I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5069 

To amend title 5, United States Code, to require Federal political appointees 

to sign a binding ethics pledge, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 28, 2023 

Mr. GALLAGHER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Oversight and Accountability 

A BILL 

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

political appointees to sign a binding ethics pledge, 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 SECTION 1. ETHICS PLEDGE REQUIREMENT FOR SENIOR 

4 EXECUTIVE BRANCH EMPLOYEES. 

5 Chapter 131 of title 5, United States Code, is amend6 ed by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER IV—ETHICS PLEDGE 

8 ‘‘§ 13151. Definitions 

9 ‘‘For the purposes of this subchapter, the following 

10 definitions apply: 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 5069 IH

1 ‘‘(1) The term ‘executive agency’ has the mean2 ing given that term in section 105, and includes the 

3 Executive Office of the President, the United States 

4 Postal Service, and Postal Regulatory Commission, 

5 but does not include the Government Accountability 

6 Office. 

7 ‘‘(2) The term ‘appointee’ means any full-time, 

8 noncareer Presidential or Vice-Presidential ap9 pointee, noncareer appointee in the Senior Executive 

10 Service (or other SES-type system), or appointee to 

11 a position that has been excepted from the competi12 tive service by reason of being of a confidential or 

13 policymaking character (Schedule C and other posi14 tions excepted under comparable criteria) in an exec15 utive agency, but does not include any individual ap16 pointed as a member of the Senior Foreign Service 

17 or solely as a uniformed service commissioned offi18 cer. 

19 ‘‘(3) The term ‘gift’— 

20 ‘‘(A) has the meaning given that term in 

21 section 2635.203(b) of title 5, Code of Federal 

22 Regulations; 

23 ‘‘(B) includes gifts that are solicited or ac24 cepted indirectly as defined at section 

25 2635.203(f) of such title; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 5069 IH

1 ‘‘(C) does not include those items excluded 

2 by sections 2635.204(b), (c), (e)(1)–(3) and 

3 (j)–(l) of such title. 

4 ‘‘(4) The term ‘covered executive branch offi5 cial’ and ‘lobbyist’ have the meanings given those 

6 terms in section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 

7 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602). 

8 ‘‘(5) The term ‘registered lobbyist or lobbying 

9 organization’ means a lobbyist or an organization fil10 ing a registration pursuant to section 4(a) of the 

11 Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 

12 1603(a)), and in the case of an organization filing 

13 such a registration, ‘registered lobbyist’ includes 

14 each of the lobbyists identified therein. 

15 ‘‘(6) The term ‘lobby’ and ‘lobbied’ mean to act 

16 or have acted as a registered lobbyist. 

17 ‘‘(7) The term ‘particular matter’ has the 

18 meaning given that term in section 207 of title 18 

19 and section 2635.402(b)(3) of title 5, Code of Fed20 eral Regulations. 

21 ‘‘(8) The term ‘particular matter involving spe22 cific parties’ has the meaning set forth in section 

23 2641.201(h) of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, 

24 except that it shall include any meeting or other 

25 communication relating to the performance of one’s 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 5069 IH

1 official duties with a former employer or former cli2 ent, unless the communication applies to a particular 

3 matter of general applicability and participation in 

4 the meeting or other event is open to all interested 

5 parties. 

6 ‘‘(9) The term ‘former employer’ is any person 

7 for whom the appointee has within the 2 years prior 

8 to the date of his or her appointment served as an 

9 employee, officer, director, trustee, or general part10 ner, except that ‘former employer’ does not include 

11 any executive agency or other entity of the Federal 

12 Government, State or local government, the District 

13 of Columbia, Native American tribe, or any United 

14 States territory or possession. 

15 ‘‘(10) The term ‘former client’ is any person for 

16 whom the appointee served personally as agent, at17 torney, or consultant within the 2 years prior to the 

18 date of his or her appointment, but excluding in19 stances where the service provided was limited to a 

20 speech or similar appearance. It does not include cli21 ents of the appointee’s former employer to whom the 

22 appointee did not personally provide services. 

23 ‘‘(11) The term ‘directly and substantially re24 lated to my former employer or former clients’ 

25 means matters in which the appointee’s former emVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:03 Aug 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5069.IH H5069

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 5069 IH

1 ployer or a former client is a party or represents a 

2 party. 

3 ‘‘(12) The term ‘participate’ means to partici4 pate personally and substantially. 

5 ‘‘(13) The term ‘post-employment restrictions’ 

6 includes the provisions and exceptions in section 

7 207(c) of title 18, and the implementing regulations. 

8 ‘‘(14) The term ‘Government official’ means 

9 any employee of the executive branch. 

10 ‘‘(15) The term ‘Administration’ means all 

11 terms of office of the incumbent President serving at 

12 the time of the appointment of an appointee covered 

13 by this subchapter. 

14 ‘‘(16) The term ‘pledge’ means the ethics 

15 pledge set forth in section 13152 of this subchapter. 

16 ‘‘(17) All references to provisions of law and 

17 regulations shall refer to such provisions as in effect 

18 on the date of enactment of this subchapter. 

19 ‘‘§ 13152. Ethics pledge 

20 ‘‘Each appointee in every executive agency appointed 

21 on or after the date of enactment of this section shall sign, 

22 and upon signing shall be contractually committed to, the 

23 following pledge upon becoming an appointee: 

24 ‘‘ ‘As a condition, and in consideration, of my employ25 ment in the United States Government in an appointee 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 5069 IH

1 position invested with the public trust, I commit myself 

2 to the following obligations, which I understand are bind3 ing on me and are enforceable under law: 

4 ‘‘ ‘(1) I will not, within 5 years after the termi5 nation of my employment as an appointee in any ex6 ecutive agency in which I am appointed to serve, en7 gage in lobbying activities with respect to that agen8 cy. 

9 ‘‘ ‘(2) If, upon my departure from the Govern10 ment, I am covered by the post-employment restric11 tions on communicating with employees of my 

12 former executive agency set forth in section 207(c) 

13 of title 18, United States Code, I agree that I will 

14 abide by those restrictions. 

15 ‘‘ ‘(3) In addition to abiding by the limitations 

16 of paragraphs 1 and 2, I also agree, upon leaving 

17 Government service, not to engage in lobbying activi18 ties with respect to any covered executive branch of19 ficial or noncareer Senior Executive Service ap20 pointee for the remainder of the Administration. 

21 ‘‘ ‘(4) I will not, at any time after the termi22 nation of my employment in the United States Gov23 ernment, engage in any activity on behalf of any for24 eign government or foreign political party which, 

25 were it undertaken on January 20, 2017, would reVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:03 Aug 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5069.IH H5069

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 5069 IH

1 quire me to register under the Foreign Agents Reg2 istration Act of 1938, as amended. 

3 ‘‘ ‘(5) I will not accept gifts from registered lob4 byists or lobbying organizations for the duration of 

5 my service as an appointee. 

6 ‘‘ ‘(6) I will not for a period of 2 years from the 

7 date of my appointment participate in any particular 

8 matter involving specific parties that is directly and 

9 substantially related to my former employer or 

10 former clients, including regulations and contracts. 

11 ‘‘ ‘(7) If I was a registered lobbyist within the 

12 2 years before the date of my appointment, in addi13 tion to abiding by the limitations of paragraph 6, I 

14 will not for a period of 2 years after the date of my 

15 appointment participate in any particular matter on 

16 which I lobbied within the 2 years before the date 

17 of my appointment or participate in any particular 

18 matter on which I lobbied within the 2 years before 

19 the date of my appointment or participate in the 

20 specific issue area in which that particular matter 

21 falls. 

22 ‘‘ ‘(8) I agree that any hiring or other employ23 ment decisions I make will be based on the can24 didate’s qualifications, competence, and experience. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 5069 IH

1 ‘‘ ‘(9) I understand that the obligations of this 

2 pledge are in addition to any statutory or other legal 

3 restrictions applicable to me by virtue of Govern4 ment service.’. 

5 ‘‘§ 13153. Waiver 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of 

7 Management and Budget, in consultation with the Counsel 

8 to the President, may grant to any current or former ap9 pointee a written waiver of any restrictions contained in 

10 the pledge signed by such appointee if, and to the extent 

11 that, the Director certifies (in writing) that— 

12 ‘‘(1) the literal application of the restriction is 

13 inconsistent with the purposes of the restriction; or 

14 ‘‘(2) it is in the public interest to grant the 

15 waiver. 

16 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—Any waiver under this section 

17 shall take effect when the certification is signed by the 

18 Director. 

19 ‘‘(c) PUBLIC INTEREST.—For purposes of subsection 

20 (a)(2), the public interest shall include exigent cir21 cumstances relating to national security or to the econ22 omy. De minimis contact with an executive agency shall 

23 be cause for a waiver of the restrictions contained in para24 graph 3 of the pledge. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 5069 IH

1 ‘‘§ 13154. Administration 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The head of each executive agen3 cy shall, in consultation with the Director of the Office 

4 of Government Ethics, establish such rules or procedures 

5 (conforming as nearly as practicable to the agency’s gen6 eral ethics rules and procedures, including those relating 

7 to designated agency ethics officers) as are necessary or 

8 appropriate to ensure— 

9 ‘‘(1) that every appointee in the agency signs 

10 the pledge upon assuming the appointed office or 

11 otherwise becoming an appointee; 

12 ‘‘(2) that compliance with paragraph 3 of the 

13 pledge is addressed in a written ethics agreement 

14 with each appointee to whom it applies, which agree15 ment shall also be approved by the Counsel to the 

16 President prior to the appointee commencing work; 

17 ‘‘(3) that spousal employment issues and other 

18 conflicts not expressly addressed by the pledge are 

19 addressed in ethics agreements with appointees or, 

20 where no such agreements are required, through eth21 ics counseling; and 

22 ‘‘(4) compliance with this subchapter within the 

23 agency. 

24 ‘‘(b) EOP.—With respect to the Executive Office of 

25 the President, the duties set forth in subsection (a) shall 

26 be the responsibility of the Counsel to the President. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 5069 IH

1 ‘‘(c) DIRECTOR DUTIES.—The Director of the Office 

2 of Government Ethics shall— 

3 ‘‘(1) ensure that the pledge and a copy of this 

4 subchapter are made available for use by agencies in 

5 fulfilling their duties under subsection (a); 

6 ‘‘(2) in consultation with the Attorney General 

7 or the Counsel to the President, when appropriate, 

8 assist designated agency ethics officers in providing 

9 advice to current or former appointees regarding the 

10 application of the pledge; 

11 ‘‘(3) in consultation with the Attorney General 

12 and the Counsel to the President, adopt such rules 

13 or procedures as are necessary or appropriate— 

14 ‘‘(A) to carry out the responsibilities as15 signed by this subsection; 

16 ‘‘(B) to apply the lobbyist gift ban set 

17 forth in paragraph 1 of the pledge to all execu18 tive branch employees; 

19 ‘‘(C) to authorize limited exceptions to the 

20 lobbyist gift ban for circumstances that do not 

21 implicate the purposes of the ban; 

22 ‘‘(D) to make clear that no person shall 

23 have violated the lobbyist gift ban if the person 

24 properly disposes of a gift as provided by secVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:03 Aug 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5069.IH H5069

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 5069 IH

1 tion 2635.205 of title 5, Code of Federal Regu2 lations; 

3 ‘‘(E) to ensure that existing rules and pro4 cedures for Government employees engaged in 

5 negotiations for future employment with private 

6 businesses that are affected by their official ac7 tions do not affect the integrity of the Govern8 ment’s programs and operations; and 

9 ‘‘(F) to ensure, in consultation with the 

10 Director of the Office of Personnel Manage11 ment, that the requirement set forth in para12 graph 6 of the pledge is honored by every em13 ployee of the executive branch; 

14 ‘‘(4) in consultation with the Director of the 

15 Office of Management and Budget, report to the 

16 President on whether full compliance is being 

17 achieved with existing laws and regulations gov18 erning executive branch procurement lobbying disclo19 sure and on steps the executive branch can take to 

20 expand to the fullest extent practicable disclosure of 

21 such executive branch procurement lobbying and of 

22 lobbying for presidential pardons, and to include in 

23 the report both immediate action the executive 

24 branch can take and, if necessary, recommendations 

25 for legislation; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 5069 IH

1 ‘‘(5) provide an annual public report on the ad2 ministration of the pledge and this subchapter. 

3 ‘‘(d) REPORT.—The Director of the Office of Govern4 ment Ethics shall, in consultation with the Attorney Gen5 eral, the Counsel to the President, and the Director of the 

6 Office of Personnel Management, report to the President 

7 on steps the executive branch can take to expand to the 

8 fullest extent practicable the revolving door ban set forth 

9 in paragraph 5 of the pledge to all executive branch em10 ployees who are involved in the procurement process such 

11 that they may not for 2 years after leaving Government 

12 service lobby any Government official regarding a Govern13 ment contract that was under their official responsibility 

14 in the last 2 years of their Government service, and to 

15 include in the report both immediate action the executive 

16 branch can take and, if necessary, recommendations for 

17 legislation. 

18 ‘‘(e) FILING.—All pledges signed by appointees, and 

19 all waiver certifications with respect thereto, shall be filed 

20 with the head of the appointee’s agency for permanent re21 tention in the appointee’s official personnel folder or 

22 equivalent folder. 

23 ‘‘§ 13155. Enforcement 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The contractual, fiduciary, and 

25 ethical commitments in the pledge are solely enforceable 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 5069 IH

1 by the United States pursuant to this section by any le2 gally available means, including debarment proceedings 

3 within any affected executive agency or judicial civil pro4 ceedings for declaratory, injunctive, or monetary relief. 

5 ‘‘(b) VIOLATIONS.—Any former appointee who is de6 termined, after notice and hearing, by the duly designated 

7 authority within any agency, to have violated his or her 

8 pledge may be barred from lobbying any officer or em9 ployee of that agency for up to 5 years in addition to the 

10 time period covered by the pledge. The head of every exec11 utive agency shall, in consultation with the Director of the 

12 Office of Government Ethics, establish procedures to im13 plement this subsection, which procedures shall include 

14 providing for fact-finding and investigation of possible vio15 lations of this subchapter and for referrals to the Attorney 

16 General for consideration pursuant to subsection (c). 

17 ‘‘(c) INVESTIGATION; CIVIL ACTION.—The Attorney 

18 General is authorized— 

19 ‘‘(1) upon receiving information regarding the 

20 possible breach of any commitment in a signed 

21 pledge, to request any appropriate Federal investiga22 tive authority to conduct such investigations as may 

23 be appropriate; and 

24 ‘‘(2) upon determining that there is a reason25 able basis to believe that a breach of a commitment 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 5069 IH

1 has occurred or will occur or continue, if not en2 joined, to commence a civil action against the former 

3 employee in any United States District Court with 

4 jurisdiction to consider the matter. 

5 ‘‘(d) RELIEF.—In any such civil action, the Attorney 

6 General is authorized to request any and all relief author7 ized by law, including— 

8 ‘‘(1) such temporary restraining orders and pre9 liminary and permanent injunctions as may be ap10 propriate to restrain future, recurring, or continuing 

11 conduct by the former employee in breach of the 

12 commitments in the pledge he or she signed under 

13 this subchapter; and 

14 ‘‘(2) establishment of a constructive trust for 

15 the benefit of the United States, requiring an ac16 counting and payment to the United States Treas17 ury of all money and other things of value received 

18 by, or payable to, the former employee arising out 

19 of any breach or attempted breach of such pledge.’’. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS