I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5289 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit any individual serving 

as President or Vice President or as a Member of Congress, or any 

individual who served as an employee of the office of the President 

or Vice President or the office of a Member of Congress, from engaging 

in any lobbying activity after serving in such a position, to amend 

title 41, United States Code, to prohibit executive agencies from awarding 

contracts to former elected officials, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 14, 2018 

Mr. ROKITA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and 

Government Reform, 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 

A BILL 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit any 

individual serving as President or Vice President or as 

a Member of Congress, or any individual who served 

as an employee of the office of the President or Vice 

President or the office of a Member of Congress, from 

engaging in any lobbying activity after serving in such 

a position, to amend title 41, United States Code, to 

prohibit executive agencies from awarding contracts to 

former elected officials, 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 ‘‘Restoring Integrity 

5 in our Elected Officials Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PROHIBITING LOBBYING BY FORMER ELECTED OF7 FICIALS AND THEIR EMPLOYEES. 

8 (a) PROHIBITION.—Section 207(e) of title 18, United 

9 States Code, is amended by striking paragraphs (1) 

10 through (7) and inserting the following: 

11 ‘‘(e) RESTRICTIONS ON ELECTED OFFICIALS AND

12 THEIR EMPLOYEES.— 

13 ‘‘(1) LIFETIME PROHIBITION ON LOBBYING ANY

14 OFFICE OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any individual who 

16 holds a position described in subparagraph (C), 

17 and any immediate family member of such an 

18 individual, who, at any time after such indi19 vidual leaves such a position, knowingly makes, 

20 with the intent to influence, any communication 

21 to or appearance before any officer or employee 

22 of any department, agency, or office of the ex23 ecutive branch or the legislative branch on be24 half of any person (except the United States) in 

25 connection with any matter on which such perVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Mar 24, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5289.IH H5289

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1 son seeks official action by any officer or em2 ployee of such department, agency, or office, 

3 shall be punished as provided in section 216 of 

4 this title. 

5 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF EMPLOYMENT WITH

6 LOBBYING FIRMS.—Any individual who holds a 

7 position described in subparagraph (C), and 

8 any immediate family member of such an indi9 vidual, who, at any time after such individual 

10 leaves such a position, accepts a position as an 

11 officer, director, partner, or employee of a lob12 bying firm under the Lobbying Disclosure Act 

13 of 1995 (without regard to whether or not the 

14 individual engages directly in lobbying activity 

15 under such Act), shall be punished as provided 

16 in section 216 of this title. 

17 ‘‘(C) POSITIONS DESCRIBED.—The posi18 tions described in this subparagraph are the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(i) The President. 

21 ‘‘(ii) The Vice President. 

22 ‘‘(iii) A Member of Congress. 

23 ‘‘(iv) An employee of the office of the 

24 President, the office of the Vice President, 

25 or the office of a Member of Congress. 


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1 ‘‘(v) An employee of a committee of 

2 Congress. 

3 ‘‘(vi) An employee on the leadership 

4 staff of the House of Representatives. 

5 ‘‘(vii) An employee on the leadership 

6 staff of the Senate. 

7 ‘‘(viii) An elected officer of the House 

8 of Representatives. 

9 ‘‘(ix) An elected officer of the Senate. 

10 ‘‘(D) IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER DE11 FINED.—In this paragraph, an ‘immediate fam12 ily member’ means, with respect to an indi13 vidual, a father, mother, son, daughter, brother, 

14 sister, husband, wife, father-in-law, or mother15 in-law. 

16 ‘‘(2) OTHER LEGISLATIVE OFFICES.—(A) Any 

17 person who is an employee of any other legislative 

18 office of the Congress to whom paragraph (7)(B) ap19 plies and who, within 1 year after the termination 

20 of that person’s employment in such office, know21 ingly makes, with the intent to influence, any com22 munication to or appearance before any of the per23 sons described in subparagraph (B), on behalf of 

24 any other person (except the United States) in con25 nection with any matter on which such former emVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Mar 24, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5289.IH H5289

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1 ployee seeks action by any officer or employee of 

2 such office, in his or her official capacity, shall be 

3 punished as provided in section 216 of this title. 

4 ‘‘(B) The persons referred to in subparagraph 

5 (A) with respect to appearances or communications 

6 by a former employee are the employees and officers 

7 of the former legislative office of the Congress of the 

8 former employee.’’. 

9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 207(e) of 

10 such title is amended— 

11 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (8) and (9) as 

12 paragraphs (3) and (4); and 

13 (2) in subparagraph (G) of paragraph (4), as so 

14 redesignated, by striking ‘‘paragraph (1), (2), (3), 

15 (4), or (5)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (1) or (2)’’. 

16 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO TREAT17 MENT OF VICE PRESIDENT.—Section 207(d)(1) of such 

18 title is amended— 

19 (1) by striking subparagraph (A); and 

20 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and 

21 (C) as subparagraphs (A) and (B). 

22 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section and the amend23 ments made by this section shall apply with respect to any 

24 individual who leaves a position described in subparagraph 

25 (C) of section 207(e)(1) of title 18, United States Code 


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1 (as amended by subsection (a)), on or after the date of 

2 the enactment of this Act. 

3 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON CONTRACTS WITH CERTAIN 

4 FORMER ELECTED OFFICIALS. 

5 (a) PROHIBITION ON CONTRACTS WITH CERTAIN

6 FORMER ELECTED OFFICIALS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 47 of title 41, 

8 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

9 end the following new section: 

10 ‘‘§ 4713. Prohibition on contracts with certain former 

11 elected officials 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—With respect to a contract the 

13 value of which would exceed $1,000,000 in any year of 

14 the contract period, an executive agency may not award 

15 such a contract to— 

16 ‘‘(1) any former elected official of the legislative 

17 branch of the United States Government; 

18 ‘‘(2) an immediate family member of such 

19 former elected official; 

20 ‘‘(3) a former congressional employee of such 

21 former elected official; or 

22 ‘‘(4) any entity owned by an individual de23 scribed in paragraphs (1) through (3). 

24 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 ‘‘(1) FORMER CONGRESSIONAL EMPLOYEE.— 

2 The term ‘former congressional employee’ means, 

3 with respect to a former elected official of the legis4 lative branch of the United States Government, an 

5 individual who was a paid congressional employee of 

6 such former elected official for any period of time. 

7 ‘‘(2) FORMER ELECTED OFFICIAL OF THE LEG8 ISLATIVE BRANCH OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERN9 MENT.—The term ‘former elected official of the leg10 islative branch of the United States Government’ 

11 means each former— 

12 ‘‘(A) Member of the United States House 

13 of Representatives; 

14 ‘‘(B) Delegate from the District of Colum15 bia, American Samoa, Guam, the Common16 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and 

17 the Virgin Islands; 

18 ‘‘(C) Resident Commissioner of Puerto 

19 Rico; and 

20 ‘‘(D) United States Senator. 

21 ‘‘(3) IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER.—The term 

22 ‘immediate family member’ means, with respect to a 

23 former elected official of the legislative branch of the 

24 United States Government— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the spouse of such former elected of2 ficial; 

3 ‘‘(B) a natural or adoptive son, daughter, 

4 brother, or sister of such former elected official; 

5 ‘‘(C) a stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother, 

6 or stepsister of such former elected official; and 

7 ‘‘(D) a son-, daughter-, brother-, or sister8 in-law of such former elected official.’’. 

9 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec10 tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended 

11 by adding at the end the following new item: 

‘‘4713. Prohibition on contracts with certain former elected officials.’’. 

12 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by sub13 section (a)(1) shall apply with respect to any contract 

14 awarded on or after January 1, 2019. 

Æ 


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