I 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6844 

To prohibit Federal officials from owning covered investments, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 25, 2022 

Mr. KIM of New Jersey introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

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

Financial Services, Agriculture, Oversight and Reform, House Administration, and Ways and Means, 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 prohibit Federal officials from owning covered 

investments, 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. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Restoring Trust in 

5 Public Servants Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. OWNERSHIP OF COVERED INVESTMENTS. 

7 (a) OWNERSHIP OF COVERED INVESTMENTS.— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 6844 IH

1 (1) CONDUCT DURING FEDERAL SERVICE.—Ex2 cept as described in paragraph (2), no covered offi3 cial or family member of a Member of Congress may 

4 own or trade any covered investment. 

5 (2) COMPLIANCE.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

7 subparagraph (B), to comply with the require8 ments under paragraph (1), a covered official or 

9 family member of a Member of Congress shall 

10 divest of any covered investment prior to the 

11 expiration of the applicable compliance period. 

12 (B) APPLICABLE COMPLIANCE PERIOD.— 

13 In this subsection, the term ‘‘applicable compli14 ance period’’ means— 

15 (i) with respect to a covered invest16 ment held by a covered official or family 

17 member of a Member of Congress on the 

18 date of the enactment of this Act, the 90- 

19 day period which begins on the date of the 

20 enactment of this Act; 

21 (ii) with respect to a covered invest22 ment held by an individual on the date on 

23 which the individual becomes a covered of24 ficial or becomes a family member of a 

25 Member of Congress after the date of the 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 6844 IH

1 enactment of this Act, the 90-day period 

2 which begins on the date on which the in3 dividual becomes a covered official or be4 comes a family member of a Member of 

5 Congress; and 

6 (iii) with respect to a covered invest7 ment which is first held by a covered offi8 cial or a family member of a Member of 

9 Congress after the last day of either of the 

10 periods described in clauses (i) or (ii), the 

11 90-day period which begins on the date on 

12 which such investment was first held by 

13 such official or family member. 

14 (b) PENALTIES.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para16 graph (2), a covered official in violation of this sec17 tion, as determined by the supervising ethics office, 

18 shall pay a penalty in an amount equal to the fee 

19 set forth under section 104(d)(1) of the Ethics in 

20 Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 104(d)(1)) 

21 for each such violation. 

22 (2) EXCEPTION.— 

23 (A) PENALTY.—An individual described in 

24 subparagraph (C) who during any month is in 

25 violation of this section with respect to a covVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:08 Mar 03, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6844.IH H6844

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 6844 IH

1 ered investment, as determined by the super2 vising ethics office, shall pay a penalty in an 

3 amount equal to— 

4 (i) in the case of an individual who is 

5 a covered official, the salary of such official 

6 for that month; or 

7 (ii) in the case of an individual who is 

8 a family member of a Member of Congress, 

9 the salary of the Member of Congress for 

10 that month. 

11 (B) AMOUNT DETERMINED WITHOUT RE12 GARD TO NUMBER OF VIOLATIONS.—The 

13 amount of the penalty imposed under subpara14 graph (A) shall apply to an individual without 

15 regard to the number of covered investments 

16 with respect to which the individual is in viola17 tion during the month in which the penalty is 

18 imposed. 

19 (C) INDIVIDUALS DESCRIBED.—The indi20 viduals described in this paragraph are the fol21 lowing: 

22 (i) A Member of Congress or a family 

23 member of a Member of Congress. 

24 (ii) The President. 

25 (iii) The Vice-President. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 6844 IH

1 (iv) A political appointee who was ap2 pointed to such position by the President, 

3 by and with the advice and consent of the 

4 Senate. 

5 (v) A judicial officer. 

6 (c) PUBLICATION.—For each individual in violation 

7 of this section as determined by the supervising ethics of8 fice, such office shall make available a list, on a publicly 

9 accessible website of such office, detailing the names, occu10 pation, and office of employment for each such individual, 

11 or in the case of a family member of a Member of Con12 gress, the name of such family member and of such Mem13 ber of Congress. 

14 (d) APPLICATION OF CERTIFICATE OF DIVESTITURE

15 PROGRAM.—For purposes of section 1043 of the Internal 

16 Revenue Code of 1986— 

17 (1) any person required to dispose of any prop18 erty by reason of this section shall be treated as an 

19 eligible person; 

20 (2) this section shall be treated as a Federal 

21 conflict of interest statute; and 

22 (3) in the case of an individual described in 

23 subsection (e)(2)(A), the requirement of section 

24 1043(b)(2)(B) of such Code shall be treated as sat25 isfied with respect to any written determination if 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 6844 IH

1 such determination is issued by the supervising eth2 ics office. 

3 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) COVERED INVESTMENT.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘covered in6 vestment’’ means— 

7 (i) an investment in a security, a com8 modity, or a future; and 

9 (ii) any economic interest comparable 

10 to an interest described in clause (i) that 

11 is acquired through synthetic means, such 

12 as the use of a derivative, including an op13 tion, warrant, or other, similar means. 

14 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘covered in15 vestment’’ includes an investment or economic 

16 interest described in subparagraph (A) that is 

17 held directly, or in which an individual has an 

18 indirect, beneficial, or economic interest, 

19 through— 

20 (i) an investment fund; 

21 (ii) a trust; 

22 (iii) an employee benefit plan; or 

23 (iv) a deferred compensation plan, in24 cluding a carried interest or other agreeVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:08 Mar 03, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6844.IH H6844

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 6844 IH

1 ment tied to the performance of an invest2 ment, other than a fixed cash payment. 

3 (C) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘covered in4 vestment’’ does not include— 

5 (i) a diversified mutual fund (includ6 ing any holdings of such a fund); 

7 (ii) a diversified exchange-traded fund 

8 (including any holdings of such a fund); 

9 (iii) a United States Treasury bill, 

10 note, or bond; 

11 (iv) compensation from the primary 

12 occupation of a spouse or dependent of a 

13 Member of Congress; or 

14 (v) any investment fund held in a 

15 Federal, State, or local government em16 ployee retirement plan. 

17 (D) CLARIFICATION.—An investment that 

18 achieves compliance with applicable environ19 mental, social, and governance criteria shall not 

20 be considered to be a covered investment solely 

21 by reason of that compliance. 

22 (2) COVERED OFFICIAL.—The term ‘‘covered 

23 official’’ means the following: 

24 (A) In the legislative branch, a Member of 

25 Congress and each of the following (other than 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 6844 IH

1 an employee who is considered an intern or a 

2 fellow for purposes of any law or regulation es3 tablishing a limit on the number of employees 

4 of an office of the House of Representatives or 

5 Senate): 

6 (i) An employee of a Member of the 

7 House of Representatives (as described in 

8 section 207(e)(9)(E) of title 18, United 

9 States Code). 

10 (ii) An employee of a Senator (as de11 scribed in section 207(e)(9)(F) of title 18, 

12 United States Code). 

13 (iii) An employee of a committee of 

14 Congress (as defined in section 

15 207(e)(9)(A) of title 18, United States 

16 Code). 

17 (iv) An employee on the leadership 

18 staff of the House of Representatives (as 

19 defined in section 207(e)(9)(H) of title 18, 

20 United States Code). 

21 (v) An employee on the leadership 

22 staff of the Senate (as defined in section 

23 207(e)(9)(I) of title 18, United States 

24 Code). 

25 (B) In the executive branch— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 6844 IH

1 (i) the President; 

2 (ii) the Vice-President; 

3 (iii) a political appointee; or 

4 (iv) any officer or employee of the ex5 ecutive branch who is— 

6 (I) not a political appointee; and 

7 (II) occupies a position described 

8 under paragraphs (3) through (8) of 

9 section 101(f) of the Ethics in Gov10 ernment Act of 1978. (5 U.S.C. App. 

11 101). 

12 (C) A judicial officer. 

13 (3) EXECUTIVE BRANCH.—The term ‘‘executive 

14 branch’’ has the meaning given such term defined in 

15 section 109 of the Ethics in Government Act of 

16 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 109). 

17 (4) FAMILY MEMBER.—The term ‘‘family mem18 ber’’ means a spouse or a dependent child as defined 

19 in section 109 of the Ethics in Government Act of 

20 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 109). 

21 (5) JUDICIAL OFFICER.—The term ‘‘judicial of22 ficer’’— 

23 (A) has the meaning given such term in 

24 section 109 of the Ethics in Government Act of 

25 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 109); and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 6844 IH

1 (B) includes bankruptcy judges and mag2 istrate judges. 

3 (6) MEMBER OF CONGRESS.—The term ‘‘Mem4 ber of Congress’’ has the meaning given such term 

5 defined in section 109 of the Ethics in Government 

6 Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 109). 

7 (7) POLITICAL APPOINTEE.—The term ‘‘polit8 ical appointee’’ means any individual occupying a 

9 position in the executive branch of Government— 

10 (A) who was appointed to such position by 

11 the President, by and with the advice and con12 sent of the Senate; 

13 (B) described under sections 5312 through 

14 5316 of title 5, United States Code (relating to 

15 the Executive Schedule); 

16 (C) as a noncareer appointment in the 

17 Senior Executive Service, as defined under 

18 paragraph (7) of section 3132(a) of such title; 

19 or 

20 (D) that is of a confidential or policy-de21 termining character under schedule C of sub22 part C of part 213 of title 5, Code of Federal 

23 Regulations, or any other position that is ex24 cepted from the competitive service because of 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 6844 IH

1 its confidential policy-determining, policy-mak2 ing or policy-advocating character. 

3 (8) SUPERVISING ETHICS OFFICE.—The term 

4 ‘‘supervising ethics office’’ means any of the fol5 lowing: 

6 (A) In the case of an individual described 

7 in paragraph (2)(A)— 

8 (i) the Select Committee on Ethics of 

9 the Senate; or 

10 (ii) the Committee on Ethics of the 

11 House of Representatives. 

12 (B) In the case of an individual described 

13 in paragraph (2)(B), the Office of Government 

14 Ethics. 

15 (C) In the case of a judicial officer, the Ju16 dicial Conference. 

17 SEC. 3. BAN ON ALL OUTSIDE EARNED INCOME AND ALL 

18 SERVICE ON BOARDS BY MEMBERS OF CON19 GRESS. 

20 (a) OUTSIDE EARNED INCOME.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 501(a)(1) of the 

22 Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 

23 501(a)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘outside earned 

24 income attributable to such calendar year which ex25 ceeds 15 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘any outside earned 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 6844 IH

1 income attributable to such calendar year, except 

2 that such an officer or employee may have outside 

3 earned income attributable to such calendar year 

4 which does not exceed 15 percent’’. 

5 (2) INDIVIDUALS BECOMING MEMBERS DURING

6 CALENDAR YEAR.—Section 501(a)(2) of such Act (5 

7 U.S.C. App. 501(a)(2)) is amended— 

8 (A) by striking ‘‘outside earned income at9 tributable to the portion of that calendar year 

10 which occurs after such individual becomes a 

11 Member or such an officer or employee which 

12 exceeds 15 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘any outside 

13 earned income attributable to the portion of 

14 that calendar year which occurs after such indi15 vidual becomes a Member or such an officer or 

16 employee, except that such an officer or em17 ployee may have outside earned income attrib18 utable to such portion of that calendar year 

19 which does not exceed 15 percent’’; and 

20 (B) by striking ‘‘such individual is a Mem21 ber or such officer or employee’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘such individual is such an officer or em23 ployee’’. 

24 (3) PRESERVING AUTHORITY OF OFFICERS AND

25 EMPLOYEES OF CONGRESS TO EARN COMPENSATION


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 6844 IH

1 FROM PRACTICING MEDICINE.—Section 502(a) of 

2 such Act (5 U.S.C. App. 502(a)) is amended by 

3 striking ‘‘fiduciary relationship’’ each place it ap4 pears in paragraphs (1) and (3) and inserting ‘‘fidu5 ciary relationship, except that such an officer or em6 ployee of the House of Representatives or Senate 

7 may receive such compensation if the fiduciary rela8 tionship involves the practice of medicine’’. 

9 (4) APPLICATION OF BAN TO INCOME EARNED

10 FROM TEACHING.—Section 502(a)(5) of such Act (5 

11 U.S.C. App. 502(a)(5)) is amended by striking 

12 ‘‘without the prior notification’’ and inserting ‘‘ex13 cept that such an officer or employee may receive 

14 compensation for teaching with the prior notifica15 tion’’. 

16 (5) DEFINITION.—Section 505 of such Act (5 

17 U.S.C. App. 505) is amended by adding at the end 

18 the following: 

19 ‘‘(6) The term ‘outside earned income’, with re20 spect to a Member of Congress, has the meaning 

21 given such term in clause 4(d) of rule XXV of the 

22 Rules of the House of Representatives for the One 

23 Hundred Seventeenth Congress, except that para24 graph (d)(1)(D) of such clause shall not apply. Such 

25 term shall apply with respect to a Senator in the 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 6844 IH

1 same manner as such term applies to a Member of 

2 the House of Representatives under such clause.’’. 

3 (b) SERVICE ON BOARDS.—Section 502(a)(4) of such 

4 Act (5 U.S.C. App. 502(a)(4)) is amended to read as fol5 lows: 

6 ‘‘(4) serve as an officer or member of the board 

7 of any association, corporation, or other entity, ex8 cept that— 

9 ‘‘(A) a Member and such an officer or em10 ployee may serve without compensation as an 

11 officer or member of the board of any nonprofit 

12 association, nonprofit corporation, or other non13 profit entity, and 

14 ‘‘(B) such an officer or employee may 

15 serve without compensation as an officer or 

16 member of any other association, corporation or 

17 other entity; or’’. 

18 SEC. 4. LIFETIME LOBBYING BAN. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 207(e) of title 18, United 

20 States Code, is amended as follows: 

21 (1) Paragraph (1) is amended to read as fol22 lows: 

23 ‘‘(1) MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any person who is a 

25 Senator or a Member of the House of RepVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:08 Mar 03, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6844.IH H6844

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
15 

•HR 6844 IH

1 resentatives and who, after that person leaves 

2 office, knowingly makes any lobbying contacts 

3 to, or engages in lobbying activities with, a cov4 ered executive branch official, or to any Mem5 ber, officer, or employee of either House of 

6 Congress, shall be punished as provided in sec7 tion 216 of this title. 

8 ‘‘(B) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(i) The terms ‘lobbying activities’, 

10 and ‘covered executive branch official’ have 

11 the meanings given those terms in section 

12 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 

13 (2 U.S.C. 1602). 

14 ‘‘(ii) The term ‘lobbying contact’ has 

15 the meaning given such term in section 

16 3(8) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 

17 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602(8)) except that sub18 paragraph (B)(iv) of such paragraph shall 

19 not apply.’’. 

20 (2) Paragraph (2) is amended— 

21 (A) by striking ‘‘(2) Any person’’ and in22 serting the following: 

23 ‘‘(2) OFFICERS AND CERTAIN STAFF.— 

24 ‘‘(A) OFFICERS AND STAFF OF THE SEN25 ATE.—Any person’’; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
16 

•HR 6844 IH

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

2 ‘‘(B) OFFICERS OF THE HOUSE OF REP3 RESENTATIVES.— 

4 ‘‘(i) Any person who is an elected offi5 cer of the House of Representatives and 

6 who, within 1 year after that person leaves 

7 office, knowingly makes, with the intent to 

8 influence, any communication to or appear9 ance before any of the persons described in 

10 clause (ii), on behalf of any other person 

11 (except the United States) in connection 

12 with any matter on which such elected offi13 cer seeks action by a Member, officer, or 

14 employee of either House of Congress, in 

15 his or her official capacity, shall be pun16 ished as provided in section 216 of this 

17 title. 

18 ‘‘(ii) The persons referred to in clause 

19 (i) with respect to appearances or commu20 nications by a former elected officer are 

21 any Member, officer, or employee of the 

22 House of Representatives.’’. 

23 (b) RESTRICTIONS RELATING TO FOREIGN ENTI24 TIES.—Section 207(f) of title 18, United States Code, is 

25 amended— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
17 

•HR 6844 IH

1 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Any person’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in paragraph (2), 

3 any person’’; 

4 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as 

5 paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively; 

6 (3) by adding after paragraph (1) the following 

7 new paragraph: 

8 ‘‘(2) MEMBER OF CONGRESS.—With respect to 

9 the restrictions under paragraph (1), any person 

10 who is a Member of Congress may not engage in any 

11 of the activities under such paragraph at any time 

12 after leaving office.’’; and 

13 (4) in paragraph (4), as redesignated by para14 graph (2)— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘means’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘means—’’; 

17 (B) by striking ‘‘the government’’ and in18 serting ‘‘(A) the government’’; 

19 (C) by striking the period and inserting ‘‘; 

20 or’’; and 

21 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(B) in the case of a Member of Congress, any 

23 foreign principal as defined in section 1(b) of the 

24 Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amend25 ed (22 U.S.C. 611(b)).’’. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
18 

•HR 6844 IH

1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 subsection (a) shall apply to individuals who leave office 

3 or employment to which such amendments apply on or 

4 after the date of commencement of the first session of the 

5 One Hundred Eighteenth Congress sine die or January 

6 3, 2023, whichever date is earlier. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS