIVITIES.

6 (a) Subchapter III of chapter 73 of title 5, United

7 States Code, is amended to read as follows:

8 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER III—POLITICAL ACTIVITIES

9 ‘‘§ 7321. Political participation

10 ‘‘It is the policy of the Congress that employees

11 should be encouraged to exercise fully, freely, and without

12 fear of penalty or reprisal, and to the extent not expressly

13 prohibited by law, their right to participate or to refrain

14 from participating in the political processes of the Nation.

15 ‘‘§ 7322. Definitions

16 ‘‘For the purpose of this subchapter—

17 ‘‘(1) ‘employee’ means any individual, other

18 than the President and the Vice President, employed

19 or holding office in—

20 ‘‘(A) an Executive agency other than the

21 General Accounting Office; or

22 ‘‘(B) a position within the competitive

23 service which is not in an Executive agency;
3

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1 but does not include a member of the uniformed

2 services;

3 ‘‘(2) ‘partisan political office’ means any office

4 for which any candidate is nominated or elected as

5 representing a party any of whose candidates for

6 Presidential elector received votes in the last preced7 ing election at which Presidential electors were se8 lected, but shall exclude any office or position within

9 a political party or affiliated organization; and

10 ‘‘(3) ‘political contribution’—

11 ‘‘(A) means any gift, subscription, loan,

12 advance, or deposit of money or anything of

13 value, made for any political purpose;

14 ‘‘(B) includes any contract, promise, or

15 agreement, express or implied, whether or not

16 legally enforceable, to make a contribution for

17 any political purpose;

18 ‘‘(C) includes any payment by any person,

19 other than a candidate or a political party or

20 affiliated organization, of compensation for the

21 personal services of another person which are

22 rendered to any candidate or political party or

23 affiliated organization without charge for any

24 political purpose; and
4

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1 ‘‘(D) includes the provision of personal

2 services for any political purpose.

3 ‘‘§ 7323. Political activity authorized; prohibitions

4 ‘‘(a) Subject to the provisions of subsection (b), an

5 employee may take an active part in political management

6 or in political campaigns, except an employee may not—

7 ‘‘(1) use his official authority or influence for

8 the purpose of interfering with or affecting the re9 sult of an election;

10 ‘‘(2) knowingly solicit, accept, or receive a polit11 ical contribution from any person, unless such

12 person is—

13 ‘‘(A) a member of the same Federal labor

14 organization as defined under section 7103(4)

15 of this title or a Federal employee organization

16 which as of the date of enactment of the Hatch

17 Act Reform Amendments of 1993 had a

18 multicandidate political committee (as defined

19 under section 315(a)(4) of the Federal Election

20 Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(4)));

21 ‘‘(B) not a subordinate employee; and

22 ‘‘(C) the solicitation is for a contribution

23 to the multicandidate political committee (as

24 defined under section 315(a)(4) of the Federal

25 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C.
5

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1 441a(a)(4))) of such Federal labor organization

2 as defined under section 7103(4) of this title or

3 a Federal employee organization which as of

4 the date of the enactment of the Hatch Act Re5 form Amendments of 1993 had a

6 multicandidate political committee (as defined

7 under section 315(a)(4) of the Federal Election

8 Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(4)));

9 or

10 ‘‘(3) run for the nomination or as a candidate

11 for election to a partisan political office; or

12 ‘‘(4) knowingly solicit or discourage the partici13 pation in any political activity of any person who—

14 ‘‘(A) has an application for any compensa15 tion, grant, contract, ruling, license, permit, or

16 certificate pending before the employing office

17 of such employee; or

18 ‘‘(B) is the subject of or a participant in

19 an ongoing audit, investigation, or enforcement

20 action being carried out by the employing office

21 of such employee.

22 ‘‘(b)(1) An employee of the Federal Election Commis23 sion (except one appointed by the President, by and with

24 the advice and consent of the Senate), may not request

25 or receive from, or give to, an employee, a Member of Con-
6

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1 gress, or an officer of a uniformed service a political

2 contribution.

3 ‘‘(2) No employee of the Federal Election Commis4 sion (except one appointed by the President, by and with

5 the advice and consent of the Senate), may take an active

6 part in political management or political campaigns.

7 ‘‘(3) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘active

8 part in political management or in a political campaign’

9 means those acts of political management or political cam10 paigning which were prohibited for employees of the com11 petitive service before July 19, 1940, by determinations

12 of the Civil Service Commission under the rules prescribed

13 by the President.

14 ‘‘§ 7324. Political activities on duty; prohibition

15 ‘‘(a) An employee may not engage in political

16 activity—

17 ‘‘(1) while the employee is on duty;

18 ‘‘(2) in any room or building occupied in the

19 discharge of official duties by an individual employed

20 or holding office in the Government of the United

21 States or any agency or instrumentality thereof;

22 ‘‘(3) while wearing a uniform or official insignia

23 identifying the office or position of the employee; or
7

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1 ‘‘(4) using any vehicle owned or leased by the

2 Government of the United States or any agency or

3 instrumentality thereof.

4 ‘‘(b)(1) An employee described in paragraph (2) of

5 this subsection may engage in political activity otherwise

6 prohibited by subsection (a) if the costs associated with

7 that political activity are not paid for by money derived

8 from the Treasury of the United States.

9 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) applies to an employee—

10 ‘‘(A) the duties and responsibilities of whose po11 sition continue outside normal duty hours and while

12 away from the normal duty post; and

13 ‘‘(B) who is—

14 ‘‘(i) an employee paid from an appropria15 tion for the Executive Office of the President;

16 or

17 ‘‘(ii) an employee appointed by the Presi18 dent, by and with the advice and consent of the

19 Senate, whose position is located within the

20 United States, who determines policies to be

21 pursued by the United States in relations with

22 foreign powers or in the nationwide administra23 tion of Federal laws.
8

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1 ‘‘§ 7325. Political activity permitted; employees resid2 ing in certain municipalities

3 ‘‘The Office of Personnel Management may prescribe

4 regulations permitting employees, without regard to the

5 prohibitions in paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 7323 of

6 this title, to take an active part in political management

7 and political campaigns involving the municipality or other

8 political subdivision in which they reside, to the extent the

9 Office considers it to be in their domestic interest, when—

10 ‘‘(1) the municipality or political subdivision is

11 in Maryland or Virginia and in the immediate vicin12 ity of the District of Columbia, or is a municipality

13 in which the majority of voters are employed by the

14 Government of the United States; and

15 ‘‘(2) the Office determines that because of spe16 cial or unusual circumstances which exist in the mu17 nicipality or political subdivision it is in the domestic

18 interest of the employees and individuals to permit

19 that political participation.

20 ‘‘§ 7326. Penalties

21 ‘‘Any employee who has been determined by the Merit

22 Systems Protection Board to have violated on two occa23 sions any provision of section 7323 or 7324 of this title,

24 shall upon such second determination by the Merit System

25 Protection Board be removed from such employee’s posi26 tion, in which event that employee may not thereafter hold
9

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1 any position (other than an elected position) as an em2 ployee (as defined in section 7322(1) of this title). Such

3 removal shall not be effective until all available appeals

4 are final.’’.

5 (b)(1) Section 3302(2) of title 5, United States Code,

6 is amended by striking out ‘‘7203, 7321, and 7322’’ and

7 inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘and 7203’’.

8 (2) The table of sections for subchapter III of chapter

9 73 of title 5, United States Code, is amended to read as

10 follows:

11 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER III—POLITICAL ACTIVITIES

‘‘7321. Political participation.

‘‘7322. Definitions.

‘‘7323. Political activity authorized; prohibitions.

‘‘7324. Political activities on duty; prohibition.

‘‘7325. Political activity permitted; employees residing in certain municipalities.

‘‘7326. Penalties.’’.

12 SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO CHAPTER 12 OF TITLE 5, UNITED

13 STATES CODE.

14 Section 1216(c) of title 5, United States Code, is

15 amended to read as follows:

16 ‘‘(c) If the Special Counsel receives an allegation con17 cerning any matter under paragraph (1), (3), (4), or (5)

18 of subsection (a), the Special Counsel may investigate and

19 seek corrective action under section 1214 and disciplinary

20 action under section 1215 in the same way as if a prohib21 ited personnel practice were involved.’’.
10

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1 SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 18.

2 (a) Section 602 of title 18, United States Code, relat3 ing to solicitation of political contributions, is amended—

4 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a)’’ before ‘‘It’’;

5 (2) in paragraph (4) by striking out all that fol6 lows ‘‘Treasury of the United States’’ and inserting

7 in lieu thereof a semicolon and ‘‘to knowingly solicit

8 any contribution within the meaning of section

9 301(8) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of

10 1971 from any other such officer, employee, or per11 son. Any person who violates this section shall be

12 fined under this title or imprisoned not more than

13 3 years, or both.’’; and

14 (3) by adding at the end thereof the following

15 new subsection:

16 ‘‘(b) The prohibition in subsection (a) shall not apply

17 to any activity of an employee (as defined in section

18 7322(1) of title 5) or any individual employed in or under

19 the United States Postal Service or the Postal Rate Com20 mission, unless that activity is prohibited by section 7323

21 or 7324 of such title.’’.

22 (b) Section 603 of title 18, United States Code, relat23 ing to making political contributions, is amended by add24 ing at the end thereof the following new subsection:

25 ‘‘(c) The prohibition in subsection (a) shall not apply

26 to any activity of an employee (as defined in section
11

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1 7322(1) of title 5) or any individual employed in or under

2 the United States Postal Service or the Postal Rate Com3 mission, unless that activity is prohibited by section 7323

4 or 7324 of such title.’’.

5 (c)(1) Chapter 29 of title 18, United States Code,

6 relating to elections and political activities is amended by

7 adding at the end thereof the following new section:

8 ‘‘§ 610. Coercion of political activity

9 ‘‘It shall be unlawful for any person to intimidate,

10 threaten, command, or coerce, or attempt to intimidate,

11 threaten, command, or coerce, any employee of the Fed12 eral Government as defined in section 7322(1) of title 5,

13 United States Code, to engage in, or not to engage in,

14 any political activity, including, but not limited to, voting

15 or refusing to vote for any candidate or measure in any

16 election, making or refusing to make any political con17 tribution, or working or refusing to work on behalf of any

18 candidate. Any person who violates this section shall be

19 fined not more than $5,000 or imprisoned not more than

20 three years, or both.’’.

21 (2) The table of sections for chapter 29 of title 18,

22 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end

23 thereof the following:

‘‘610. Coercion of political activity.’’.
12

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1 SEC. 5. AMENDMENTS TO THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965.

2 Section 6 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42

3 U.S.C. 1973d) is amended by striking out ‘‘the provisions

4 of section 9 of the Act of August 2, 1939, as amended

5 (5 U.S.C. 118i), prohibiting partisan political activity’’

6 and by inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘the provisions of sub7 chapter III of chapter 73 of title 5, United States Code,

8 relating to political activities’’.

9 SEC. 6. AMENDMENTS RELATING TO APPLICATION OF

10 CHAPTER 15 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES

11 CODE.

12 (a) Section 1501(1) of title 5, United States Code,

13 is amended by inserting ‘‘, the District of Columbia,’’ after

14 ‘‘State’’.

15 (b) Section 675(e) of the Community Services Block

16 Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9904(e)) is repealed.

17 SEC. 7. APPLICABILITY TO POSTAL EMPLOYEES.

18 The amendments made by this Act, and any regula19 tions thereunder, shall apply with respect to employees of

20 the United States Postal Service and the Postal Rate

21 Commission, pursuant to sections 410(b) and 3604(e) of

22 title 39, United States Code.

23 SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE.

24 (a) The amendments made by this Act shall take ef25 fect 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act,

26 except that the authority to prescribe regulations granted
13

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1 under section 7325 of title 5, United States Code (as

2 added by section 2 of this Act), shall take effect on the

3 date of the enactment of this Act.

4 (b) Any repeal or amendment made by this Act of

5 any provision of law shall not release or extinguish any

6 penalty, forfeiture, or liability incurred under that provi7 sion, and that provision shall be treated as remaining

8 in force for the purpose of sustaining any proper proceed9 ing or action for the enforcement of that penalty, for10 feiture, or liability.

11 (c) No provision of this Act shall affect any proceed12 ings with respect to which the charges were filed on or

13 before the effective date of the amendments made by this

14 Act. Orders shall be issued in such proceedings and ap15 peals shall be taken therefrom as if this Act had not been

16 enacted.

17 That this Act may be cited as the ‘‘Hatch Act Reform

18 Amendments of 1993’’.

19 SEC. 2. POLITICAL ACTIVITIES.

20 (a) Subchapter III of chapter 73 of title 5, United

21 States Code, is amended to read as follows:

22 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER III—POLITICAL ACTIVITIES

23 ‘‘§ 7321. Political participation

24 ‘‘It is the policy of the Congress that employees should

25 be encouraged to exercise fully, freely, and without fear of
14

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1 penalty or reprisal, and to the extent not expressly prohib2 ited by law, their right to participate or to refrain from

3 participating in the political processes of the Nation.

4 ‘‘§ 7322. Definitions

5 ‘‘For the purpose of this subchapter—

6 ‘‘(1) ‘employee’ means any individual, other

7 than the President and the Vice President, employed

8 or holding office in—

9 ‘‘(A) an Executive agency other than the

10 General Accounting Office; or

11 ‘‘(B) a position within the competitive serv12 ice which is not in an Executive agency;

13 but does not include a member of the uniformed

14 services;

15 ‘‘(2) ‘partisan political office’ means any office

16 for which any candidate is nominated or elected as

17 representing a party any of whose candidates for

18 Presidential elector received votes in the last preced19 ing election at which Presidential electors were se20 lected, but shall exclude any office or position within

21 a political party or affiliated organization; and

22 ‘‘(3) ‘political contribution’—

23 ‘‘(A) means any gift, subscription, loan, ad24 vance, or deposit of money or anything of value,

25 made for any political purpose;
15

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1 ‘‘(B) includes any contract, promise, or

2 agreement, express or implied, whether or not le3 gally enforceable, to make a contribution for any

4 political purpose;

5 ‘‘(C) includes any payment by any person,

6 other than a candidate or a political party or af7 filiated organization, of compensation for the

8 personal services of another person which are

9 rendered to any candidate or political party or

10 affiliated organization without charge for any

11 political purpose; and

12 ‘‘(D) includes the provision of personal serv13 ices for any political purpose.

14 ‘‘§ 7323. Political activity authorized; prohibitions

15 ‘‘(a) Subject to the provisions of subsection (b), an em16 ployee may take an active part in political management

17 or in political campaigns, except an employee may not—

18 ‘‘(1) use his official authority or influence for the

19 purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of

20 an election;

21 ‘‘(2) knowingly solicit, accept, or receive a politi22 cal contribution from any person, unless such person

23 is—

24 ‘‘(A) a member of the same Federal labor

25 organization as defined under section 7103(4) of
16

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1 this title or a Federal employee organization

2 which as of the date of enactment of the Hatch

3 Act Reform Amendments of 1993 had a

4 multicandidate political committee (as defined

5 under section 315(a)(4) of the Federal Election

6 Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(4)));

7 ‘‘(B) not a subordinate employee; and

8 ‘‘(C) the solicitation is for a contribution to

9 the multicandidate political committee (as de10 fined under section 315(a)(4) of the Federal

11 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C.

12 441a(a)(4))) of such Federal labor organization

13 as defined under section 7103(4) of this title or

14 a Federal employee organization which as of the

15 date of the enactment of the Hatch Act Reform

16 Amendments of 1993 had a multicandidate polit17 ical committee (as defined under section

18 315(a)(4) of the Federal Election Campaign Act

19 of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(4))); or

20 ‘‘(3) run for the nomination or as a candidate

21 for election to a partisan political office; or

22 ‘‘(4) knowingly solicit or discourage the partici23 pation in any political activity of any person who—

24 ‘‘(A) has an application for any compensa25 tion, grant, contract, ruling, license, permit, or
17

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1 certificate pending before the employing office of

2 such employee; or

3 ‘‘(B) is the subject of or a participant in an

4 ongoing audit, investigation, or enforcement ac5 tion being carried out by the employing office of

6 such employee.

7 ‘‘(b)(1) An employee of the Federal Election Commis8 sion (except one appointed by the President, by and with

9 the advice and consent of the Senate), may not request or

10 receive from, or give to, an employee, a Member of Congress,

11 or an officer of a uniformed service a political contribution.

12 ‘‘(2) No employee of the Federal Election Commission

13 (except one appointed by the President, by and with the

14 advice and consent of the Senate), may take an active part

15 in political management or political campaigns.

16 ‘‘(3) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘active

17 part in political management or in a political campaign’

18 means those acts of political management or political cam19 paigning which were prohibited for employees of the com20 petitive service before July 19, 1940, by determinations of

21 the Civil Service Commission under the rules prescribed by

22 the President.

23 ‘‘§ 7324. Political activities on duty; prohibition

24 ‘‘(a) An employee may not engage in political

25 activity—
18

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1 ‘‘(1) while the employee is on duty;

2 ‘‘(2) in any room or building occupied in the

3 discharge of official duties by an individual employed

4 or holding office in the Government of the United

5 States or any agency or instrumentality thereof;

6 ‘‘(3) while wearing a uniform or official insignia

7 identifying the office or position of the employee; or

8 ‘‘(4) using any vehicle owned or leased by the

9 Government of the United States or any agency or in10 strumentality thereof.

11 ‘‘(b)(1) An employee described in paragraph (2) of this

12 subsection may engage in political activity otherwise pro13 hibited by subsection (a) if the costs associated with that

14 political activity are not paid for by money derived from

15 the Treasury of the United States.

16 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) applies to an employee—

17 ‘‘(A) the duties and responsibilities of whose po18 sition continue outside normal duty hours and while

19 away from the normal duty post; and

20 ‘‘(B) who is—

21 ‘‘(i) an employee paid from an appropria22 tion for the Executive Office of the President; or

23 ‘‘(ii) an employee appointed by the Presi24 dent, by and with the advice and consent of the

25 Senate, whose position is located within the
19

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1 United States, who determines policies to be pur2 sued by the United States in relations with for3 eign powers or in the nationwide administration

4 of Federal laws.

5 ‘‘§ 7325. Political activity permitted; employees resid6 ing in certain municipalities

7 ‘‘The Office of Personnel Management may prescribe

8 regulations permitting employees, without regard to the

9 prohibitions in paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 7323 of

10 this title, to take an active part in political management

11 and political campaigns involving the municipality or

12 other political subdivision in which they reside, to the ex13 tent the Office considers it to be in their domestic interest,

14 when—

15 ‘‘(1) the municipality or political subdivision is

16 in Maryland or Virginia and in the immediate vicin17 ity of the District of Columbia, or is a municipality

18 in which the majority of voters are employed by the

19 Government of the United States; and

20 ‘‘(2) the Office determines that because of special

21 or unusual circumstances which exist in the munici22 pality or political subdivision it is in the domestic

23 interest of the employees and individuals to permit

24 that political participation.
20

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1 ‘‘§ 7326. Penalties

2 ‘‘Any employee who has been determined by the Merit

3 Systems Protection Board to have violated on two occasions

4 any provision of section 7323 or 7324 of this title, shall

5 upon such second determination by the Merit System Pro6 tection Board be removed from such employee’s position, in

7 which event that employee may not thereafter hold any po8 sition (other than an elected position) as an employee (as

9 defined in section 7322(1) of this title). Such removal shall

10 not be effective until all available appeals are final.’’.

11 (b)(1) Section 3302(2) of title 5, United States Code,

12 is amended by striking out ‘‘7203, 7321, and 7322’’ and

13 inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘and 7203’’.

14 (2) The table of sections for subchapter III of chapter

15 73 of title 5, United States Code, is amended to read as

16 follows:

17 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER III—POLITICAL ACTIVITIES

‘‘7321. Political participation.

‘‘7322. Definitions.

‘‘7323. Political activity authorized; prohibitions.

‘‘7324. Political activities on duty; prohibition.

‘‘7325. Political activity permitted; employees residing in certain municipalities.

‘‘7326. Penalties.’’.

18 SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO CHAPTER 12 OF TITLE 5, UNITED

19 STATES CODE.

20 Section 1216(c) of title 5, United States Code, is

21 amended to read as follows:
21

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1 ‘‘(c) If the Special Counsel receives an allegation con2 cerning any matter under paragraph (1), (3), (4), or (5)

3 of subsection (a), the Special Counsel may investigate and

4 seek corrective action under section 1214 and disciplinary

5 action under section 1215 in the same way as if a prohib6 ited personnel practice were involved.’’.

7 SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 18, UNITED STATES CODE.

8 (a) Section 602 of title 18, United States Code, relat9 ing to solicitation of political contributions, is amended—

10 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a)’’ before ‘‘It’’;

11 (2) in paragraph (4) by striking out all that fol12 lows ‘‘Treasury of the United States’’ and inserting

13 in lieu thereof a semicolon and ‘‘to knowingly solicit

14 any contribution within the meaning of section

15 301(8) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971

16 from any other such officer, employee, or person. Any

17 person who violates this section shall be fined under

18 this title or imprisoned not more than 3 years, or

19 both.’’; and

20 (3) by adding at the end thereof the following

21 new subsection:

22 ‘‘(b) The prohibition in subsection (a) shall not apply

23 to any activity of an employee (as defined in section

24 7322(1) of title 5) or any individual employed in or under

25 the United States Postal Service or the Postal Rate Com-
22

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1 mission, unless that activity is prohibited by section 7323

2 or 7324 of such title.’’.

3 (b) Section 603 of title 18, United States Code, relating

4 to making political contributions, is amended by adding

5 at the end thereof the following new subsection:

6 ‘‘(c) The prohibition in subsection (a) shall not apply

7 to any activity of an employee (as defined in section

8 7322(1) of title 5) or any individual employed in or under

9 the United States Postal Service or the Postal Rate Com10 mission, unless that activity is prohibited by section 7323

11 or 7324 of such title.’’.

12 (c)(1) Chapter 29 of title 18, United States Code, relat13 ing to elections and political activities is amended by add14 ing at the end thereof the following new section:

15 ‘‘§ 610. Coercion of political activity

16 ‘‘It shall be unlawful for any person to intimidate,

17 threaten, command, or coerce, or attempt to intimidate,

18 threaten, command, or coerce, any employee of the Federal

19 Government as defined in section 7322(1) of title 5, United

20 States Code, to engage in, or not to engage in, any political

21 activity, including, but not limited to, voting or refusing

22 to vote for any candidate or measure in any election, mak23 ing or refusing to make any political contribution, or work24 ing or refusing to work on behalf of any candidate. Any
23

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1 person who violates this section shall be fined not more than

2 $5,000 or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.’’.

3 (2) The table of sections for chapter 29 of title 18,

4 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end there5 of the following:

‘‘610. Coercion of political activity.’’.

6 SEC. 5. AMENDMENTS TO THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965.

7 Section 6 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C.

8 1973d) is amended by striking out ‘‘the provisions of section

9 9 of the Act of August 2, 1939, as amended (5 U.S.C. 118i),

10 prohibiting partisan political activity’’ and by inserting in

11 lieu thereof ‘‘the provisions of subchapter III of chapter 73

12 of title 5, United States Code, relating to political

13 activities’’.

14 SEC. 6. AMENDMENTS RELATING TO APPLICATION OF

15 CHAPTER 15 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES

16 CODE.

17 (a) Section 1501(1) of title 5, United States Code, is

18 amended by inserting ‘‘, the District of Columbia,’’ after

19 ‘‘State’’.

20 (b) Section 675(e) of the Community Services Block

21 Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9904(e)) is repealed.

22 SEC. 7. APPLICABILITY TO POSTAL EMPLOYEES.

23 The amendments made by this Act (except for the

24 amendments made by section 8), and any regulations there25 under, shall apply with respect to employees of the United
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1 States Postal Service and the Postal Rate Commission, pur2 suant to sections 410(b) and 3604(e) of title 39, United

3 States Code.

4 SEC. 8. POLITICAL RECOMMENDATIONS.

5 (a) Section 3303 of title 5, United States Code, is

6 amended to read as follows:

7 ‘‘§ 3303. Political recommendations

8 ‘‘(a) For the purposes of this section—

9 ‘‘(1) ‘agency’ means—

10 ‘‘(A) an Executive agency; and

11 ‘‘(B) an agency in the legislative branch

12 with positions in the competitive service;

13 ‘‘(2) ‘applicant’ means an individual who has

14 applied for appointment to be an employee;

15 ‘‘(3) ‘employee’ means an employee of an agency

16 who is—

17 ‘‘(A) in the competitive service;

18 ‘‘(B) a career appointee in the Senior Exec19 utive Service or an employee under a similar

20 appointment in a similar executive service; or

21 ‘‘(C) in the excepted service other than—

22 ‘‘(i) an employee who is appointed by

23 the President; or

24 ‘‘(ii) an employee whose position has

25 been determined to be of a confidential, pol-
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1 icy-determining, policy-making, or policy2 advocating character; and

3 ‘‘(4) ‘personnel action’ means any action de4 scribed under clauses (i) through (x) of section

5 2302(a)(2)(A).

6 ‘‘(b) Except as provided under subsection (f), each per7 sonnel action with respect to an employee or applicant shall

8 be taken without regard to any recommendation or state9 ment, oral or written, with respect to any employee or ap10 plicant who requests or is under consideration for such per11 sonnel action, made by—

12 ‘‘(1) any Member of Congress or congressional

13 employee;

14 ‘‘(2) any elected official of the government of any

15 State (including the District of Columbia and the

16 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico), county, city, or other

17 subdivision thereof;

18 ‘‘(3) any official of a political party; or

19 ‘‘(4) any other individual or organization.

20 ‘‘(c) Except as provided under subsection (f), a person

21 or organization referred to under subsection (b) (1) through

22 (4) is prohibited from making or transmitting to any officer

23 or employee of an agency, any recommendation or state24 ment, oral or written, with respect to any employee or ap25 plicant who requests or is under consideration for any per-
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1 sonnel action in such agency. Except as provided under sub2 section (f), the agency, or any officer or employee of the

3 agency—

4 ‘‘(1) shall not solicit, request, consider, or accept

5 any such recommendation or statement; and

6 ‘‘(2) shall return any such written recommenda7 tion or statement, appropriately marked as in viola8 tion of this section, to the person or organization

9 transmitting the same.

10 ‘‘(d) Except as provided under subsection (f), an em11 ployee or applicant who requests or is under consideration

12 for a personnel action in an agency is prohibited from

13 requesting or soliciting from a person or organization re14 ferred to under subsection (b) (1) through (4) a rec15 ommendation or statement.

16 ‘‘(e) Under regulations prescribed by the Office of Per17 sonnel Management, the head of each agency shall ensure

18 that employees and applicants are given notice of the provi19 sions of this section.

20 ‘‘(f) An agency, or any authorized officer or employee

21 of an agency, may solicit, accept, and consider, and any

22 other individual or organization may furnish or transmit

23 to the agency or such authorized officer or employee, any

24 statement with respect to an employee or applicant who re25 quests or is under consideration for a personnel action, if—
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1 ‘‘(1) the statement is furnished pursuant to a re2 quest or requirement of the agency and consists solely

3 of an evaluation of the work performance, ability, ap4 titude, and general qualifications of the employee or

5 applicant;

6 ‘‘(2) the statement relates solely to the character

7 and residence of the employee or applicant;

8 ‘‘(3) the statement is furnished pursuant to a re9 quest made by an authorized representative of the

10 Government of the United States solely in order to de11 termine whether the employee or applicant meets

12 suitability or security standards;

13 ‘‘(4) the statement is furnished by a former em14 ployer of the employee or applicant pursuant to a

15 request of an agency, and consists solely of an evalua16 tion of the work performance, ability, aptitude, and

17 general qualifications of such employee or applicant

18 during employment with such former employer; or

19 ‘‘(5) the statement is furnished pursuant to a

20 provision of law or regulation authorizing consider21 ation of such statement with respect to a specific posi22 tion or category of positions.

23 ‘‘(g) An agency shall take any action it determines

24 necessary and proper under subchapter I or II of chapter

25 75 to enforce the provisions of this section.
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1 ‘‘(h) The provisions of this section shall not affect the

2 right of any employee to petition Congress as authorized

3 by section 7211.’’.

4 (b) The table of sections for chapter 33 of title 5, Unit5 ed States Code, is amended by amending the item relating

6 to section 3303 to read as follows:

‘‘3303. Political recommendations.’’.

7 (c) Section 2302(b)(2) of title 5, United States Code,

8 is amended to read as follows:

9 ‘‘(2) solicit or consider any recommendation or

10 statement, oral or written, with respect to any indi11 vidual who requests or is under consideration for any

12 personnel action except as provided under section

13 3303(f);’’.

14 SEC. 9. GARNISHMENT OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES’ PAY.

15 (a) Subchapter II of chapter 55 of title 5, United

16 States Code, is amended by adding at the end thereof the

17 following new section:

18 ‘‘§ 5520a. Garnishment of pay

19 ‘‘(a) For purposes of this section—

20 ‘‘(1) ‘agency’ means each agency of the Federal

21 Government, including—

22 ‘‘(A) an executive agency, except for the

23 General Accounting Office;

24 ‘‘(B) the United States Postal Service and

25 the Postal Rate Commission;
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1 ‘‘(C) any agency of the judicial branch of

2 the Government; and

3 ‘‘(D) any agency of the legislative branch of

4 the Government, including the General Account5 ing Office, each office of a Member of Congress,

6 a committee of the Congress, or other office of the

7 Congress;

8 ‘‘(2) ‘employee’ means an employee of an agency

9 or member of the uniformed services as defined under

10 section 2101(3);

11 ‘‘(3) ‘legal process’ means any writ, order, sum12 mons, or other similar process in the nature of gar13 nishment, that—

14 ‘‘(A) is issued by a court of competent juris15 diction within any State, territory, or possession

16 of the United States, or an authorized official

17 pursuant to an order of such a court or pursuant

18 to State or local law; and

19 ‘‘(B) orders the employing agency of such

20 employee to withhold an amount from the pay of

21 such employee, and make a payment of such

22 withholding to another person, for a specifically

23 described satisfaction of a legal debt of the em24 ployee, or recovery of attorney’s fees, interest, or

25 court costs; and
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1 ‘‘(4) ‘pay’ means—

2 ‘‘(A) basic pay, premium pay paid under

3 subchapter V, any payment received under sub4 chapter VI, VII, or VIII, severance and back pay

5 paid under subchapter IX, sick pay, incentive

6 pay, and any other compensation paid or pay7 able for personal services, whether such com8 pensation is denominated as wages, salary, com9 mission, bonus pay or otherwise; and

10 ‘‘(B) does not include awards for making

11 suggestions.

12 ‘‘(b) Subject to the provisions of this section and the

13 provisions of section 303 of the Consumer Credit Protection

14 Act (15 U.S.C. 1673) pay from an agency to an employee

15 is subject to legal process in the same manner and to the

16 same extent as if the agency were a private person.

17 ‘‘(c)(1) Service of legal process to which an agency is

18 subject under this section may be accomplished by certified

19 or registered mail, return receipt requested, or by personal

20 service, upon—

21 ‘‘(A) the appropriate agent designated for receipt

22 of such service of process pursuant to the regulations

23 issued under this section; or

24 ‘‘(B) the head of such agency, if no agent has

25 been so designated.
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1 ‘‘(2) Such legal process shall be accompanied by suffi2 cient information to permit prompt identification of the

3 employee and the payments involved.

4 ‘‘(d) Whenever any person, who is designated by law

5 or regulation to accept service of process to which an agency

6 is subject under this section, is effectively served with any

7 such process or with interrogatories, such person shall re8 spond thereto within thirty days (or within such longer pe9 riod as may be prescribed by applicable State law) after

10 the date effective service thereof is made, and shall, as soon

11 as possible but not later than fifteen days after the date

12 effective service is made, send written notice that such proc13 ess has been so served (together with a copy thereof) to the

14 affected employee at his or her duty station or last-known

15 home address.

16 ‘‘(e) No employee whose duties include responding to

17 interrogatories pursuant to requirements imposed by this

18 section shall be subject to any disciplinary action or civil

19 or criminal liability or penalty for, or on account of, any

20 disclosure of information made by such employee in connec21 tion with the carrying out of any of such employee’s duties

22 which pertain directly or indirectly to the answering of any

23 such interrogatory.

24 ‘‘(f) Agencies affected by legal process under this sec25 tion shall not be required to vary their normal pay and
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1 disbursement cycles in order to comply with any such legal

2 process.

3 ‘‘(g) Neither the United States, an agency, nor any dis4 bursing officer shall be liable with respect to any payment

5 made from payments due or payable to an employee pursu6 ant to legal process regular on its face, provided such pay7 ment is made in accordance with this section and the regu8 lations issued to carry out this section. In determining the

9 amount of any payment due from, or payable by, an agency

10 to an employee, there shall be excluded those amounts which

11 would be excluded under section 462(g) of the Social Secu12 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 662(g)).

13 ‘‘(h)(1) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (2), if

14 an agency is served under this section with more than one

15 legal process with respect to the same payments due or pay16 able to an employee, then such payments shall be available,

17 subject to section 303 of the Consumer Credit Protection Act

18 (15 U.S.C. 1673), to satisfy such processes in priority based

19 on the time of service, with any such process being satisfied

20 out of such amounts as remain after satisfaction of all such

21 processes which have been previously served.

22 ‘‘(2) A legal process to which an agency is subject

23 under sections 459, 461, and 462 of the Social Security Act

24 (42 U.S.C. 659, 661, and 662) for the enforcement of the

25 employee’s legal obligation to provide child support or make
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1 alimony payments, shall have priority over any legal proc2 ess to which an agency is subject under this section.

3 ‘‘(i) The provisions of this section shall not modify or

4 supersede the provisions of sections 459, 461, and 462 of

5 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 659, 661, and 662) con6 cerning legal process brought for the enforcement of an indi7 vidual’s legal obligations to provide child support or make

8 alimony payments.

9 ‘‘(j)(1) Regulations implementing the provisions of this

10 section shall be promulgated—

11 ‘‘(A) by the President or his designee for each ex12 ecutive agency, except—

13 ‘‘(i) with regard to members of the armed

14 forces as defined under section 2101, the Presi15 dent or, at his discretion, the Secretary of De16 fense shall promulgate such regulations; and

17 ‘‘(ii) with regard to employees of the United

18 States Postal Service, the President or, at his

19 discretion, the Postmaster General shall promul20 gate such regulations;

21 ‘‘(B) jointly by the President pro tempore of the

22 Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representa23 tives, or their designee, for the legislative branch of

24 the Government; and
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1 ‘‘(C) by the Chief Justice of the United States or

2 his designee for the judicial branch of the Govern3 ment.

4 ‘‘(2) Such regulations shall provide that an agency’s

5 administrative costs in executing a garnishment action

6 may be added to the garnishment, and that the agency may

7 retain costs recovered as offsetting collections.’’.

8 (b)(1) The table of chapters for chapter 55 of title 5,

9 United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item

10 relating to section 5520 the following:

‘‘5520a. Garnishment of pay.’’.

11 (2) Section 410(b) of title 39, United States Code, is

12 amended—

13 (A) by redesignating the second paragraph (9)

14 (relating to the Inspector General Act of 1978) as

15 paragraph (10); and

16 (B) by adding at the end thereof the following

17 new paragraph:

18 ‘‘(11) section 5520a of title 5.’’.

19 SEC. 10. EFFECTIVE DATE.

20 (a) The amendments made by this Act shall take effect

21 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, except

22 that the authority to prescribe regulations granted under

23 section 7325 of title 5, United States Code (as added by

24 section 2 of this Act), shall take effect on the date of the

25 enactment of this Act.
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1 (b) Any repeal or amendment made by this Act of any

2 provision of law shall not release or extinguish any penalty,

3 forfeiture, or liability incurred under that provision, and

4 that provision shall be treated as remaining in force for

5 the purpose of sustaining any proper proceeding or action

6 for the enforcement of that penalty, forfeiture, or

7 liability.

8 (c) No provision of this Act shall affect any proceed9 ings with respect to which the charges were filed on or before

10 the effective date of the amendments made by this Act. Or11 ders shall be issued in such proceedings and appeals shall

12 be taken therefrom as if this Act had not been enacted.

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