II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 232 

To amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to require individuals 

nominated or appointed to Senate-confirmed positions or to positions 

of a confidential or policymaking character to disclose certain types 

of contributions made or solicited by, or at the request of, the individuals. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 28, 2019 

Mr. WHITEHOUSE (for himself, Mr. CARPER, Mr. UDALL, and Mr. VAN HOLLEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to require 

individuals nominated or appointed to Senate-confirmed 

positions or to positions of a confidential or policymaking 

character to disclose certain types of contributions made 

or solicited by, or at the request of, the individuals. 

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 ‘‘Conflicts from Political 

5 Fundraising Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Public confidence in the Federal Govern2 ment is based on the expectation that officers and 

3 employees will discharge their duties impartially, and 

4 avoid either actual conflicts of interest or the ap5 pearance thereof. 

6 (2) The risk of an actual conflict of interest, or 

7 the appearance thereof, arises when a nominee or 

8 appointee to a Senate-confirmed position or an indi9 vidual in a position of a confidential or policymaking 

10 character has previously donated to, solicited for, or 

11 received funds from a political action committee or 

12 entity organized under section 501(c)(4) or section 

13 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

14 (3) Since the 2010 decision by the Supreme 

15 Court of the United States in Citizens United v. 

16 Federal Election Commission, spending by corpora17 tions subject to Federal laws and regulations has in18 creased dramatically. 

19 (4) While some corporate political spending is 

20 done publicly, contributions to entities organized 

21 under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue 

22 Code of 1986 need not be disclosed, making this 

23 spending effectively anonymous. The risk of an ac24 tual conflict of interest, or the appearance thereof, 


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1 arises whether political spending is public or anony2 mous. 

3 (5) Current financial disclosure requirements do 

4 not require filers to report funds they have donated 

5 to, solicited for, or received from political action 

6 committees or entities organized under section 

7 501(c)(4) or section 501(c)(6) of the Internal Rev8 enue Code of 1986. 

9 (6) Apparent or actual conflicts of interest are 

10 best ameliorated through public disclosure of this ac11 tivity to the Office of Government Ethics so the ap12 parent or actual conflicts can be addressed in ethics 

13 agreements negotiated between the filer and the 

14 agency in which the filer will serve. 

15 SEC. 3. DISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN TYPES OF CONTRIBU16 TIONS. 

17 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 109 of the Ethics in Gov18 ernment Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 

19 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through 

20 (19) as paragraphs (5) through (22), respectively; 

21 and 

22 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol23 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(2) ‘covered contribution’ means a payment, 

2 advance, forbearance, rendering, or deposit of 

3 money, or any thing of value— 

4 ‘‘(A)(i) that— 

5 ‘‘(I) is— 

6 ‘‘(aa) made by or at the request 

7 of a covered individual; or 

8 ‘‘(bb) solicited in writing by or at 

9 the request of a covered individual; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(II) is made— 

12 ‘‘(aa) to a political organization, 

13 as defined in section 527 of the Inter14 nal Revenue Code of 1986; or 

15 ‘‘(bb) to an organization— 

16 ‘‘(AA) that is described in 

17 paragraph (4) or (6) of section 

18 501(c) of the Internal Revenue 

19 Code of 1986 and exempt from 

20 tax under section 501(a) of such 

21 Code; and 

22 ‘‘(BB) that promotes or op23 poses changes in Federal laws or 

24 regulations that are (or would 

25 be) administered by the agency in 


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1 which the covered individual has 

2 been nominated for appointment 

3 to a covered position or is serving 

4 in a covered position; or 

5 ‘‘(ii) that is— 

6 ‘‘(I) solicited in writing by or at the 

7 request of a covered individual; and 

8 ‘‘(II) made— 

9 ‘‘(aa) by an individual or entity 

10 the activities of which are subject to 

11 Federal laws or regulations that are 

12 (or would be) administered by the 

13 agency in which the covered individual 

14 has been nominated for appointment 

15 to a covered position or is serving in 

16 a covered position; and 

17 ‘‘(bb) to— 

18 ‘‘(AA) a political organiza19 tion, as defined in section 527 of 

20 the Internal Revenue Code of 

21 1986; or 

22 ‘‘(BB) an organization that 

23 is described in paragraph (4) or 

24 (6) of section 501(c) of the Inter25 nal Revenue Code of 1986 and 


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1 exempt from tax under section 

2 501(a) of such Code; and 

3 ‘‘(B) that is made to an organization de4 scribed in item (aa) or (bb) of clause (i)(II) or 

5 clause (ii)(II)(bb) of subparagraph (A) for 

6 which the total amount of such payments, ad7 vances, forbearances, renderings, or deposits of 

8 money, or any thing of value, during the cal9 endar year in which it is made is not less than 

10 the contribution limitation in effect under sec11 tion 315(a)(1)(A) of the Federal Election Cam12 paign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30116(a)(1)(A)) 

13 for elections occurring during such calendar 

14 year; 

15 ‘‘(3) ‘covered individual’ means an individual 

16 who has been nominated or appointed to a covered 

17 position; and 

18 ‘‘(4) ‘covered position’— 

19 ‘‘(A) means— 

20 ‘‘(i) a position described under sec21 tions 5312 through 5316 of title 5, United 

22 States Code; 

23 ‘‘(ii) a position placed in level IV or V 

24 of the Executive Schedule under section 

25 5317 of title 5, United States Code; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) a position as a limited term ap2 pointee, limited emergency appointee, or 

3 noncareer appointee in the Senior Execu4 tive Service, as defined under paragraphs 

5 (5), (6), and (7), respectively, of section 

6 3132(a) of title 5, United States Code; or 

7 ‘‘(iv) a position in the executive 

8 branch of the Government of a confidential 

9 or policy-determining character under 

10 schedule C of subpart C of part 213 of 

11 title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(B) does not include a position if the in14 dividual serving in the position has been ex15 cluded from the application of section 

16 101(f)(5);’’. 

17 (b) DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS.—The Ethics in 

18 Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 

19 (1) in section 101— 

20 (A) in subsection (a)— 

21 (i) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘With22 in’’; 

23 (ii) by striking ‘‘unless’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘and, if the individual is assuming a cov25 ered position, the information described in 


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1 section 102(j), except that, subject to para2 graph (2), the individual shall not be re3 quired to file a report if’’; and 

4 (iii) by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(2) If an individual has left a position described in 

7 subsection (f) that is not a covered position and, within 

8 30 days, assumes a position that is a covered position, the 

9 individual shall, within 30 days of assuming the covered 

10 position, file a report containing the information described 

11 in section 102(j)(2)(A).’’; 

12 (B) in subsection (b)(1), in the first sen13 tence, by inserting ‘‘and the information re14 quired by section 102(j)’’ after ‘‘described in 

15 section 102(b)’’; 

16 (C) in subsection (d), by inserting ‘‘and, if 

17 the individual is serving in a covered position, 

18 the information required by section 

19 102(j)(2)(A)’’ after ‘‘described in section 

20 102(a)’’; and 

21 (D) in subsection (e), by inserting ‘‘and, if 

22 the individual was serving in a covered position, 

23 the information required by section 

24 102(j)(2)(A)’’ after ‘‘described in section 

25 102(a)’’; and 


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1 (2) in section 102— 

2 (A) in subsection (g), by striking ‘‘Political 

3 campaign funds’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as pro4 vided in subsection (j), political campaign 

5 funds’’; and 

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

7 ‘‘(j)(1) In this subsection— 

8 ‘‘(A) the term ‘applicable period’ means— 

9 ‘‘(i) with respect to a report filed pursuant 

10 to subsection (a) or (b) of section 101, the year 

11 of filing and the 4 calendar years preceding the 

12 year of the filing; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) with respect to a report filed pursuant 

14 to subsection (d) or (e) of section 101, the pre15 ceding calendar year; and 

16 ‘‘(B) the term ‘covered gift’ means a gift that— 

17 ‘‘(i) is made to a covered individual, the 

18 spouse of a covered individual, or the dependent 

19 child of a covered individual; 

20 ‘‘(ii) is made by an entity described in item 

21 (aa) or (bb) of section 109(2)(A)(i)(II); and 

22 ‘‘(iii) would have been required to be re23 ported under subsection (a)(2) if the covered in24 dividual had been required to file a report 


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1 under section 101(d) with respect to the cal2 endar year during which the gift was made. 

3 ‘‘(2)(A) A report filed pursuant to subsection (a), (b), 

4 (d), or (e) of section 101 by a covered individual shall in5 clude, for each covered contribution made by or at the re6 quest of, or that was solicited in writing by or at the re7 quest of, that covered individual during the applicable pe8 riod— 

9 ‘‘(i) the date on which the covered contribution 

10 was made; 

11 ‘‘(ii) if applicable, the date or dates on which 

12 the covered contribution was solicited; 

13 ‘‘(iii) the value of the covered contribution; 

14 ‘‘(iv) the name of the person making the cov15 ered contribution; and 

16 ‘‘(v) the name of the person receiving the cov17 ered contribution. 

18 ‘‘(B)(i) Subject to clause (ii), a covered contribution 

19 made by or at the request of, or that was solicited in writ20 ing by or at the request of, a covered individual shall con21 stitute a conflict of interest, or an appearance thereof, 

22 with respect to the official duties of the covered individual. 

23 ‘‘(ii) The Director of the Office of Government Ethics 

24 may exempt a covered contribution from the application 

25 of clause (i) if the Director determines the circumstances 


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1 of the solicitation and making of the covered contribution 

2 do not present a risk of a conflict of interest and the ex3 emption of the covered contribution would not affect ad4 versely the integrity of the Government or the public’s con5 fidence in the integrity of the Government. 

6 ‘‘(3) A report filed pursuant to subsection (a) or (b) 

7 of section 101 by a covered individual shall include the 

8 information described in subsection (a)(2) with respect to 

9 each covered gift received during the applicable period.’’. 

10 (c) PROVISION OF REPORTS AND ETHICS AGREE11 MENTS TO CONGRESS.—Section 105 of the Ethics in Gov12 ernment Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by add13 ing at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(e) Not later than 30 days after receiving a written 

15 request from the Chairman or Ranking Member of a com16 mittee or subcommittee of either House of Congress, the 

17 Director of the Office of Government Ethics shall provide 

18 to the Chairman and Ranking Member each report filed 

19 under this title by a covered individual and any ethics 

20 agreement entered into between the agency and the cov21 ered individual.’’. 

22 (d) RULES ON ETHICS AGREEMENTS.—The Director 

23 of the Office of Government Ethics shall promptly issue 

24 rules regarding how an agency in the executive branch 

25 shall address information required to be disclosed under 


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1 the amendments made by this Act in drafting ethics agree2 ments between the agency and individuals appointed to po3 sitions in the agency. 

4 (e) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

5 (1) The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 

6 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 

7 (A) in section 101(f)— 

8 (i) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘sec9 tion 109(12)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

10 109(15)’’; 

11 (ii) in paragraph (10), by striking 

12 ‘‘section 109(13)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

13 109(16)’’; 

14 (iii) in paragraph (11), by striking 

15 ‘‘section 109(10)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

16 109(13)’’; and 

17 (iv) in paragraph (12), by striking 

18 ‘‘section 109(8)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

19 109(11)’’; 

20 (B) in section 103(l)— 

21 (i) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘sec22 tion 109(12)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

23 109(15)’’; and 


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1 (ii) in paragraph (10), by striking 

2 ‘‘section 109(13)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

3 109(16)’’; and 

4 (C) in section 105(b)(3)(A), by striking 

5 ‘‘section 109(8) or 109(10)’’ and inserting ‘‘sec6 tion 109(11) or 109(13)’’. 

7 (2) Section 3(4)(D) of the Lobbying Disclosure 

8 Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602(4)(D)) is amended by 

9 striking ‘‘section 109(13)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

10 109(16)’’. 

11 (3) Section 21A of the Securities Exchange Act 

12 of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78u–1) is amended— 

13 (A) in subsection (g)(2)(B)(ii), by striking 

14 ‘‘section 109(11) of the Ethics in Government 

15 Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 109(11)))’’ and in16 serting ‘‘section 109 of the Ethics in Govern17 ment Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.))’’; and 

18 (B) in subsection (h)(2)— 

19 (i) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

20 ‘‘section 109(8) of the Ethics in Govern21 ment Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 109(8))’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘section 109 of the Ethics in 

23 Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.)’’; 

24 and 


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1 (ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

2 ‘‘section 109(10) of the Ethics in Govern3 ment Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 

4 109(10))’’ and inserting ‘‘section 109 of 

5 the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 

6 U.S.C. App.)’’. 

7 (4) Section 499(j)(2) of the Public Health Serv8 ice Act (42 U.S.C. 290b(j)(2)) is amended by strik9 ing ‘‘section 109(16) of the Ethics in Government 

10 Act of 1978’’ and inserting ‘‘section 109 of the Eth11 ics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.)’’. 

Æ 


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