I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7140 

To improve the anti-corruption and public integrity laws, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 16, 2018 

Ms. JAYAPAL (for herself, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. CLARKE of New 

York, Ms. LEE, Ms. BASS, Ms. NORTON, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, and Mr. 

POCAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Oversight 

and Government Reform, House Administration, Ways and Means, Financial Services, Intelligence (Permanent Select), Rules, Foreign Affairs, 

Armed Services, and the Budget, 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 improve the anti-corruption and public integrity laws, 

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 ‘‘Anti-Corruption and 

5 Public Integrity Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

7 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

Sec. 3. Applicability. 

TITLE I—PUBLIC INTEGRITY, ETHICS, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, 

AND REVOLVING DOOR 

Subtitle A—Conflicts of Interest 

Sec. 101. Definitions. 

Sec. 102. Lobbyist ban. 

Sec. 103. Conflicts of interest law expansions. 

Sec. 104. Golden parachutes ban. 

Sec. 105. Conflicts of interest rules for senior government officials. 

Sec. 106. General public integrity rules. 

Sec. 107. Legal expense funds. 

Sec. 108. Penalties. 

Subtitle B—Presidential Conflicts of Interest 

Sec. 111. Short title. 

Sec. 112. Divestiture of personal financial interests of the President and Vice 

President that pose a potential conflict of interest. 

Sec. 113. Recusal of appointees. 

Sec. 114. Contracts by the President or Vice President. 

Sec. 115. Presidential transition ethics programs. 

Sec. 116. Sense of Congress regarding violations. 

Sec. 117. Rule of construction. 

Sec. 118. Severability. 

TITLE II—LOBBYING REFORM 

Sec. 201. Enforcement by the Office of Public Integrity. 

Sec. 202. Definitions. 

Sec. 203. Registration of lobbyists. 

Sec. 204. Reports by lobbyists. 

Sec. 205. Prohibition on foreign lobbying. 

Sec. 206. Prohibition of contributions by lobbyists. 

Sec. 207. Prohibition on contingent fee lobbying. 

Sec. 208. Prohibition on provision of gifts or travel by registered lobbyists. 

Sec. 209. Application of General Schedule to Congress. 

Sec. 210. Reestablishment of Office of Technology Assessment. 

Sec. 211. Progressive tax on lobbying expenditures. 

Sec. 212. Disclosure of registration status. 

TITLE III—RULEMAKING REFORM 

Sec. 301. Disclosure of conflicts of interest. 

Sec. 302. Increasing disclosures relating to studies and research. 

Sec. 303. Disclosure of inter-governmental rule changes. 

Sec. 304. Justification of withdrawn rules. 

Sec. 305. Negotiated rulemaking. 

Sec. 306. Streamlining OIRA review. 

Sec. 307. Limiting temporary court injunctions and postponing of final rules 

pending judicial review. 

Sec. 308. Penalizing individuals that submit false information to agencies. 

Sec. 309. Establishment of the Office of the Public Advocate. 


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Sec. 310. Actions by private persons. 

Sec. 311. Scope of review. 

Sec. 312. Expanding rulemaking notifications. 

Sec. 313. Public petitions. 

Sec. 314. Amendment to Congressional Review Act. 

Sec. 315. Cost-benefit analysis. 

Sec. 316. Sense of Congress. 

TITLE IV—JUDICIAL ETHICS 

Sec. 401. Clarification of gift ban. 

Sec. 402. Restrict privately funded educational events and speeches. 

Sec. 403. Code of Conduct. 

Sec. 404. Improving disclosure. 

Sec. 405. Appointment of administrative law judges. 

Sec. 406. Improve reporting on judicial diversity. 

Sec. 407. Pleading standards. 

Sec. 408. Availability of judicial opinions. 

TITLE V—ENFORCEMENT 

Subtitle A—Office of Public Integrity 

Sec. 511. Establishment of Office of Public Integrity. 

Sec. 512. Designated agency ethics officials. 

Subtitle B—Inspectors General 

Sec. 531. General supervision and removal of Inspectors General. 

Subtitle C—Office of Congressional Ethics 

Sec. 551. Definitions. 

Sec. 552. The Office of Congressional Ethics. 

Sec. 553. Establishment of the Board of the Office of Congressional Ethics. 

Sec. 554. Duties and Powers of the Office and the Board. 

Sec. 555. Review process of complaints. 

Sec. 556. Personnel matters. 

Sec. 557. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 558. Conforming amendments and rules of construction. 

Subtitle D—Applicability 

Sec. 571. Applicability. 

TITLE VI—TRANSPARENCY AND GOVERNMENT RECORDS 

Subtitle A—Transparency for Federal Personnel and Candidates for Federal 

Office 

Sec. 601. Categories relating to the amount or value of certain income. 

Sec. 602. Disclosure of personal income tax returns by Presidents, Vice Presidents, Members of Congress, and certain candidates. 

Sec. 603. Transparency relating to candidates for Federal office and Members 

of Congress. 

Subtitle B—Think Tank, Nonprofit, and Advocate Transparency 

Sec. 611. Amendments to the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995. 


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Sec. 612. Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

Subtitle C—Strengthening FOIA Enforcement 

Sec. 621. Strengthening FOIA enforcement. 

Sec. 622. Exemptions from disclosure. 

Sec. 623. Public interest balancing test. 

Sec. 624. Affirmative disclosure of agency records on website. 

Sec. 625. Applicability. 

Subtitle D—Federal Contractor Transparency 

Sec. 631. Expanding applicability of the Freedom of Information Act to Federal contractors. 

Sec. 632. Public disclosure by large contractors. 

Subtitle E—Congressional Transparency 

Sec. 641. Increased transparency of committee work. 

Sec. 642. Increased transparency of recorded votes. 

Sec. 643. Increased transparency of appropriations bills. 

1 SEC. 3. APPLICABILITY. 

2 Except as provided otherwise in this Act, this Act and 

3 the amendments made by this Act shall apply on and after 

4 the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of this 

5 Act. 

6 TITLE I—PUBLIC INTEGRITY, 

7 ETHICS, CONFLICTS OF IN8 TEREST, AND REVOLVING 

9 DOOR 

10 Subtitle A—Conflicts of Interest 

11 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this title: 

13 (1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the 

14 meaning given the term in section 551 of title 5, 

15 United States Code. 


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1 (2) AGENT OF A FOREIGN PRINCIPAL.—The 

2 term ‘‘agent of a foreign principal’’ has the meaning 

3 given the term in section 1 of the Foreign Agents 

4 Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 611). 

5 (3) BANK HOLDING COMPANY.—The term 

6 ‘‘bank holding company’’ has the meaning given the 

7 term in section 2 of the Bank Holding Company Act 

8 of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 1841). 

9 (4) CORPORATE LOBBYIST.—The term ‘‘cor10 porate lobbyist’’ has the meaning given the term in 

11 section 109 of the Ethics in Government Act of 

12 1978, as amended by section 202 of this Act. 

13 (5) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered en14 tity’’ means any entity that is— 

15 (A)(i) a for-profit company; or 

16 (ii) a bank holding company, a savings and 

17 loan holding company, or any other financial in18 stitution; and 

19 (B)(i) operating under Federal settlement, 

20 including a Federal consent decree; or 

21 (ii) the subject of an enforcement action in 

22 a court of the United States or by an agency. 

23 (6) EXECUTIVE AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Executive 

24 agency’’— 


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1 (A) has the meaning given the term in sec2 tion 105 of title 5, United States Code; and 

3 (B) includes the Executive Office of the 

4 President. 

5 (7) GROSS RECEIPTS.—The term ‘‘gross re6 ceipts’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

7 993(f) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

8 (8) LOBBYIST.—The term ‘‘lobbyist’’ has the 

9 meaning given the term in section 109 of the Ethics 

10 in Government Act of 1978, as amended by section 

11 202 of this Act. 

12 (9) QUALIFIED SMALL BUSINESS.—The term 

13 ‘‘qualified small business’’ means a corporation, 

14 company, firm, partnership, or other business enter15 prise, that has gross receipts for the previous tax16 able year of less than $5,000,000. 

17 (10) SAVINGS AND LOAN HOLDING COMPANY.— 

18 The term ‘‘savings and loan holding company’’ has 

19 the meaning given the term in section 10(a) of the 

20 Home Owners’ Loan Act (12 U.S.C. 1467a(a)). 

21 (11) SENIOR EXECUTIVE.—The term ‘‘senior 

22 executive’’ includes— 

23 (A) a chief executive officer; 

24 (B) a chief financial officer; 

25 (C) a chief operating officer; 


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1 (D) a chief compliance officer; 

2 (E) any senior government relationship of3 ficial; and 

4 (F) any other senior executive, as deter5 mined by the Director of the Office of Public 

6 Integrity. 

7 (12) SENIOR GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL.—The 

8 term ‘‘senior government official’’ means— 

9 (A) any individual described in section 

10 101(f) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 

11 (5 U.S.C. App.), including— 

12 (i) any individual in a position on any 

13 level of the Executive Schedule under sub14 chapter II of chapter 53 of title 5, United 

15 States Code; 

16 (ii) a political appointee in the Execu17 tive Office of President or in the Office of 

18 the Vice President; and 

19 (iii) an individual employed in a posi20 tion in the executive branch of the Govern21 ment of a confidential or policy-deter22 mining character under schedule C of sub23 part C of part 213 of title 5, Code of Fed24 eral Regulations; 


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1 (B) an individual employed in a position in 

2 the Senior Executive Service; 

3 (C) an individual employed in a position at 

4 the GS–14 level or higher; and 

5 (D) an individual employed in a position 

6 not under the General Schedule for which the 

7 rate of basic pay is equal to or greater than the 

8 minimum rate of basic pay payable for GS–14 

9 of the General Schedule. 

10 SEC. 102. LOBBYIST BAN. 

11 (a) LOBBYISTS.— 

12 (1) EXECUTIVE BRANCH.— 

13 (A) LOBBYISTS.—No former registered 

14 lobbyist or agent of a foreign principal who has 

15 engaged in a lobbying contact, as defined in 

16 section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 

17 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602), during his or her reg18 istration may be hired as an officer or employee 

19 of an Executive agency during the 2-year period 

20 beginning on the date on which the registered 

21 lobbyist terminates his or her registration in ac22 cordance with section 4(d) of the Lobbying Dis23 closure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1603(d)) or the 

24 agent terminates his or her status, as applica25 ble. 


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1 (B) CORPORATE LOBBYISTS.—No former 

2 registered corporate lobbyist may be hired as an 

3 officer or employee of an Executive agency dur4 ing the 6-year period beginning on the date on 

5 which the registered corporate lobbyist termi6 nates its registration in accordance with section 

7 4(d) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 

8 U.S.C. 1603(d)) or the agent terminates its sta9 tus, as applicable. 

10 (C) WAIVER RULES AND ELIGIBILITY.— 

11 (i) POSITIONS REQUIRING SENATE

12 CONFIRMATION.—The President may waive 

13 the ban described in subparagraph (A) for 

14 any appointment to a position in an Exec15 utive agency that requires the advice and 

16 consent of the Senate based on a compel17 ling national need. 

18 (ii) OTHER POSITIONS.—The Presi19 dent or the Director of the Office of Public 

20 Integrity may waive the ban described in 

21 subparagraph (A) and the prior employer 

22 recusal provision described in section 

23 208(e) of title 18, United States Code, as 

24 added by section 103(a) of this Act for any 

25 appointment to a position in an Executive 


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1 agency that does not require the advice 

2 and consent of the Senate. 

3 (iii) REQUIREMENTS.—A waiver made 

4 under this subparagraph shall— 

5 (I) be made publicly available 

6 and searchable by the Director of the 

7 Office of Public Integrity; 

8 (II) include a justification sent to 

9 Congress for why the registered lob10 byist or agent of a foreign principal, 

11 as applicable, brings unique and rel12 evant expertise such that it is not 

13 practical to find an alternative can14 didate with the same skill set; and 

15 (III) with respect to a nomina16 tion to a position described in clause 

17 (i)— 

18 (aa) specifically identify the 

19 next-best candidate who was not 

20 a registered lobbyist or agent of 

21 a foreign principal, as applicable; 

22 and 

23 (bb) include a justification 

24 for why the next-best candidate 


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1 was not nominated for the posi2 tion. 

3 (2) LEGISLATIVE BRANCH.— 

4 (A) LOBBYISTS.—No former registered 

5 lobbyist or agent of a foreign principal may be 

6 hired as an officer or employee of a Member of 

7 Congress or a committee of either House of 

8 Congress during the 2-year period beginning on 

9 the date on which the registered lobbyist termi10 nates its registration in accordance with section 

11 4(d) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 

12 U.S.C. 1603(d)) or the agent terminates its sta13 tus, as applicable. 

14 (B) CORPORATE LOBBYISTS.—No former 

15 registered lobbyist or agent of a foreign prin16 cipal may be hired as an officer or employee of 

17 a Member of Congress or a committee of either 

18 House of Congress during the 6-year period be19 ginning on the date on which the registered cor20 porate lobbyist terminates its registration in ac21 cordance with section 4(d) of the Lobbying Dis22 closure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1603(d)) or the 

23 agent terminates its status, as applicable. 

24 (C) WAIVER RULES AND ELIGIBILITY.— 


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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—Any Member of 

2 Congress may waive the ban described in 

3 subparagraph (A) for an officer or em4 ployee of that Member of Congress or of a 

5 committee of either House of Congress on 

6 which the Member serves as a chair or 

7 ranking member based on a compelling na8 tional need. 

9 (ii) REQUIREMENTS.—A waiver made 

10 under this subparagraph shall— 

11 (I) be submitted to the Select 

12 Committee on Ethics of the Senate or 

13 the Committee on Ethics of the House 

14 of Representatives, as applicable, and 

15 to the Office of Congressional Ethics; 

16 (II) be made publicly available 

17 and searchable by the Office of Con18 gressional Ethics; 

19 (III) include a justification made 

20 publicly available for why the reg21 istered lobbyist or agent of a foreign 

22 principal, as applicable, brings unique 

23 and relevant expertise such that it is 

24 not practical to find an alternative 

25 candidate with the same skill set; and 


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1 (IV) be made only after the Con2 gressional Ethics Board submits to 

3 the Member of Congress and to the 

4 Select Committee on Ethics of the 

5 Senate or the Committee on Ethics of 

6 the House of Representatives, as ap7 plicable, a public recommendation re8 garding such a waiver. 

9 (b) OTHER BANNED INDIVIDUALS.— 

10 (1) CONTRACTORS.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—No former employee of 

12 a for-profit entity that was awarded a Federal 

13 contract or Federal license by an Executive 

14 agency may be an officer or employee of the 

15 Executive agency that awarded the contract or 

16 Federal license during the 4-year period begin17 ning on the date on which the employee termi18 nates its employment with the entity. 

19 (B) WAIVER.—The ban described in sub20 paragraph (A) may be waived in accordance 

21 with subsection (a)(1)(C). 

22 (2) SENIOR EXECUTIVES OF LAW-BREAKING

23 COMPANIES.—No former senior executive of a cov24 ered entity may be an officer or employee of an Ex25 ecutive agency, a Member of Congress, a committee 


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1 of either House of Congress, or either House of Con2 gress during the 6-year period beginning on the later 

3 of— 

4 (A) the date of the settlement; and 

5 (B) the date on which the enforcement ac6 tion has concluded. 

7 SEC. 103. CONFLICTS OF INTEREST LAW EXPANSIONS. 

8 (a) EXECUTIVE BRANCH.—Section 208 of title 18, 

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

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(e)(1) In this subsection, the term ‘Executive agen12 cy’ has the meaning given the term in section 101 of the 

13 Anti-Corruption and Public Integrity Act. 

14 ‘‘(2)(A) No officer or employee of an Executive agen15 cy may own or trade any individual stock, bond, com16 modity, future, and other form of security, including an 

17 interest in a hedge fund, a derivative, option, or other 

18 complex investment vehicle if the Director of the Office 

19 of Public Integrity (or the designated agency ethics official 

20 of the agency that employs the individual) determines that 

21 the value of the stock or security may be directly influ22 enced by an action of the Executive agency. 

23 ‘‘(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to— 

24 ‘‘(i) a widely held investment fund described in 

25 section 102(f)(8) of the Ethics in Government Act of 


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1 1978 (5 App. U.S.C. 102(f)(8)), if such investment 

2 meets the requirements described in section 

3 105(b)(2) of the Anti-Corruption and Public Integ4 rity Act; 

5 ‘‘(ii) shares of Settlement Common Stock issued 

6 under section 7(g)(1)(A) of the Alaska Native 

7 Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1606(g)(1)(A)); 

8 or 

9 ‘‘(iii) shares of Settlement Common Stock, as 

10 defined in section 3 of the Alaska Native Claims 

11 Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602). 

12 ‘‘(C) Whoever violates subparagraph (A) shall be 

13 punished as provided in section 216. 

14 ‘‘(D) The Director of the Office of Public Integrity 

15 may waive subparagraph (A) for an officer or employee 

16 of an Executive agency on a case-by-case basis if the Di17 rector— 

18 ‘‘(i) determines that there is no possibility for, 

19 or the appearance of, a conflict of interest; or 

20 ‘‘(ii) approves a plan for necessary recusals that 

21 ensures that no conflict of interest exists. 

22 ‘‘(3)(A) Except as provided in subparagraphs (B) 

23 and (C), each officer and employee of any Executive agen24 cy shall be recused from, and may not in any way attempt 

25 to use their official position to influence, any particular 


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1 matter, including an adjudication, procurement, or rule2 making, that the officer or employee knows is likely to 

3 have a direct and predictable effect on the financial inter4 est of— 

5 ‘‘(i) any person for whom the officer or em6 ployee had, during the previous 4-year period, served 

7 as an officer, director, trustee, general partner, 

8 agent, attorney, consultant, contractor, employee, or 

9 direct competitor; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) any organization other than a political or11 ganization described in section 527(e) of the Inter12 nal Revenue Code of 1986 in which the employee is 

13 an active participant. 

14 ‘‘(B) This paragraph shall not apply to— 

15 ‘‘(i) the President; 

16 ‘‘(ii) the Vice President; 

17 ‘‘(iii) any individual in a position on any level 

18 of the Executive Schedule under subchapter II of 

19 chapter 53 of title 5; 

20 ‘‘(iv) any individual appointed to a position in 

21 an Executive agency by and with the advice and con22 sent of the Senate; 

23 ‘‘(v) an officer or employee who served as an of24 ficer, director, trustee, general partner, agent, attor25 ney, consultant, contractor, or employee of a tribal 


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1 organization (as defined in section 4 of the Indian 

2 Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act 

3 (25 U.S.C. 5304)) or an intertribal consortium of 

4 federally recognized Indian tribes with respect to a 

5 matter that is likely to have a direct and predictable 

6 effect on the financial interest of the tribal organiza7 tion or intertribal consortium; or 

8 ‘‘(vi) any individual who receives a waiver under 

9 subparagraph (C). 

10 ‘‘(C)(i) The Director of Public Integrity may waive 

11 the requirements of this paragraph for any officer or em12 ployee (except individuals described in clause (iii)(III)). 

13 ‘‘(ii) Officers and employees may only apply to the 

14 Director of Public Integrity for a waiver under this sub15 paragraph if the individual agrees to comply with the Con16 flicts of Interest Rules for Senior Government Officials in 

17 subsections (a) and (c) of section 105 of the Anti-Corrup18 tion and Public Integrity Act. 

19 ‘‘(iii) A waiver made under this subparagraph— 

20 ‘‘(I) shall be made publicly available and 

21 searchable; 

22 ‘‘(II) shall include a justification sent to Con23 gress for why the waiver is in the national interest; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(III) may not be granted if the individual re2 ceived a waiver under section 102(a)(1)(C) of the 

3 Anti-Corruption and Public Integrity Act. 

4 ‘‘(iv) The Director of Public Integrity may deny a 

5 waiver under this subparagraph for any reason.’’. 

6 (b) LEGISLATIVE BRANCH.— 

7 (1) DIVESTMENT.—Except as provided in para8 graph (5), no senior government official in the legis9 lative branch (including Members of Congress) may 

10 own or trade any individual stock, bonds, com11 modity, future, and other form of security, including 

12 an interest in a hedge fund, a derivative, option, or 

13 other complex investment vehicle. 

14 (2) COMMITTEE STAFF RULE.—No officer or 

15 employee of a committee of either House of Con16 gress may maintain, own, or trade any substantial 

17 holdings (including individual stocks and securities) 

18 which may be directly affected by the actions of the 

19 committee for which the individual works, unless the 

20 Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate or the 

21 Committee on Ethics of the House of Representa22 tives, as applicable, approves of such holdings in 

23 writing after consultation with the supervisor of the 

24 officer or employee and the Office of Congressional 

25 Ethics. 


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1 (3) GENERAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST RULE

2 FOR CONGRESSIONAL STAFF AND MEMBERS.—No 

3 Member, officer, or employee of a committee or 

4 Member of either House of Congress may knowingly 

5 use his or her official position to introduce or aid the 

6 progress or passage of legislation, a principal pur7 pose of which is to further only his or her pecuniary 

8 interest, only the pecuniary interest of his or her im9 mediate family, or only the pecuniary interest of a 

10 limited class of persons or enterprises, when he or 

11 she, or his or her immediate family, or enterprises 

12 controlled by them, are members of the affected 

13 class. 

14 (4) GENERAL STOCK AND SECURITIES RULE.— 

15 An officer or employee of a committee or Member of 

16 either House of Congress, who is not a senior gov17 ernment employee covered by paragraph (1), shall be 

18 in violation of paragraph (3) if— 

19 (A) the officer or employee owns or trades 

20 individual stocks or securities; and 

21 (B) the value of such stocks or securities 

22 may be influenced by actions taken by the indi23 vidual in his or her official position, as deter24 mined by the Select Committee on Ethics of the 

25 Senate or the Committee on Ethics of the 


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1 House of Representatives, as applicable, in con2 sultation with the Office of Congressional Eth3 ics. 

4 (5) EXCEPTION.—Nothing in this subsection 

5 shall be construed to prevent an employee or officials 

6 of a Member of Congress or a Member of Congress 

7 from owning— 

8 (A) a widely held investment fund de9 scribed in section 102(f)(8) of the Ethics in 

10 Government Act of 1978 (5 App. U.S.C. 

11 102(f)(8)), if the investment meets the require12 ments described in section 105(b)(2); 

13 (B) shares of Settlement Common Stock 

14 issued under section 7(g)(1)(A) of the Alaska 

15 Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 

16 1606(g)(1)(A)); or 

17 (C) shares of Settlement Common Stock, 

18 as defined in section 3 of the Alaska Native 

19 Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602). 

20 SEC. 104. GOLDEN PARACHUTES BAN. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 209 of title 18, United 

22 States Code, is amended— 

23 (1) in subsection (a)— 

24 (A) by striking ‘‘any salary’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘any bonus or salary’’; and 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘his services’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘services rendered or to be rendered’’; and 

3 (2) in subsection (b)— 

4 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(b)’’; and 

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

6 ‘‘(2)(A) In this paragraph, the term ‘compensation’ 

7 includes a retention award or bonus, severance pay, and 

8 any other payment linked to future service in the Federal 

9 Government in any way. 

10 ‘‘(B) For purposes of paragraph (1), a pension, re11 tirement, group life, health or accident insurance, profit12 sharing, stock bonus, or other employee welfare or benefit 

13 plan that makes payment of compensation contingent on 

14 accepting a position in the Federal Government shall not 

15 be considered bona fide.’’. 

16 (b) PERMISSIBLE PAYMENTS.—Section 1.409A– 

17 3(j)(4)(iii) of title 26, Code of Federal Regulations, shall 

18 have no force or effect. 

19 SEC. 105. CONFLICTS OF INTEREST RULES FOR SENIOR 

20 GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS. 

21 (a) REQUIRED DIVESTMENTS OF CONFLICTED AS22 SETS.— 

23 (1) STOCKS AND SECURITIES.—No senior gov24 ernment official may own or trade any individual 

25 stock, bonds, commodity, future, and other form of 


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1 security, including an interest in a hedge fund, a de2 rivative, option, or other complex investment vehicle. 

3 (2) COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE.—No senior 

4 government official may maintain ownership in com5 mercial real estate, unless ownership of such com6 mercial real estate is necessary for a qualified small 

7 business described in paragraph (4)(B). 

8 (3) TRUSTS.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—No senior government 

10 official may maintain a financial interest in any 

11 trust, including a family trust, if the super12 vising ethics agency determines that the trust 

13 includes any— 

14 (i) asset that might present a conflict 

15 of interest; or 

16 (ii) individual stock, bonds, com17 modity, future, and other form of security, 

18 including an interest in a hedge fund, a de19 rivative, option, or other complex invest20 ment vehicle. 

21 (B) EXCEPTION.—Subparagraph (A) shall 

22 not apply to a trust described in section 

23 102(f)(2) of the Ethics in Government Act of 

24 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.). 

25 (4) BUSINESSES AND COMPANIES.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—No senior government 

2 official may maintain ownership in a privately 

3 owned or closely held corporation, company, 

4 firm, partnership, or other business enterprise. 

5 (B) EXCEPTION.—Subparagraph (A) shall 

6 not apply to a qualified small business. 

7 (b) NONCONFLICTED ASSETS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—A senior government official 

9 may maintain assets that do not present a conflict 

10 of interest, including— 

11 (A) a widely held investment fund— 

12 (i) described in section 102(f)(8) of 

13 the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 

14 U.S.C. App.); and 

15 (ii) that meets the requirements de16 scribed in paragraph (2); 

17 (B) real estate used solely as a personal 

18 residence; 

19 (C) cash, certificates of deposit, or other 

20 forms of savings accounts; 

21 (D) a federally managed asset, including— 

22 (i) financial interests in or income de23 rived from— 

24 (I) any retirement system under 

25 title 5, United States Code (including 


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1 the Thrift Savings Plan under sub2 chapter III of chapter 84 of such 

3 title); or 

4 (II) any other retirement system 

5 maintained by the United States for 

6 officers or employees of the United 

7 States, including the President, or for 

8 members of the uniformed services; 

9 (ii) benefits received under the Social 

10 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 301 et seq.); and 

11 (iii) an asset in the Federal Employee 

12 Investment Account described in para13 graph (3); 

14 (E) bonds, bills, and notes issued by a gov15 ernmental sources, such as the Federal Govern16 ment, State, or other municipality; 

17 (F) shares of Settlement Common Stock 

18 issued under section 7(g)(1)(A) of the Alaska 

19 Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 

20 1606(g)(1)(A)); and 

21 (G) shares of Settlement Common Stock, 

22 as defined in section 3 of the Alaska Native 

23 Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602). 


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1 (2) WIDELY HELD INVESTMENT FUND RE2 QUIREMENTS.—A senior government official may not 

3 maintain a widely held investment fund, unless— 

4 (A) the widely held investment fund is cer5 tified as not presenting a conflict of interest by 

6 the applicable supervising ethics office; and 

7 (B) any instructions to a manager of the 

8 widely held investment fund are shared with the 

9 applicable supervising ethics office. 

10 (3) FEDERAL EMPLOYEE INVESTMENT AC11 COUNT.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—There are established 

13 in the Treasury of the United States accounts 

14 for senior government officials to maintain in15 vestments in the stock and securities markets to 

16 be known as Federal Employee Investment Ac17 counts. 

18 (B) DIVESTMENT.—To comply with the re19 quirements under this Act, a senior government 

20 official may sell an asset or security, including 

21 those assets or securities that present a conflict 

22 of interest under subsection (a), and invest the 

23 resulting funds into the Federal Employee In24 vestment Accounts. 


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1 (C) MANAGEMENT.—The Federal Retire2 ment Thrift Investment Board shall manage 

3 Federal Employee Investment Accounts in a 

4 manner similar to other retirement funds man5 aged by the Board and in accordance with sub6 chapter III of chapter 84 of title 5, United 

7 States Code, for any Federal employee or offi8 cial who wishes to temporarily invest funds. 

9 (D) WITHDRAWAL.—A senior government 

10 officials may withdraw funds from their Federal 

11 Employee Investment Account at any time 

12 without penalty. 

13 (c) POST-EMPLOYMENT RESTRICTIONS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 207 of title 18, 

15 United States Code, is amended— 

16 (A) by striking subsections (c), (d), and (e) 

17 and inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘(c) LOBBYING RESTRICTIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the restric20 tions set forth in subsections (a) and (b), any Presi21 dent, Vice President, Member of Congress, or officer 

22 or employee compensated at a rate of pay specified 

23 in or fixed according to subchapter II of chapter 53 

24 of title 5, after the termination of his or her service 

25 or employment with the United States who— 


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1 ‘‘(A) works as a registered lobbyist; or 

2 ‘‘(B) knowingly makes, with the intent to 

3 influence, any communication to or appearance 

4 before any officer or employee of any depart5 ment, agency, Member, officer, or employee of 

6 either House of Congress or any employee of 

7 any other legislative office of the Congress, on 

8 behalf of any other person (except the United 

9 States or the District of Columbia) for com10 pensation, in connection with any matter on 

11 which such person seeks official action by any 

12 Member, officer, or employee of either House of 

13 Congress, or any employee or officer of any de14 partment or agency, 

15 shall be punished as provided in section 216 of this 

16 title. 

17 ‘‘(2) OTHER OFFICIALS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any officer or em19 ployee in the executive or legislative branch of 

20 the United States who, during the time period 

21 described in subparagraph (B) makes, with the 

22 intent to influence, any communication to or 

23 appearance before their former office, agency, 

24 or House of Congress, for compensation, shall 


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1 be punished as provided in section 216 of this 

2 title. 

3 ‘‘(B) TIME PERIOD.—The time period de4 scribed in this subparagraph is as follows: 

5 ‘‘(i) With respect to an officer or em6 ployee of the legislative branch, 2 years 

7 after the termination of service or employ8 ment as an officer or employee. 

9 ‘‘(ii) With respect to an officer or em10 ployee of the executive branch, the later 

11 of— 

12 ‘‘(I) the date on which a Presi13 dent other than the President serving 

14 during the employment of the officer 

15 or employee takes office; and 

16 ‘‘(II) the date on which the 2- 

17 year period beginning on the date of 

18 the termination of service or employ19 ment as an officer or employee ex20 pires. 

21 ‘‘(iii) With respect to an officer or em22 ployee of the executive branch of the 

23 United States who becomes a corporate 

24 lobbyist, the later of— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the date on which a Presi2 dent other than the President serving 

3 during the employment of the officer 

4 or employee takes office; and 

5 ‘‘(II) the date on which the 6- 

6 year period beginning on the date of 

7 the termination of service or employ8 ment as an officer or employee ex9 pires. 

10 ‘‘(iv) With respect to an officer or em11 ployee of the legislative branch of the 

12 United States who becomes a corporate 

13 lobbyist, the date on which the 6-year pe14 riod beginning on the date of the termi15 nation of service or employment as an offi16 cer or employee expires.’’; 

17 (B) by redesignating subsections (f) 

18 through (l) as subsections (d) through (j), re19 spectively; and 

20 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(k) OTHER POST-EMPLOYMENT RESTRICTIONS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

23 ‘‘(A) GIANT BANK OR COMPANY.—The 

24 term ‘giant bank or company’ includes— 


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1 ‘‘(i) any for-profit company or finan2 cial institution with greater than an aver3 age of $150,000,000,000 in market cap4 italization or revenue for the previous 3- 

5 year period; 

6 ‘‘(ii) any Federal contractor that re7 ceived greater than $5,000,000,000 in an8 nual revenue from the Federal Government 

9 during the previous 3-year period; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) any for-profit company or finan11 cial institution that exerts monopolistic or 

12 monopsonistic control over a significant 

13 share of the market in its particular indus14 try (as defined by the Director of the Of15 fice of Public Integrity, in consultation 

16 with the Attorney General, by regulation). 

17 ‘‘(B) LOBBYING CONTACT.—The term ‘lob18 bying contact’ has the meaning given the term 

19 in section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 

20 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602). 

21 ‘‘(C) REGISTERED LOBBYIST.—The term 

22 ‘registered lobbyist’ means a lobbyist registered 

23 under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 

24 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.). 


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1 ‘‘(D) SENIOR GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL.— 

2 The term ‘senior government official’ means— 

3 ‘‘(i) any individual described in sec4 tion 101(f) of the Ethics in Government 

5 Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.), including— 

6 ‘‘(I) any individual in a position 

7 on any level of the Executive Schedule 

8 under subchapter II of chapter 53 of 

9 title 5, United States Code; 

10 ‘‘(II) a political appointee in the 

11 Executive Office of President or in the 

12 Office of the Vice President; and 

13 ‘‘(III) an individual employed in 

14 a position in the executive branch of 

15 the Government of a confidential or 

16 policy-determining character under 

17 schedule C of subpart C of part 213 

18 of title 5 of the Code of Federal Reg19 ulations; 

20 ‘‘(ii) an individual employed in a posi21 tion in the Senior Executive Service; 

22 ‘‘(iii) an individual employed in a po23 sition at the GS–14 level or higher; and 

24 ‘‘(iv) an individual employed in a posi25 tion not under the General Schedule for 


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1 which the rate of basic pay is equal to or 

2 greater than the minimum rate of basic 

3 pay payable for GS–14 of the General 

4 Schedule. 

5 ‘‘(2) SENIOR GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL HIRING

6 RESTRICTION.—No for-profit corporation, company, 

7 firm, partnership, or other business enterprise may 

8 hire or directly or indirectly compensate (including 

9 as consultants and lawyers) any former senior gov10 ernment official, for 1 year after the official leaves 

11 government service, from an agency, department, or 

12 congressional office that the corporation, company, 

13 firm, partnership, or other business enterprise made 

14 a lobbying contact in the past 2 years. 

15 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULES.— 

16 ‘‘(A) PROCUREMENT OFFICERS.—No com17 pany that is awarded a contract or license by 

18 the Federal Government may hire or com19 pensate any former officer or employee in the 

20 executive branch of the United States who 

21 oversaw any of the company’s contracts or li22 censes (including any procurement officer, any 

23 Federal employee or official who participated in 

24 the contract or license selection, any Federal 

25 employee or official who determined or signed 


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1 off on the technical requirements of the con2 tract or license, and any senior government offi3 cial in the executive branch of the United 

4 States employed at the agency that granted the 

5 contract or license) during the 4-year period be6 ginning on the date on which the officer termi7 nated employment with the United States. 

8 ‘‘(B) GIANT BANKS AND COMPANIES.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—No giant bank or 

10 company may hire or directly or indirectly 

11 compensate (including as consultants and 

12 lawyers) any senior government official 

13 during the 4-year period beginning on the 

14 date on which the official terminated em15 ployment with the United States. 

16 ‘‘(ii) INCOME DISCLOSURES.— 

17 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Not later 

18 than 1 year after the date of enact19 ment of this clause, each senior gov20 ernment official who terminates serv21 ice on or after the date that is 1 year 

22 after the date of enactment of this 

23 clause shall submit to the Director of 

24 the Office of Public Integrity an an25 nual disclosure that includes all 


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1 sources of income for the 4-year pe2 riod beginning on the date on which 

3 the government official terminated 

4 employment with the United States. 

5 ‘‘(II) PUBLICLY AVAILABLE.— 

6 The Director of the Office of Public 

7 Integrity shall make a disclosure 

8 made under subclause (I) publicly 

9 available for any official who had a re10 port made in accordance with title I 

11 of the Ethics in Government Act of 

12 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) made publicly 

13 available. 

14 ‘‘(III) AUTOMATIC DISCLO15 SURE.— 

16 ‘‘(aa) IN GENERAL.—Each 

17 senior government official subject 

18 to the disclosure requirement in 

19 subclause (I) may consent to 

20 allow the Director of the Office 

21 of Public Integrity to obtain from 

22 the Commissioner of Internal 

23 Revenue the information nec24 essary to meet the requirements 

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1 tional action is not required of 

2 the senior government official 

3 after such individual files a tax 

4 return. 

5 ‘‘(bb) SAFE HARBOR.—Any 

6 individual who consents under 

7 item (aa) shall not be subject to 

8 subclause (V). 

9 ‘‘(IV) MEMORANDUM OF UNDER10 STANDING.—Not later than 1 year 

11 after the date of enactment of this 

12 subclause, the Director of the Office 

13 of Public Integrity and the Commis14 sioner of Internal Revenue shall enter 

15 into a cooperative agreement or 

16 memorandum of understanding to es17 tablish secure means to allow for the 

18 necessary information exchange in 

19 subclause (III) for senior government 

20 officials who wish to avail themselves 

21 of the automatic disclosure under sub22 clause (III). 

23 ‘‘(V) PENALTIES.— 

24 ‘‘(aa) CIVIL ACTION.—The 

25 Attorney General or the Director 


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1 of the Office of Public Integrity 

2 may bring a civil action in any 

3 appropriate United States dis4 trict court against any individual 

5 who knowingly and willfully fal6 sifies or who knowingly and will7 fully fails to disclose any infor8 mation that such individual is re9 quired to disclose pursuant to 

10 this clause. The court in which 

11 such action is brought may as12 sess against such individual a 

13 civil penalty in any amount, not 

14 to exceed $50,000. 

15 ‘‘(bb) CRIMINAL PEN16 ALTIES.— 

17 ‘‘(AA) PROHIBITION.— 

18 It shall be unlawful for any 

19 person to knowingly and 

20 willfully falsify any informa21 tion that such person is re22 quired to disclose under this 

23 clause. It shall be unlawful 

24 for any person to fail to dis25 close any information that 


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1 such person is required to 

2 disclose under this clause. 

3 ‘‘(BB) PENALTIES.— 

4 Any person who violates the 

5 first sentence of subitem 

6 (AA) shall be fined under 

7 title 18, United States Code, 

8 imprisoned for not more 

9 than 1 year, or both. Any 

10 person who violates the sec11 ond sentence of subitem 

12 (AA) shall be fined under 

13 title 18, United States Code. 

14 ‘‘(4) PENALTIES.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director of Office 

16 of Public Integrity may impose a civil penalty 

17 or a sanction on any entity or giant bank or 

18 company upon making a determination, after 

19 reasonable notice and opportunity for a hearing, 

20 that the entity or giant bank or company has 

21 violated paragraph (2) or (3)(B). 

22 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT OF CIVIL PENALTIES.—A 

23 civil penalty imposed for a violation under sub24 paragraph (A) shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) in the case of an initial violation, 

2 be not less than 1 percent of the net profit 

3 of the entity or giant bank or company for 

4 the previous year; 

5 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a second violation, 

6 not less than 2 percent of the net profit of 

7 the entity or giant bank or company for 

8 the previous year; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) in the case of a third or subse10 quent violation, not less than 5 percent of 

11 the net profit of the entity or giant bank 

12 or company for the previous year. 

13 ‘‘(C) OTHER PENALTIES AND SANCTIONS

14 COMPANIES.—In addition to a civil penalty im15 posed under this clause, after reasonable notice 

16 and an opportunity for a hearing, if the Direc17 tor of the Office of Public Integrity determines 

18 that a company has violated paragraph (2) or 

19 (3)(B), the Director may impose a sanction on 

20 an entity or a giant bank or company, includ21 ing— 

22 ‘‘(i) prohibiting the entity or giant 

23 bank or company from employing any 

24 former employee or officer of the Federal 


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1 Government for a period of time not to ex2 ceed 8 years; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) prohibiting the company from 

4 doing business with the Federal Govern5 ment, receiving a contract or license from 

6 the Federal Government, or otherwise par7 ticipating in Federal Government pro8 grams, for a period of time not to exceed 

9 8 years. 

10 ‘‘(D) CIVIL PENALTIES FOR EXECUTIVE

11 OFFICERS OF COMPANIES.— 

12 ‘‘(i) DEFINITION.—In this subclause, 

13 the term ‘compensation’ includes, based on 

14 information required to be reported any 

15 Federal agency during the period in which 

16 a violation of paragraph (2) or (3)(B) oc17 curred— 

18 ‘‘(I) the proceeds of any sale of 

19 stock; and 

20 ‘‘(II) any incentive-based com21 pensation (including stock options 

22 awarded as compensation). 

23 ‘‘(ii) CIVIL PENALTY.—In addition to 

24 the penalties described in subparagraphs 

25 (B) and (C), after reasonable notice and 


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1 an opportunity for a hearing, that an exec2 utive officer of an entity or giant bank or 

3 company has knowingly, or with gross neg4 ligence, violated paragraph (2) or (3)(B), 

5 or contributed to the violation of a para6 graph (2) or (3)(B), the Director may as7 sess a civil penalty against the executive 

8 officer not to exceed the amount of the of9 ficer’s compensation for each year during 

10 which the violations occurred. 

11 ‘‘(E) MITIGATING FACTORS.—In deter12 mining the amount of any penalties assessed 

13 under this paragraph, the Director of the Office 

14 of Public Integrity or the court shall take into 

15 account the appropriateness of the penalty with 

16 respect to— 

17 ‘‘(i) the size of financial resources and 

18 good faith of the entity, giant bank or 

19 company, or senior executive; 

20 ‘‘(ii) the gravity of the violation or 

21 failure to pay; 

22 ‘‘(iii) the history of previous viola23 tions; and 

24 ‘‘(iv) such other matters as justice 

25 may require. 


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1 ‘‘(F) AUTHORITY TO MODIFY OR REMIT

2 PENALTY.—The Director of the Office of Public 

3 Integrity may compromise, modify, or remit any 

4 penalty under this paragraph, which may be as5 sessed or had already been assessed. The 

6 amount of such penalty, when finally deter7 mined, shall be exclusive of any sums owed by 

8 the person to the United States in connection 

9 with the costs of the proceeding, and may be 

10 deducted from any sums owing by the United 

11 States to the person charged. 

12 ‘‘(G) NOTICE AND HEARING.—No civil 

13 penalty may be assessed under this paragraph 

14 with respect to a violation of paragraph (2) or 

15 (3)(B) unless— 

16 ‘‘(i) the Director of the Office of Pub17 lic Integrity gives notice and an oppor18 tunity for a hearing to the person accused 

19 of the violation; or 

20 ‘‘(ii) the appropriate court has or21 dered such assessment and entered judg22 ment in favor of the Director of the Office 

23 of Public Integrity.’’. 


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1 (2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND2 MENTS.—Section 207 of title 18, United States 

3 Code, is amended— 

4 (A) in subsection (d), as redesignated by 

5 paragraph (1) of this subsection, is amended by 

6 striking ‘‘(d), or (e)’’; 

7 (B) in subsection (f)(2), as redesignated by 

8 paragraph (1) of this subsection, in the second 

9 sentence, by striking ‘‘(c)(2)(A)(i) or (iii)’’ and 

10 inserting ‘‘(c)’’; 

11 (C) in subsection (g)(1), as redesignated 

12 by paragraph (1) of this subsection— 

13 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

14 ‘‘(a), (c), and (d)’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) and 

15 (c)’’; and 

16 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

17 ‘‘(f)’’ and inserting ‘‘(d)’’; and 

18 (D) in subsection (h), as redesignated by 

19 paragraph (1) of this subsection— 

20 (i) by striking ‘‘subsections (c), (d), 

21 and (e)’’ each place the term appears and 

22 inserting ‘‘subsection (c)’’; 

23 (ii) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘(a), 

24 (c), and (d)’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) and (c)’’; 

25 and 


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1 (iii) in paragraph (7)(B), by striking 

2 ‘‘subsections (c), (d), or (e)’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘subsection (c)’’. 

4 (3) RESTRICTIONS ON FEDERAL EXAMINERS OF

5 FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS.—Section 10(k) of the 

6 Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1820(k)) 

7 is amended— 

8 (A) in the subsection header, by striking 

9 ‘‘ONE-YEAR’’ and inserting ‘‘FOUR-YEAR’’; and 

10 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

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

12 ‘‘senior’’; and 

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

14 ‘‘1 year’’ and inserting ‘‘4 years’’. 

15 SEC. 106. GENERAL PUBLIC INTEGRITY RULES. 

16 (a) OUTSIDE EMPLOYMENT BAN.—The limitations 

17 described in section 502 of the Ethics in Government Act 

18 of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) shall apply to full-time senior 

19 government officials. 

20 (b) VOLUNTEER SERVICE RULE.—All Federal laws 

21 or regulations relating to conflicts of interest or other eth22 ics issues (as defined in section 409 of the Ethics in Gov23 ernment Act of 1978, as added by section 511 of this Act) 

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1 eral Government and voluntarily refuses compensation for 

2 such employment consistent with applicable law. 

3 (c) SPECIAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE RULE.—All 

4 Federal ethics rules shall apply to a Special Government 

5 Employee beginning on the date that is 61 days after the 

6 date on which the Special Government Employee com7 mences employment. 

8 (d) INDEBTEDNESS RULE.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para10 graph (2), no senior government official (except a 

11 Member of Congress, the President, and the Vice 

12 President) may— 

13 (A) in the course of official duty, meet or 

14 communicate with, or work on any particular 

15 matter that affects, any person to whom the 

16 senior government official owes more than 

17 $100,000; or 

18 (B) receive a loan of more than $100,000 

19 from any person the senior government official 

20 has met or communicated with, or plans to 

21 meet or communicate with, during the course of 

22 their official duty. 

23 (2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 

24 apply to— 


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1 (A) commercial debt such as residential 

2 mortgages, car loans, credit card debt, student 

3 loans, or any debts owed to domestic financial 

4 institutions on terms generally available to the 

5 public; or 

6 (B) meetings with domestic financial insti7 tutions. 

8 SEC. 107. LEGAL EXPENSE FUNDS. 

9 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

10 (1) the term ‘‘legal expense fund’’ means a 

11 fund— 

12 (A) to be used to defray legal expenses in13 curred in investigative, civil, criminal, or other 

14 legal proceedings relating to or arising by virtue 

15 of service by an officer or employee as an offi16 cer or employee; 

17 (B) that may not be used for personal 

18 legal matters, including tax planning, personal 

19 injury litigation, protection of property rights, 

20 divorces, or estate probate; 

21 (C) that may only be used to defray legal 

22 expenses for a single officer or single employee; 

23 (D) that may be established or controlled 

24 by the officer or employee, or by a third party, 


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1 in accordance with the requirements of section; 

2 and 

3 (E) that may accept contributions, in ac4 cordance with this section; 

5 (2) the term ‘‘lobbying activity’’ has the mean6 ing given that term in section 3 of the Lobbying 

7 Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602); 

8 (3) the term ‘‘officer or employee’’ means— 

9 (A) an officer, as defined in section 2104 

10 of title 5, United States Code; 

11 (B) an employee, as defined in section 

12 2105 of title 5, United States Code; 

13 (C) a Member of Congress, as defined in 

14 section 2106 of title 5, United States Code; 

15 (D) the Vice President; and 

16 (E) the President; 

17 (4) the term ‘‘relative’’ has the meaning given 

18 that term in section 3110 of title 5, United States 

19 Code; and 

20 (5) the term ‘‘supervising ethics office’’ has the 

21 meaning given that term in section 109 of the Eth22 ics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.). 

23 (b) AUTHORIZATION FOR LEGAL EXPENSE

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1 mulgated under this section, an officer or employee may 

2 establish, maintain, and use a legal expense fund. 

3 (c) LIMITS ON CONTRIBUTIONS.—The Director of the 

4 Office of Public Integrity shall promulgate regulations es5 tablishing limits with respect to contributions to legal ex6 pense funds for officers or employees, which shall, at a 

7 minimum, prohibit an officer or employee from accepting 

8 contributions for a legal expense fund— 

9 (1) from a single contributor (other than a rel10 ative of the officer or employee) in a total amount 

11 of more than $5,000 during any calendar year; 

12 (2) from a registered lobbyist; 

13 (3) from an agent of a foreign principal; 

14 (4) from any person seeking official action from 

15 or doing business with the agency, office, or entity 

16 employing the officer or employee; 

17 (5) from any person conducting activities regu18 lated by the agency, office, or entity employing the 

19 officer or employee; 

20 (6) from any person whose interests may be 

21 substantially affected by the performance or non22 performance of the official duties of the officer or 

23 employee; or 

24 (7) for an officer or employee of an Executive 

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1 bying activities, or on whose behalf lobbying activi2 ties have been engaged with, with respect to the Ex3 ecutive agency during the 2-year period ending on 

4 the date of the contribution. 

5 (d) WRITTEN NOTICE.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—An officer or employee who 

7 wishes to establish a legal expense fund shall submit 

8 to the supervising ethics office with respect to the 

9 officer or employee a written notice that includes— 

10 (A) the name and contact information for 

11 any proposed trustee of the legal expense fund; 

12 (B) a copy of any proposed trust document 

13 for the legal expense fund; 

14 (C) the nature of the legal proceeding (or 

15 proceedings) which necessitate the establish16 ment of the legal expense fund; 

17 (D) an acknowledgment that the officer or 

18 employee will be bound by the regulations and 

19 limitation under this section; and 

20 (E) an acknowledgment that the officer or 

21 employee bears ultimate responsibility for prop22 er administration of the legal expense fund. 

23 (2) APPROVAL.—An officer or employee may 

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1 ceived and approved the written notice submitted 

2 under paragraph (1). 

3 (e) REPORTING.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—An officer or employee who 

5 establishes a legal expense fund shall submit to the 

6 supervising ethics office with respect to the officer or 

7 employee a quarterly report that discloses, with re8 spect to the quarter covered by the report— 

9 (A) the source and amount of each con10 tribution to the legal expense fund; and 

11 (B) the amount, recipient, and purpose of 

12 each expenditure from the legal expense fund. 

13 (2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—Each supervising 

14 ethics office shall make publicly available online each 

15 report submitted under paragraph (1) in a search16 able, sortable, and downloadable form. 

17 (f) RECUSAL.—An officer or employee in the execu18 tive branch, other than the President and the Vice Presi19 dent, who receives a contribution to a legal expense fund 

20 of the officer or employee may not participate in any mat21 ter that has or would have a direct and substantial impact 

22 on the person making the contribution during the 2-year 

23 period beginning on the date on which the contribution 

24 is received. 


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1 SEC. 108. PENALTIES. 

2 (a) CIVIL FINES.—The Attorney General or the Di3 rector of the Office of Public Integrity may bring a civil 

4 action in the appropriate United States district court 

5 against any person who engages in conduct constituting 

6 a violation of this title and, upon proof of such conduct 

7 by a preponderance of the evidence, such person shall be 

8 subject to a civil penalty of not more than $50,000 for 

9 each violation or the amount of compensation which the 

10 person received or offered for the prohibited conduct, 

11 whichever amount is greater. The imposition of a civil pen12 alty under this subsection does not preclude any other 

13 criminal or civil statutory, common law, or administrative 

14 remedy, which is available by law to the United States or 

15 any other person. 

16 (b) ORDER PROHIBITING CONDUCT.—If the Attorney 

17 General or the Director of the Office of Public Integrity 

18 has reason to believe that a person is engaging in conduct 

19 constituting an offense under this title, the Attorney Gen20 eral or the Director of the Office of Public Integrity, as 

21 applicable, may petition an appropriate United States dis22 trict court for an order prohibiting that person from en23 gaging in such conduct. The court may issue an order pro24 hibiting that person from engaging in such conduct if the 

25 court finds that the conduct constitutes such an offense. 

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1 clude any other remedy which is available by law to the 

2 United States or any other person. 

3 Subtitle B—Presidential Conflicts 

4 of Interest 

5 SEC. 111. SHORT TITLE. 

6 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Presidential Conflicts 

7 of Interest Act of 2018’’. 

8 SEC. 112. DIVESTITURE OF PERSONAL FINANCIAL INTER9 ESTS OF THE PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESI10 DENT THAT POSE A POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF 

11 INTEREST. 

12 (a) DEFINITIONS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—In this section— 

14 (A) the term ‘‘conflict-free holding’’ means 

15 a financial interest described in section 

16 102(f)(8) of the Ethics in Government Act of 

17 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.); 

18 (B) the term ‘‘financial interest posing a 

19 potential conflict of interest’’ means a financial 

20 interest of the President, the Vice President, 

21 the spouse of the President or Vice President, 

22 or a minor child of the President or Vice Presi23 dent, as applicable, that— 


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1 (i) would constitute a financial inter2 est described in subsection (a) of section 

3 208 of title 18, United States Code— 

4 (I) if— 

5 (aa) for purposes of such 

6 section 208, the terms ‘‘officer’’ 

7 and ‘‘employee’’ included the 

8 President and the Vice President; 

9 and 

10 (bb) the President or Vice 

11 President, as applicable, partici12 pated as described in subsection 

13 (a) of such section 208 in rela14 tion to such financial interest; 

15 and 

16 (II) if determined without regard 

17 to any exception under subsection (b) 

18 of such section 208; or 

19 (ii) may constitute a present, emolu20 ment, office, or title, of any kind whatever, 

21 from any king, prince, or foreign state (in22 cluding from an entity owned or controlled 

23 by a foreign government), within the 

24 meaning of article I, section 9 of the Con25 stitution of the United States; 


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1 (C) the term ‘‘qualified blind trust’’ has 

2 the meaning given that term in section 

3 102(f)(3) of the Ethics in Government Act of 

4 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.), unless otherwise speci5 fied in this title; and 

6 (D) the term ‘‘tax return’’— 

7 (i) means any Federal income tax re8 turn and any amendment or supplement 

9 thereto, including supporting schedules, at10 tachments, or lists which are supplemental 

11 to, or part of, the return for the taxable 

12 year; and 

13 (ii) includes any information return 

14 that reports information that does or may 

15 affect the liability for tax for the taxable 

16 year. 

17 (2) APPLICABILITY OF ETHICS IN GOVERNMENT

18 ACT OF 1978.—For purposes of the definition of 

19 ‘‘qualified blind trust’’ in this section, the term ‘‘su20 pervising ethics officer’’ in section 102(f)(3) of the 

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

22 means the Director of the Office of Public Integrity. 

23 (b) INITIAL FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE.— 

24 (1) SUBMISSION OF DISCLOSURE.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days 

2 after assuming the office of President or Vice 

3 President, respectively, the President and Vice 

4 President shall submit to Congress and the Di5 rector of the Office of Public Integrity a disclo6 sure of financial interests. 

7 (B) APPLICATION TO SITTING PRESIDENT

8 AND VICE PRESIDENT.—For any individual who 

9 is serving as the President or Vice President on 

10 the date of enactment of this Act, the disclosure 

11 of financial interests shall be submitted to Con12 gress and the Director of the Office of Public 

13 Integrity not later than 30 days after the date 

14 of enactment of this Act. 

15 (2) CONTENTS.— 

16 (A) PRESIDENT.—The disclosure of finan17 cial interests submitted under paragraph (1) by 

18 the President shall— 

19 (i) describe in detail each financial in20 terest of the President, the spouse of the 

21 President, or a minor child of the Presi22 dent; 

23 (ii) at a minimum, include the infor24 mation relating to each such financial in25 terest that is required for reports under 


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1 section 102 of the Ethics in Government 

2 Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.); and 

3 (iii) include the tax returns filed by or 

4 on behalf of the President for— 

5 (I) the 3 most recent taxable 

6 years; and 

7 (II) each taxable year for which 

8 an audit of the return by the Internal 

9 Revenue Service is pending on the 

10 date the report is filed. 

11 (B) VICE PRESIDENT.—The disclosure of 

12 financial interests submitted under paragraph 

13 (1) by the Vice President shall— 

14 (i) describe in detail each financial in15 terest of the Vice President, the spouse of 

16 the Vice President, or a minor child of the 

17 Vice President; 

18 (ii) at a minimum, include the infor19 mation relating to each such financial in20 terest that is required for reports under 

21 section 102 of the Ethics in Government 

22 Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.); and 

23 (iii) include the tax returns filed by or 

24 on behalf of the Vice President for— 


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1 (I) the 3 most recent taxable 

2 years; and 

3 (II) each taxable year for which 

4 an audit of the return by the Internal 

5 Revenue Service is pending on the 

6 date the report is filed. 

7 (c) DIVESTITURE OF FINANCIAL INTERESTS POSING

8 A POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President, the Vice 

10 President, the spouse of the President or Vice Presi11 dent, and any minor child of the President or Vice 

12 President shall divest of any financial interest posing 

13 a potential conflict of interest by transferring such 

14 interest to a qualified blind trust. 

15 (2) TRUSTEE DUTIES.—Within a reasonable pe16 riod of time after the date a financial interest is 

17 transferred to a qualified blind trust under para18 graph (1), the trustee of the qualified blind trust 

19 shall— 

20 (A) sell the financial interest; and 

21 (B) use the proceeds of the sale of the fi22 nancial interest to purchase conflict-free hold23 ings. 

24 (d) REVIEW BY OFFICE OF PUBLIC INTEGRITY.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of 

2 Public Integrity shall submit to Congress, the Presi3 dent, and the Vice President an annual report re4 garding the financial interests of the President, the 

5 Vice President, the spouse of the President or Vice 

6 President, and any minor child of the President or 

7 Vice President. 

8 (2) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under 

9 paragraph (1) shall— 

10 (A) indicate whether any financial interest 

11 of the President, the Vice President, the spouse 

12 of the President or Vice President, or a minor 

13 child of the President or Vice President is a fi14 nancial interest posing a potential conflict of in15 terest; 

16 (B) evaluate whether any previously held 

17 financial interest of the President, the Vice 

18 President, the spouse of the President or Vice 

19 President, or a minor child of the President or 

20 Vice President that was a financial interest pos21 ing a potential conflict of interest was divested 

22 in accordance with subsection (c); and 

23 (C) redact such information as the Direc24 tor of the Office of Public Integrity determines 

25 necessary for preventing identity theft, such as 


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1 social security numbers or taxpayer identifica2 tion numbers. 

3 (e) ENFORCEMENT.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General, the 

5 attorney general of any State, or any person ag6 grieved by any violation of subsection (c) may seek 

7 declaratory or injunctive relief in a court of com8 petent jurisdiction if— 

9 (A) the Director of the Office of Public In10 tegrity is unable to issue a report indicating 

11 whether the President or the Vice President is 

12 in substantial compliance with subsection (c); or 

13 (B) there is probable cause to believe that 

14 the President or the Vice President has not 

15 complied with subsection (c). 

16 (2) FAIR MARKET VALUE.—In granting injunc17 tive relief to the plaintiff, the court shall take meas18 ures reasonably necessary to ensure that any divest19 ment procedure seeks to obtain a fair market value 

20 for any asset that is liquidated. 

21 SEC. 113. RECUSAL OF APPOINTEES. 

22 Section 208 of title 18, United States Code, as 

23 amended by section 103 of this Act, is amended by adding 

24 at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(f)(1) Any officer or employee appointed by the 

2 President shall recuse himself or herself from any par3 ticular matter involving specific parties in which a party 

4 to that matter is— 

5 ‘‘(A) the President who appointed the officer or 

6 employee, which shall include any entity in which the 

7 President has a substantial interest; or 

8 ‘‘(B) the spouse of the President who appointed 

9 the officer or employee, which shall include any enti10 ty in which the spouse of the President has a sub11 stantial interest. 

12 ‘‘(2)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), if an officer or 

13 employee is recused under paragraph (1), a career ap14 pointee in the agency of the officer or employee shall per15 form the functions and duties of the officer or employee 

16 with respect to the matter. 

17 ‘‘(B)(i) In this subparagraph, the term ‘Commission’ 

18 means a board, commission, or other agency for which the 

19 authority of the agency is vested in more than 1 member. 

20 ‘‘(ii) If the recusal of a member of a Commission 

21 from a matter under paragraph (1) would result in there 

22 not being a statutorily required quorum of members of the 

23 Commission available to participate in the matter, not24 withstanding such statute or any other provision of law, 


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1 the members of the Commission not recused under para2 graph (1) may— 

3 ‘‘(I) consider the matter without regard to the 

4 quorum requirement under such statute; 

5 ‘‘(II) delegate the authorities and responsibil6 ities of the Commission with respect to the matter 

7 to a subcommittee of the Commission; or 

8 ‘‘(III) designate an officer or employee of the 

9 Commission who was not appointed by the President 

10 who appointed the member of the Commission 

11 recused from the matter to exercise the authorities 

12 and duties of the recused member with respect to 

13 the matter. 

14 ‘‘(3) Any officer or employee who negligently violates 

15 paragraph (1) shall be subject to the penalties set forth 

16 in section 216. 

17 ‘‘(4) For purposes of this section, the term ‘particular 

18 matter’ shall have the meaning given the term in section 

19 207(g).’’. 

20 SEC. 114. CONTRACTS BY THE PRESIDENT OR VICE PRESI21 DENT. 

22 (a) AMENDMENT.—Section 431 of title 18, United 

23 States Code, is amended— 


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1 (1) in the section heading, by inserting ‘‘the 

2 President, Vice President, or a’’ after 

3 ‘‘Contracts by’’; and 

4 (2) in the first undesignated paragraph, by in5 serting ‘‘the President or Vice President,’’ after 

6 ‘‘Whoever, being’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The table of 

8 sections for chapter 23 of title 18, United States Code, 

9 is amended by striking the item relating to section 431 

10 and inserting the following: 

‘‘431. Contracts by the President, Vice President, or a Member of Congress.’’. 

11 SEC. 115. PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION ETHICS PROGRAMS. 

12 The Presidential Transition Act of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 

13 102 note) is amended— 

14 (1) in section 3(f) by adding at the end the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(3) The President-elect shall submit to the Com17 mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

18 of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Gov19 ernment Reform of the House of Representatives a list 

20 of— 

21 ‘‘(A) any individual for whom an application for 

22 a security clearance was submitted, not later than 

23 10 days after the date on which the application was 

24 submitted; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) any individual provided a security clear2 ance, not later than 10 days after the date on which 

3 the security clearance was provided.’’; 

4 (2) in section 4— 

5 (A) in subsection (a)— 

6 (i) in paragraph (3), by striking 

7 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

8 (ii) by redesignating paragraph (4) as 

9 paragraph (5); and 

10 (iii) by inserting after paragraph (3) 

11 the following: 

12 ‘‘(4) the term ‘nonpublic information’— 

13 ‘‘(A) means information from the Federal 

14 Government that a transition member obtains 

15 as part of the employment of the member that 

16 such member knows or reasonably should know 

17 has not been made available to the general pub18 lic; and 

19 ‘‘(B) includes information that a member 

20 of the transition team knows or reasonably 

21 should know— 

22 ‘‘(i) is exempt from disclosure under 

23 section 552 of title 5, United States Code, 

24 or otherwise protected from disclosure by 

25 law; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) is not authorized by the appro2 priate government agency or official to be 

3 released to the public; and’’; and 

4 (B) in subsection (g)— 

5 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘No6 vember’’ and inserting ‘‘October’’; and 

7 (ii) by adding at the end the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(3) ETHICS PLAN.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each memorandum of 

11 understanding under paragraph (1) shall in12 clude an agreement that the eligible candidate 

13 will implement and enforce an ethics plan to 

14 guide the conduct of the transition beginning on 

15 the date on which the eligible candidate be16 comes the President-elect. 

17 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—The ethics plan shall 

18 include, at a minimum— 

19 ‘‘(i) a description of the ethics re20 quirements that will apply to all members 

21 of the transition team, including any spe22 cific requirement for transition team mem23 bers who will have access to nonpublic or 

24 classified information; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) a description of how the transi2 tion team will— 

3 ‘‘(I) address the role on the tran4 sition team of— 

5 ‘‘(aa) lobbyists registered 

6 under the Lobbying Disclosure 

7 Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601 et 

8 seq.) and individuals who were 

9 former lobbyists registered under 

10 that Act; 

11 ‘‘(bb) persons registered 

12 under the Foreign Agents Reg13 istration Act (22 U.S.C. 611 et 

14 seq.), foreign nationals, and other 

15 foreign agents; and 

16 ‘‘(cc) transition team mem17 bers with sources of income or 

18 clients that are not disclosed to 

19 the public; 

20 ‘‘(II) prohibit a transition team 

21 member with conflicts of interest, in22 cluding conflicts, as described in sec23 tion 2635.402(a) and section 

24 2635.502(a) of title 5, Code of Fed25 eral Regulations, related to current or 


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1 former employment, affiliations, cli2 ents, or investments, from working on 

3 particular matters involving specific 

4 parties that affect the interests of 

5 such member; and 

6 ‘‘(III) address how the covered 

7 eligible candidate will address their 

8 own conflicts of interest during a 

9 Presidential term if the covered eligi10 ble candidate becomes the President11 elect; 

12 ‘‘(iii) a Code of Ethical Conduct, to 

13 which each member of the transition team 

14 will sign and be subject to, that reflects 

15 the content of the ethics plans under this 

16 paragraph and at a minimum requires 

17 transition team members to— 

18 ‘‘(I) seek authorization from 

19 transition team leaders or their des20 ignees before seeking, on behalf of the 

21 transition, access to any nonpublic in22 formation; 

23 ‘‘(II) keep confidential any non24 public information provided in the 

25 course of the duties of the member 


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1 with the transition and exclusively use 

2 such information for the purposes of 

3 the transition; and 

4 ‘‘(III) not use any nonpublic in5 formation provided in the course of 

6 transition duties, in any manner, for 

7 personal or private gain for the mem8 ber or any other party at any time 

9 during or after the transition; and 

10 ‘‘(iv) a description of how the transi11 tion team will enforce the Code of Ethical 

12 Conduct, including the names of the mem13 bers of the transition team responsible for 

14 enforcement, oversight, and compliance. 

15 ‘‘(C) PUBLICLY AVAILABLE.—The transi16 tion team shall make the ethics plan described 

17 in this paragraph publicly available on the 

18 Internet website of the General Services Admin19 istration the earlier of— 

20 ‘‘(i) the day on which the memo21 randum of understanding is completed; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) October 1.’’; and 

23 (3) in section 6(b)— 

24 (A) in paragraph (1)— 


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1 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

2 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

3 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

4 the period at the end and inserting a semi5 colon; and 

6 (iii) by adding at the end the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(C) a list of all positions each transition 

9 team member has held outside the Federal Gov10 ernment for the previous 12-month period, in11 cluding paid, unpaid, and uncompensated posi12 tions; 

13 ‘‘(D) sources of compensation of each tran14 sition team member exceeding $5,000 a year for 

15 the previous 12-month period; 

16 ‘‘(E) a description of the role of the mem17 ber on the transition team, including a list of 

18 any policy issues that the member expects to 

19 work on, and a list of agencies the member ex20 pects to interact with, while serving on the 

21 transition team; 

22 ‘‘(F) a list of any issues from which each 

23 transition team member will be recused while 

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1 suant to the transition team ethics plan out2 lined in section 4(g)(3); and 

3 ‘‘(G) an affirmation that the transition 

4 team member does not have a financial conflict 

5 of interest that precludes the member from 

6 working on the matters described in subpara7 graph (E).’’; 

8 (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘not 

9 later than 2 business days’’ after ‘‘public’’; and 

10 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(3) The head of a Federal department or 

12 agency, or their designee, shall not permit access to 

13 the agency or employees of the agency that would 

14 not be provided to a member of the public for any 

15 transition team member who does not make the dis16 closures listed under paragraph (1).’’. 

17 SEC. 116. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING VIOLATIONS. 

18 It is the sense of Congress that a violation of section 

19 102 of this Act or the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 

20 (5 U.S.C. App.) by the President or the Vice President 

21 would constitute a high crime or misdemeanor under arti22 cle II, section 4 of the Constitution of the United States. 


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1 SEC. 117. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

2 Nothing in this title or an amendment made by this 

3 title shall be construed to violate the Constitution of the 

4 United States. 

5 SEC. 118. SEVERABILITY. 

6 If any provision of this title or any amendment made 

7 by this title, or any application of such provision or 

8 amendment to any person or circumstance, is held to be 

9 unconstitutional, the remainder of the provisions of this 

10 title and the amendments made by this title, and the appli11 cation of the provision or amendment to any other person 

12 or circumstance, shall not be affected. 

13 TITLE II—LOBBYING REFORM 

14 SEC. 201. ENFORCEMENT BY THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC IN15 TEGRITY. 

16 The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601 

17 et seq.) is amended— 

18 (1) in section 4 (2 U.S.C. 1603)— 

19 (A) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘Sec20 retary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House 

21 of Representatives’’ and inserting ‘‘Director of 

22 the Office of Public Integrity’’; and 

23 (B) in subsection (d), in the flush text fol24 lowing paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Secretary of 

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1 resentatives’’ and inserting ‘‘Director of the Of2 fice of Public Integrity’’; 

3 (2) in section 5 (2 U.S.C. 1604)— 

4 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘Sec5 retary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House 

6 of Representatives’’ and inserting ‘‘Director of 

7 the Office of Public Integrity’’; 

8 (B) in subsection (d)(1), in the matter pre9 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘Sec10 retary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House 

11 of Representatives’’ and inserting ‘‘Director of 

12 the Office of Public Integrity’’; and 

13 (C) in subsection (e)— 

14 (i) by striking ‘‘Secretary of the Sen15 ate or the Clerk of the House of Rep16 resentatives’’ and inserting ‘‘Director of 

17 the Office of Public Integrity’’; and 

18 (ii) by striking ‘‘Secretary of the Sen19 ate and the Clerk of the House of Rep20 resentatives’’ and inserting ‘‘Director of 

21 the Office of Public Integrity’’; 

22 (3) in section 6(a) (2 U.S.C. 1605(a)), in the 

23 matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Sec24 retary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of 


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1 Representatives’’ and inserting ‘‘Director of the Of2 fice of Public Integrity’’; 

3 (4) in section 7(a)(1) (2 U.S.C. 1606(a)(1)), by 

4 striking ‘‘Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the 

5 House of Representatives’’ and inserting ‘‘Director 

6 of the Office of Public Integrity’’; and 

7 (5) in section 8(c) (2 U.S.C. 1607(c)), by strik8 ing ‘‘Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the 

9 House of Representatives’’ and inserting ‘‘Director 

10 of the Office of Public Integrity’’. 

11 SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS. 

12 Section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 

13 U.S.C. 1602) is amended— 

14 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through 

15 (16) as paragraphs (6) through (18), respectively; 

16 (2) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para17 graph (4); 

18 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(3) CORPORATE LOBBYIST.—The term ‘cor21 porate lobbyist’ means a lobbyist that, for financial 

22 or other compensation for services that include lob23 bying activities, is employed or retained by a client 

24 that is— 

25 ‘‘(A) a covered for-profit entity; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) an entity described in section 

2 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

3 of which 1 or more members are covered for4 profit entities.’’; 

5 (4) by inserting after paragraph (4), as so re6 designated, the following: 

7 ‘‘(5) COVERED FOR-PROFIT ENTITY.—The term 

8 ‘covered for-profit entity’— 

9 ‘‘(A) means— 

10 ‘‘(i) a corporation, limited liability 

11 company, or other entity that is created by 

12 the filing of a public document with a sec13 retary of state of a State or similar office; 

14 ‘‘(ii) a general partnership; or 

15 ‘‘(iii) any similar entity formed under 

16 the laws of a foreign jurisdiction; and 

17 ‘‘(B) does not include— 

18 ‘‘(i) an entity described in paragraph 

19 (3), (4), or (5) of section 501(c) of the In20 ternal Revenue Code of 1986; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) a political organization, as de22 fined in section 527 of such Code, that is 

23 exempt from taxation under that section.’’; 


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1 (5) in paragraph (9), as so redesignated, by in2 serting ‘‘provision of strategic advice, and’’ after 

3 ‘‘planning activities,’’; 

4 (6) in paragraph (10)(B), as so redesignated— 

5 (A) by striking clause (v); and 

6 (B) by redesignating clauses (vi) through 

7 (xix) as clauses (v) through (xviii), respectively; 

8 and 

9 (7) by striking paragraph (12), as so redesig10 nated, and inserting the following: 

11 ‘‘(12) LOBBYIST.—The term ‘lobbyist’— 

12 ‘‘(A) means an individual who is employed 

13 or retained by a client for financial or other 

14 compensation— 

15 ‘‘(i) for services that include making 1 

16 or more lobbying contacts; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) to engage in lobbying activities 

18 that do not include making lobbying con19 tacts; and 

20 ‘‘(B) includes a corporate lobbyist.’’. 

21 SEC. 203. REGISTRATION OF LOBBYISTS. 

22 Section 4 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 

23 U.S.C. 1603) is amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (a)— 

25 (A) in paragraph (1)— 


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1 (i) by striking ‘‘45’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘30’’; 

3 (ii) by striking ‘‘first makes a lob4 bying contact’’ and all that follows through 

5 ‘‘retained to make a lobbying contact’’ and 

6 inserting ‘‘is first employed or retained to 

7 engage in lobbying activities on behalf of a 

8 client or first engages in lobbying activi9 ties’’; and 

10 (iii) by striking ‘‘45th’’ each place the 

11 term appears and inserting ‘‘30th’’; 

12 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

13 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

14 (I) by redesignating clauses (i) 

15 and (ii) as subclauses (I) and (II), re16 spectively, and adjusting the margins 

17 accordingly; 

18 (II) in the matter preceding sub19 clause (I), as so redesignated, by 

20 striking ‘‘entity whose—’’ and insert21 ing the following: ‘‘entity— 

22 ‘‘(i) of which the—’’; 

23 (III) in clause (i), as so des24 ignated— 


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1 (aa) in subclause (I), as so 

2 redesignated, by inserting ‘‘, as 

3 estimated under section 5’’ after 

4 ‘‘$2,500’’; and 

5 (bb) in subclause (II), as so 

6 redesignated, by inserting ‘‘as es7 timated under section 5; or’’ 

8 after ‘‘$10,000,’’; 

9 (IV) by inserting after clause 

10 (i)(II), as so designated, the following: 

11 ‘‘(ii) that engages in lobbying activi12 ties for less than 8 hours,’’; and 

13 (V) in the flush text following 

14 clause (ii)— 

15 (aa) by striking ‘‘(as esti16 mated under section 5)’’; and 

17 (bb) by striking ‘‘with re18 spect to such client’’ and insert19 ing ‘‘, in the case of a person or 

20 entity described in subclause (I) 

21 or (II) of clause (i), with respect 

22 to such client, or, in the case of 

23 a person or entity described in 

24 clause (ii), with respect to any 


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1 client of the person or entity.’’; 

2 and 

3 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

4 ‘‘subparagraph (A)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub5 paragraph (A)(i)’’; 

6 (2) in subsection (b)— 

7 (A) by striking paragraph (4); 

8 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (5) and 

9 (6) as paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively; 

10 (C) in paragraph (4), as so redesignated— 

11 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

12 (I) by striking ‘‘the general 

13 issues areas’’ and inserting ‘‘each spe14 cific issue area’’; and 

15 (II) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

16 (ii) by redesignating subparagraph 

17 (B) as subparagraph (C); 

18 (iii) by inserting after subparagraph 

19 (A) the following: 

20 ‘‘(B) each specific action or inaction that, 

21 as of the date of the registration, has already 

22 been requested, or that will be requested;’’; and 

23 (iv) in subparagraph (C), as so redes24 ignated— 


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1 (I) by striking ‘‘to the extent 

2 practicable, specific issues that have’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘each specific issue, in4 cluding any Federal legislation, rule, 

5 or regulation, or Executive order, that 

6 has’’; and 

7 (II) by striking ‘‘are’’ and insert8 ing ‘‘is’’; 

9 (D) in paragraph (5), as so redesignated, 

10 by striking the period and inserting a semi11 colon; and 

12 (E) by inserting after paragraph (5), as so 

13 redesignated, the following: 

14 ‘‘(6) the name of each covered legislative 

15 branch official or covered executive branch official 

16 who, as of the date of the registration, has already 

17 been contacted, or is likely to be contacted, in any 

18 lobbying activity on behalf of the client; and 

19 ‘‘(7) with respect to any person or entity that, 

20 as of the date of the registration, or has been re21 tained, by the registrant to engage in any lobbying 

22 activity on behalf of the client of the registrant— 

23 ‘‘(A) the name, address, business telephone 

24 number, and principal place of business of the 

25 person or entity; 


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1 ‘‘(B) a description of any lobbying contact 

2 that, as of the date of the registration, has been 

3 made in, or is likely to be made, on behalf of 

4 the client of the registrant by the person or en5 tity; 

6 ‘‘(C) with respect to the lobbying activity 

7 on behalf of the client of the registrant, the 

8 amount that the registrant, as of the date of 

9 the registration, has paid, or is likely to pay, to 

10 the person or entity as compensation for the 

11 lobbying activity; and 

12 ‘‘(D) the name of each employee of the 

13 person or entity who, as of the date of the reg14 istration, has supervised, or who is likely to su15 pervise, any lobbying activity on behalf of the 

16 client of the registrant.’’; and 

17 (3) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(c) MULTIPLE CLIENTS.—In the case of a reg20 istrant that engages in lobbying activities on behalf of 

21 more than 1 client, the registrant shall file a separate reg22 istration for each client.’’. 


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1 SEC. 204. REPORTS BY LOBBYISTS. 

2 (a) QUARTERLY REPORTS.—Section 5(b) of the Lob3 bying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1604(b)) is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(2) a statement of— 

8 ‘‘(A) each specific issue with respect to 

9 which the registrant, or any employee of the 

10 registrant, engaged in lobbying activities, in11 cluding, to the maximum extent practicable, a 

12 statement of each bill number and reference to 

13 any specific Federal rule or regulation, Execu14 tive order, or any other program, policy, or po15 sition of the United States Government; 

16 ‘‘(B) each lobbying activity that the reg17 istrant has engaged in on behalf of the client, 

18 including— 

19 ‘‘(i) each document prepared by the 

20 registrant that was submitted to any cov21 ered legislative branch official or covered 

22 executive branch official; 

23 ‘‘(ii) each meeting conducted that con24 stituted a lobbying contact, including the 

25 subject of the meeting, the date of the 

26 meeting, and the name and position of 


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1 each individual who was a party to the 

2 meeting; 

3 ‘‘(iii) each phone call made that con4 stituted a lobbying contact, including the 

5 subject of the phone call, the date of the 

6 phone call, and the name and position of 

7 each individual who was a party to the 

8 phone call; and 

9 ‘‘(iv) each email sent that constituted 

10 a lobbying contact, including the subject of 

11 the email, the date of the email, and the 

12 name and position of each individual who 

13 was a party to the email; 

14 ‘‘(C) the name of each employee of the reg15 istrant who did not participate in the lobbying 

16 contact but engaged in lobbying activities in 

17 support of the lobbying contact and a descrip18 tion of any such lobbying activity; and 

19 ‘‘(D) with respect to any person or entity 

20 retained by the registrant to engage in lobbying 

21 activities on behalf of the client of the reg22 istrant— 

23 ‘‘(i) the name, address, business tele24 phone number, and principal place of busi25 ness of the person or entity; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) a description of any lobbying ac2 tivity by the person or entity on behalf of 

3 the client of the registrant; 

4 ‘‘(iii) the amount the registrant paid 

5 to the person or entity for any lobbying ac6 tivity by the person or entity on the behalf 

7 of the client of the registrant; 

8 ‘‘(iv) the name of each employee of 

9 the person or entity who supervised any 

10 lobbying activity by the person or entity on 

11 behalf of the client of the registrant; and 

12 ‘‘(v) the official action or inaction re13 quested in the course of the lobbying activ14 ity;’’. 

15 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

16 end; 

17 (3) in paragraph (5), by striking the period and 

18 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

19 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(6) a copy of any document transmitted to a 

21 covered legislative branch official or a covered execu22 tive branch official in the course of any lobbying ac23 tivity by the registrant on behalf of the client.’’. 


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1 (b) ESTIMATES BASED ON TAX REPORTING SYS2 TEM.—Section 15 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act (2 

3 U.S.C. 1610) is repealed. 

4 SEC. 205. PROHIBITION ON FOREIGN LOBBYING. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 

6 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) is amended— 

7 (1) by redesignating section 26 (2 U.S.C. 1614) 

8 as section 28; and 

9 (2) by inserting after section 25 (2 U.S.C. 

10 1613) the following: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 26. PROHIBITION ON FOREIGN LOBBYING. 

12 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—In this section— 

13 ‘‘(1) the term ‘covered lobbyist’ means— 

14 ‘‘(A) a lobbyist that is registered or is re15 quired to register under section 4(a)(1); 

16 ‘‘(B) an organization that employs 1 or 

17 more lobbyists and is registered, or is required 

18 to register, under section 4(a)(2); and 

19 ‘‘(C) an employee listed or required to be 

20 listed as a lobbyist by a registrant under section 

21 4(b)(6) or 5(b)(2)(C); and 

22 ‘‘(2) the terms ‘information-service employee’, 

23 ‘public-relations counsel’, and ‘publicity agent’ have 

24 the meanings given those terms in section 1 of the 


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1 Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 

2 611). 

3 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION.—Except as provided in sub4 section (c), a covered lobbyist may not accept financial or 

5 other compensation for services that include lobbying ac6 tivities on behalf of a foreign entity. 

7 ‘‘(c) EXEMPTIONS.—The prohibition under sub8 section (b) shall not apply the following covered lobbyists: 

9 ‘‘(1) DIPLOMATIC OR CONSULAR OFFICERS.—A 

10 duly accredited diplomatic or consular officer of a 

11 foreign government who is so recognized by the De12 partment of State, while the officer is engaged exclu13 sively in activities that are recognized by the Depart14 ment of State as being within the scope of the func15 tions of the officer. 

16 ‘‘(2) OFFICIALS OF FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS.— 

17 An official of a foreign government, if that govern18 ment is recognized by the United States, who is not 

19 a public-relations counsel, a publicity agent, or an 

20 information-service employee, or a citizen of the 

21 United States, whose name and status and the char22 acter of whose duties as an official are of public 

23 record in the Department of State, while said official 

24 is engaged exclusively in activities that are recogVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:49 Nov 21, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00083 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7140.IH H7140

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1 nized by the Department of State as being within 

2 the scope of the functions of the official. 

3 ‘‘(3) STAFF MEMBERS OF DIPLOMATIC OR CON4 SULAR OFFICERS.—A member of the staff of, or any 

5 person employed by, a duly accredited diplomatic or 

6 consular officer of a foreign government who is so 

7 recognized by the Department of State, other than 

8 a public-relations counsel, a publicity agent, or an 

9 information-service employee, whose name and sta10 tus and the character of whose duties as such mem11 ber or employee are of public record in the Depart12 ment of State, while the member or employee is en13 gaged exclusively in the performance of activities 

14 that are recognized by the Department of State as 

15 being within the scope of the functions of the mem16 ber or employee. 

17 ‘‘(4) PERSONS ENGAGING OR AGREEING TO EN18 GAGE IN THE SOLICITING OR COLLECTING OF FUNDS

19 FOR HUMANITARIAN RELIEF.—A person engaging or 

20 agreeing to engage only in the soliciting or collecting 

21 of funds and contributions within the United States 

22 to be used only for medical aid and assistance, or for 

23 food and clothing to relieve human suffering, if the 

24 solicitation or collection of funds and contributions 

25 is in accordance with, and subject to, the provisions 


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1 of the Neutrality Act of 1939 (22 U.S.C. 441 et 

2 seq.), and such rules and regulations as may be pre3 scribed thereunder. 

4 ‘‘(5) CERTAIN PERSONS QUALIFIED TO PRAC5 TICE LAW.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A person qualified to 

7 practice law, insofar as the person engages, or 

8 agrees to engage in, the legal representation of 

9 a disclosed foreign entity before any court of 

10 law or any agency of the Government of the 

11 United States. 

12 ‘‘(B) LEGAL REPRESENTATION.—For the 

13 purpose of this paragraph, legal representation 

14 does not include any attempt to influence or 

15 persuade agency personnel or officials other 

16 than in the course of— 

17 ‘‘(i) a judicial proceeding; 

18 ‘‘(ii) a criminal or civil law enforce19 ment inquiry, investigation, or proceeding; 

20 or 

21 ‘‘(iii) an agency proceeding required 

22 by statute or regulation to be conducted on 

23 the record. 

24 ‘‘(d) PENALTIES.—Any person who knowingly vio25 lates this section shall be fined not more than $200,000, 


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1 imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both, and any 

2 compensation received for engaging in the unlawful activ3 ity shall be subject to disgorgement.’’. 

4 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 7 of the 

5 Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1606) is 

6 amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding 

8 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Whoever’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘Except as otherwise provided in this Act, whoever’’; 

10 and 

11 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘Whoever’’ 

12 and inserting ‘‘Except as otherwise provided in this 

13 Act, whoever’’. 

14 SEC. 206. PROHIBITION OF CONTRIBUTIONS BY LOBBYISTS. 

15 Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 

16 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.) is amended by adding at 

17 the end the following new section: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 325. PROHIBITION OF CONTRIBUTIONS BY LOBBY19 ISTS. 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for any lob21 byist to make a contribution to any candidate for Federal 

22 office or Member of Congress. 

23 ‘‘(b) LOBBYIST DEFINED.—In this section, the term 

24 ‘lobbyist’ means a lobbyist, as defined in section 3 of the 

25 Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602), that 


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1 is registered or is required to register under section 4(a) 

2 of that Act.’’. 

3 SEC. 207. PROHIBITION ON CONTINGENT FEE LOBBYING. 

4 The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601 

5 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 26, as added 

6 by section 205, the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 27. PROHIBITION ON CONTINGENT FEE ARRANGE8 MENTS. 

9 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the term ‘cov10 ered lobbyist’ means— 

11 ‘‘(1) a lobbyist that is registered or is required 

12 to register under section 4(a)(1); 

13 ‘‘(2) an organization that employs 1 or more 

14 lobbyists and is registered, or is required to register, 

15 under section 4(a)(2); and 

16 ‘‘(3) an employee listed or required to be listed 

17 as a lobbyist by a registrant under section 4(b)(6) 

18 or 5(b)(2)(C). 

19 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION.—A covered lobbyist may not be 

20 employed under, or receive compensation in connection 

21 with, an arrangement in which compensation paid to the 

22 covered lobbyist is contingent on the result of lobbying ac23 tivities engaged in by the covered lobbyist. 

24 ‘‘(c) PENALTIES.—Any person who knowingly vio25 lates this section shall be fined not more than $200,000, 


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1 imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both, and any 

2 compensation received for engaging in the unlawful activ3 ity shall be subject to disgorgement.’’. 

4 SEC. 208. PROHIBITION ON PROVISION OF GIFTS OR TRAV5 EL BY REGISTERED LOBBYISTS. 

6 Section 25 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 

7 (2 U.S.C. 1613) is amended— 

8 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘TO

9 MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AND TO CONGRES10 SIONAL EMPLOYEES’’; 

11 (2) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITION.—Except as provided in sub14 section (c), a person described in subsection (b) may not 

15 make a gift or provide travel to a covered legislative 

16 branch official or a covered executive branch official.’’; and 

17 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(c) EXCEPTIONS.—A person described in subsection 

19 (b) may make a gift or provide travel to a covered legisla20 tive branch official or a covered executive branch official 

21 if— 

22 ‘‘(1) the gift or travel complies with any appli23 cable rule of the Senate, House of Representatives, 

24 or executive branch applicable to the recipient of the 

25 gift or travel; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) the gift or travel— 

2 ‘‘(A) is based on the personal or family re3 lationship of the person with the covered legis4 lative branch official or a covered executive 

5 branch official and is given with the knowledge 

6 and acquiescence of the covered legislative 

7 branch official or a covered executive branch of8 ficial, unless the covered legislative branch offi9 cial or a covered executive branch official has 

10 reason to believe that the gift or travel was 

11 given because of the official position of the cov12 ered legislative branch official or a covered ex13 ecutive branch official; 

14 ‘‘(B) is a discount or similar benefit; 

15 ‘‘(C) results from the business or employ16 ment activities of the spouse of the covered leg17 islative branch official or a covered executive 

18 branch official; 

19 ‘‘(D) is a gift or travel customarily pro20 vided by a prospective employer in connection 

21 with bona fide employment discussions; 

22 ‘‘(E) in the case of a covered executive 

23 branch official, is of a kind authorized by a 

24 supplemental agency regulation that is— 


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1 ‘‘(i) issued by the agency that employs 

2 the covered executive branch official; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) approved by the Director of the 

4 Office of Public Integrity; or 

5 ‘‘(F) may be accepted by the covered legis6 lative branch official or covered executive 

7 branch official under specific Federal statutory 

8 authority.’’. 

9 SEC. 209. APPLICATION OF GENERAL SCHEDULE TO CON10 GRESS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5331 of title 5, United 

12 States Code, is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘this sub14 chapter, ‘agency’, ‘employee’, ‘position’,’’ and insert15 ing the following: ‘‘this subchapter— 

16 ‘‘(1) ‘agency’— 

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

18 section 5102 of this title; and 

19 ‘‘(B) includes— 

20 ‘‘(i) the Government Accountability 

21 Office; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) any agency, office, or other enti23 ty for which the pay of the employees of 

24 the agency, office, or other entity is dis25 bursed by the Secretary of the Senate or 


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1 the Chief Administrative Officer of the 

2 House of Representatives; 

3 ‘‘(2) ‘employee’— 

4 ‘‘(A) means an individual employed in or 

5 under an agency; and 

6 ‘‘(B) does not include a Member of Con7 gress; and 

8 ‘‘(3) ‘position’,’’; and 

9 (2) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘and employ10 ees in positions in an agency described in subsection 

11 (a)(1)(B)’’ after ‘‘chapter 51 applies’’. 

12 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

13 (1) Section 5 of the Federal Pay Comparability 

14 Act of 1970 (2 U.S.C. 4531) is repealed. 

15 (2) Section 311 of the Legislative Branch Ap16 propriations Act, 1988 (2 U.S.C. 4532) is repealed. 

17 (3) Sections 471 and 475 of the Legislative Re18 organization Act of 1970 (2 U.S.C. 4533, 4534) are 

19 repealed. 

20 (4) Section 4 of the Federal Pay Comparability 

21 Act of 1970 (2 U.S.C. 4571) is repealed. 

22 (5) Section 107 of the Legislative Branch Ap23 propriation Act, 1977 (2 U.S.C. 4572) is repealed. 

24 (6) Section 315 of the Legislative Branch Ap25 propriations Act, 1991 (2 U.S.C. 4573) is repealed. 


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1 (7) Section 105 of the Legislative Branch Ap2 propriation Act, 1968 (2 U.S.C. 4575) is amended— 

3 (A) by striking subsection (a); 

4 (B) by striking subsection (c); 

5 (C) by striking subsection (e); and 

6 (D) by striking subsection (f). 

7 (8) Section 114 of the Legislative Branch Ap8 propriation Act, 1978 (2 U.S.C. 4576) is amended 

9 by striking ‘‘maximum rate specified’’ and all that 

10 follows and inserting ‘‘rate payable for a position at 

11 level 15, step 10 of the General Schedule.’’. 

12 (9) Section 102(c)(2)(B) of the Legislative 

13 Branch Appropriations Act, 2002 (2 U.S.C. 

14 4579(c)(2)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘exceeding’’ 

and all that follows and inserting ‘‘exceeding 1 15 ⁄12th

16 of the maximum annual rate of pay that is payable 

17 for positions on the General Schedule under section 

18 5304(g)(1) of title 5, United States Code.’’. 

19 SEC. 210. REESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY 

20 ASSESSMENT. 

21 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

22 12(a) of the Technology Assessment Act of 1972 (2 

23 U.S.C. 481(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘there is hereby’’ 

24 and all that follows through the period at the end and 

25 inserting ‘‘for each fiscal year there is authorized to be 


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1 appropriated to the Office such sums as may be nec2 essary.’’. 

3 (b) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—Not later than 60 days 

4 after the date on which appropriations are made available 

5 to reestablish the Office of Technology Assessment, the 

6 President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of 

7 the House of Representatives shall appoint the members 

8 of the Technology Assessment Board in accordance with 

9 section 4(a) of the Technology Assessment Act of 1972 

10 (2 U.S.C. 473(a)). 

11 (c) INITIAL RECOMMENDATIONS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 270 days 

13 after the date on which all members of the Tech14 nology Assessment Board are appointed under sub15 section (b), and after reviewing recommendations re16 lating to the reestablishment of the Office of Tech17 nology Assessment and meeting with relevant stake18 holders, the Technology Assessment Board shall sub19 mit to Congress recommendations concerning how 

20 Congress should enhance technology assessment sup21 port for the legislative branch, including whether 

22 Congress should enact new or revised authorities 

23 that address resources, function, structure, or other 

24 matters the Technology Assessment Board deter25 mines appropriate. 


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1 (2) REVIEW.—Not later than 90 days after the 

2 date on which Congress receives the recommenda3 tions under paragraph (1), each committee of the 

4 Senate or the House of Representatives with juris5 diction of any issue relating to technology assess6 ment support for the legislative branch shall hold a 

7 hearing with respect to the recommendations. 

8 (d) ADJUSTMENTS TO OTHER LAWS.— 

9 (1) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Section 3003(a)(1) of 

10 the Federal Reports Elimination and Sunset Act of 

11 1995 (31 U.S.C. 1113 note) shall not apply to any 

12 report submitted under section 11 of the Technology 

13 Assessment Act of 1972 (Public Law 92–48, 86 

14 Stat. 802). 

15 (2) INFORMATION FOR THE CONGRESSIONAL

16 BUDGET OFFICE.—Section 201(e) of the Congres17 sional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 601(e)) is 

18 amended— 

19 (A) by inserting ‘‘the Office of Technology 

20 Assessment,’’ after ‘‘Government Accountability 

21 Office,’’; and 

22 (B) by inserting ‘‘the Technology Assess23 ment Board,’’ after ‘‘Comptroller General,’’. 

24 (3) INCLUSION AS AN INSTRUMENTALITY OF

25 CONGRESS.—Section 510(4) of the Americans with 


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1 Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12209(4)) is 

2 amended by striking ‘‘following:,’’ and inserting ‘‘fol3 lowing: the Office of Technology Assessment,’’. 

4 (e) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—Section 7(e)(1) of 

5 the Technology Assessment Act of 1972 (2 U.S.C. 

6 476(e)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 5702 and in 

7 5704 of title 5’’ and inserting ‘‘sections 5702 and 5704 

8 of title 5, United States Code’’. 

9 SEC. 211. PROGRESSIVE TAX ON LOBBYING EXPENDITURES. 

10 (a) TAX PROVISIONS RELATING TO LOBBYING EX11 PENDITURES.— 

12 (1) EXCISE TAX ON EXPENDITURES FOR LOB13 BYING ACTIVITIES.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 33 of the In15 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by in16 serting after subchapter C the following new 

17 subchapter: 

18 ‘‘Subchapter D—Lobbying Activities 

‘‘Sec. 4286. Imposition of tax. 

19 ‘‘SEC. 4286. IMPOSITION OF TAX. 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is hereby imposed on 

21 quarterly lobbying expenditures in excess of $125,000 a 

22 tax determined in accordance with the following table: 

‘‘If quarterly lobbying 

expenditures are: 

The tax is: 

Over $125,000 but not over 

$250,000.

35% of the quarterly lobbying expenditures in excess of $125,000. 


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‘‘If quarterly lobbying 

expenditures are: 

The tax is: 

Over $250,000 but not over 

$1,250,000.

$43,750, plus 60% of the excess over 

$250,000. 

Over $1,250,000 ............................ $643,750, plus 75% of the excess 

over $1,250,000. 

1 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para3 graph (2), the tax imposed by this section shall not 

4 apply to any organization described in section 501(c) 

5 and exempt from tax under section 501(a). 

6 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION TO CERTAIN BUSINESS OR7 GANIZATIONS.—Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any 

8 organization which— 

9 ‘‘(A) is described in section 501(c)(6) and 

10 exempt from tax under section 501(a), and 

11 ‘‘(B) has as a member of such organization 

12 an organization that is not described in section 

13 501(c) and exempt from tax under section 

14 501(a). 

15 ‘‘(c) PAYMENT OF TAX.—The tax imposed by this 

16 section shall be paid by the person paying for the quarterly 

17 lobbying expenditures. 

18 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the 

19 term ‘quarterly lobbying expenditures’ means, with respect 

20 to any calendar quarter, the expenditures paid or incurred 

21 for lobbying activities (as defined under section 3 of the 


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1 Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995) during such calendar 

2 quarter. 

3 ‘‘(e) SPECIAL RULE.—For purposes of this section, 

4 all persons treated as a single employer under subsection 

5 (a) or (b) of section 52 shall be treated as a single per6 son.’’. 

7 (B) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The 

8 table of subchapters for chapter 33 of such 

9 Code is amended by inserting after the item re10 lated to subchapter C the following new item: 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER D—LOBBYING ACTIVITIES’’. 

11 (C) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments 

12 made by this paragraph shall apply to amounts 

13 paid or incurred in calendar quarters beginning 

14 more than 60 days after the date of the enact15 ment of this Act. 

16 (2) MODIFICATION OF DEFINITION OF INFLU17 ENCING LEGISLATION FOR PURPOSES OF RESTRIC18 TIONS ON CERTAIN CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 4911(e)(2) of 

20 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amend21 ed— 

22 (i) by striking ‘‘includes action with 

23 respect to Acts, bills’’ and inserting ‘‘in24 cludes— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the formulation, modification, or 

2 adoption of Acts, bills’’; and 

3 (ii) by adding at the end the following 

4 new subparagraphs: 

5 ‘‘(ii) the formulation, modification, or 

6 adoption of a Federal rule, regulation, Ex7 ecutive order, or any other program, policy, 

8 or position of the United States Govern9 ment, 

10 ‘‘(iii) the administration or execution 

11 of a Federal program or policy (including 

12 the negotiation, award, or administration 

13 of a Federal contract, grant, loan, permit, 

14 or license), and 

15 ‘‘(iv) the nomination or confirmation 

16 of a person for a position subject to con17 firmation by the Senate.’’. 

18 (B) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

19 4911(e) of such Code is amended by striking 

20 paragraph (3) and redesignating paragraph (4) 

21 as paragraph (3). 

22 (C) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments 

23 made by this paragraph shall take effect 180 

24 days after the date of the enactment of this 

25 Act. 


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1 (b) LOBBYING DEFENSE TRUST FUND.— 

2 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.— 

3 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter A of chap4 ter 98 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

5 amended by adding at the end the following 

6 new section: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 9512. LOBBYING DEFENSE TRUST FUND. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the 

9 Treasury of the United States a trust fund to be known 

10 as the ‘Lobbying Defense Trust Fund’, consisting of any 

11 amount appropriated or credited to the Trust Fund as 

12 provided in this section or section 9602(b). 

13 ‘‘(b) TRANSFERS TO TRUST FUND.—There is hereby 

14 appropriated to the Lobbying Defense Trust Fund 

15 amounts equivalent to— 

16 ‘‘(1) the taxes received in the Treasury under 

17 section 4286, and 

18 ‘‘(2) the civil penalties collected under the Anti19 Corruption and Public Integrity Act and the amend20 ments made by that Act. 

21 ‘‘(c) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts transferred to the 

22 Lobbying Defense Trust Fund shall— 

23 ‘‘(1) remain available until expended; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) be used, without further appropriation, by 

2 the Director of the Office of Public Integrity in ac3 cordance with subsection (d). 

4 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) TRANSFERS TO AGENCIES.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For each calendar 

7 quarter beginning more than 60 days after the 

8 date of the enactment of this section, not later 

9 than 30 days after the end of the quarter, the 

10 Director of the Office of Public Integrity (in 

11 this subsection referred to as the ‘Director’) 

12 shall identify specific rules or other agency ac13 tions that were the subject of significant lob14 bying activity directed toward an executive 

15 agency during the quarter. 

16 ‘‘(B) TRANSFER.—Not later than the end 

17 of each calendar quarter beginning more than 

18 60 days after the date of the enactment of this 

19 section, the Director shall transfer from the 

20 Lobbying Defense Trust Fund to each executive 

21 agency that was the subject of significant lob22 bying activity during the previous quarter an 

23 amount equal to the amount obtained by multi24 plying— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the amount of taxes received in 

2 the Treasury under section 4286 that are 

3 attributable to lobbying expenditures dur4 ing the previous quarter; by 

5 ‘‘(ii) the percentage of such taxes that 

6 were based on lobbying expenditures dur7 ing the previous quarter related to rule8 making within the jurisdiction of the exec9 utive agency. 

10 ‘‘(C) USE OF TRANSFERRED FUNDS.—An 

11 executive agency may use amounts transferred 

12 under subparagraph (B) for salaries and ex13 penses relating to researching, reviewing, or fi14 nalizing rules or other agency actions in accord15 ance with section 553 or 554 of title 5, United 

16 States Code. 

17 ‘‘(D) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts transferred 

18 under subparagraph (B) shall remain available 

19 until expended. 

20 ‘‘(2) OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC ADVOCATE.— 

21 ‘‘(A) BUDGET SUBMISSION.—For each fis22 cal year beginning more than 60 days after the 

23 date of enactment of this section, the National 

24 Public Advocate shall submit to the Director a 

25 request— 


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1 ‘‘(i) indicating the amount the Na2 tional Public Advocate is requesting be 

3 transferred to the Office of the Public Ad4 vocate; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) describing the activities of the 

6 Office of the Public Advocate that would 

7 be carried out using the amounts. 

8 ‘‘(B) TRANSFER.—After consideration of 

9 the request submitted under subparagraph (A) 

10 with respect to a fiscal year, the Director shall 

11 transfer to the Office of the Public Advocate 

12 from the Lobbying Defense Trust Fund the 

13 amount determined appropriate by the Director. 

14 ‘‘(C) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts trans15 ferred under subparagraph (B) may be used for 

16 any authorized activity of the Office of the Pub17 lic Advocate, including salaries and expenses. 

18 ‘‘(D) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts transferred 

19 under subparagraph (B) shall remain available 

20 until expended. 

21 ‘‘(3) CONGRESSIONAL SUPPORT AGENCIES.— 

22 ‘‘(A) TRANSFER.—Not later than the end 

23 of each calendar quarter beginning more than 

24 60 days after the date of the enactment of this 

25 section, the Director shall transfer from the 


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1 Lobbying Defense Trust Fund to the Congres2 sional Research Service, the Congressional 

3 Budget Office, the Government Accountability 

4 Office, and the Office of Technology Assess5 ment an amount equal to 25 percent of the dif6 ference between— 

7 ‘‘(i) the amount of taxes received in 

8 the Treasury under section 4286 that are 

9 attributable to lobbying expenditures dur10 ing the previous quarter; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) the amount of such taxes that 

12 were based on lobbying expenditures dur13 ing the previous quarter related to rule14 making within the jurisdiction of an execu15 tive agency. 

16 ‘‘(B) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts trans17 ferred under subparagraph (A) may be used for 

18 any authorized activity of the agency receiving 

19 the amounts, including salaries and expenses. 

20 ‘‘(C) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts transferred 

21 under subparagraph (A) shall remain available 

22 until expended. 

23 ‘‘(4) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days 

24 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director 

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1 nificant lobbying activity’ for purposes of this sub2 section.’’. 

3 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec4 tions for subchapter A of chapter 98 of such Code 

5 is amended by adding at the end the following new 

6 item: 

‘‘Sec. 9512. Lobbying Defense Trust Fund.’’. 

7 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

8 by this subsection shall take effect on the date of en9 actment of this Act. 

10 SEC. 212. DISCLOSURE OF REGISTRATION STATUS. 

11 Section 14 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 

12 (2 U.S.C. 1609) is amended— 

13 (1) by striking subsections (a) and (b) and in14 serting the following: 

15 ‘‘(a) LOBBYING CONTACTS.—Any person or entity 

16 that makes a lobbying contact with a covered legislative 

17 branch official or a covered executive branch official shall, 

18 at the time of the lobbying contact, state whether the per19 son or entity is registered under this Act and identify the 

20 client on whose behalf the lobbying contact is made.’’; and 

21 (2) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub22 section (b). 


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1 TITLE III—RULEMAKING 

2 REFORM 

3 SEC. 301. DISCLOSURE OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 553 of title 5, United 

5 States Code, is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (c), in the first sentence, by 

7 inserting ‘‘, subject to subsections (f) and (h),’’ after 

8 ‘‘the agency shall’’; and 

9 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(f) With respect to any submission by an interested 

11 person under subsection (c) or any other submission by 

12 an interested person relating to a proposed rule that incor13 porates or includes a scientific or technical study, or any 

14 other result of scientific research not published in a pub15 licly available peer-reviewed publication, the interested 

16 person, in making that submission, shall disclose— 

17 ‘‘(1) the source of the funding for that study or 

18 research, as applicable; 

19 ‘‘(2) any entity that sponsored the study or re20 search; 

21 ‘‘(3) the extent to which the findings of the 

22 study or research were reviewed by a party that may 

23 be affected by the rulemaking to which the submis24 sion relates; 


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1 ‘‘(4) the identity of any party identified under 

2 paragraph (3); and 

3 ‘‘(5) the nature of any financial relationship, in4 cluding a consulting agreement, the support of any 

5 expert witness, and the funding of research, between 

6 any person that conducted the study or research and 

7 any interested person with respect to the rulemaking 

8 to which the submission relates.’’. 

9 (b) APPLICATION.—Section 553(f) of title 5, United 

10 States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall apply with 

11 respect to submissions made by interested persons on and 

12 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

13 SEC. 302. INCREASING DISCLOSURES RELATING TO STUD14 IES AND RESEARCH. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 553 of title 5, United 

16 States Code, as amended by section 301 of this Act, is 

17 amended by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(g) With respect to a study or research that is sub19 mitted by an interested person to an agency under sub20 section (c), the agency shall ensure that the study or re21 search is available to the public, unless disclosure is pro22 hibited under section 552 of this title. 

23 ‘‘(h)(1) If a study or research submitted by an inter24 ested person to an agency under subsection (c) presents 

25 a conflict described in paragraph (2), the agency shall not 


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1 consider the study or research in a rulemaking under this 

2 section and shall exclude the study or research from con3 sideration, unless the interested person has certified, 

4 under standards developed by the National Academy of 

5 Sciences with respect to that certification, that the study 

6 or research has undergone independent peer review. 

7 ‘‘(2) A conflict described in this paragraph means a 

8 study or research for which— 

9 ‘‘(A) not less than 20 percent of the funding for 

10 the study or research is from an entity that is regu11 lated by the agency; or 

12 ‘‘(B) an entity that is regulated by the agency 

13 exercises editorial control over the study or research. 

14 ‘‘(i) With respect to a rulemaking under this section, 

15 an agency shall include in the notice of proposed rule16 making required under subsection (b) and in the final rule 

17 published under subsection (d) a description of how the 

18 agency considered scientific evidence, including any study 

19 or research.’’. 

20 (b) APPLICATION.—Subsections (g), (h), and (i) of 

21 section 553 of title 5, United States Code, as added by 

22 subsection (a), shall apply with respect to submissions 

23 made by interested persons on and after the date of enact24 ment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 303. DISCLOSURE OF INTER-GOVERNMENTAL RULE 

2 CHANGES. 

3 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

4 (1) the term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad5 ministrator of the Office; 

6 (2) the terms ‘‘agency’’, ‘‘regulatory action’’, 

7 and ‘‘significant regulatory action’’ have the mean8 ings given those terms in section 3 of the Executive 

9 Order; 

10 (3) the term ‘‘Executive Order’’ means Execu11 tive Order 12866 (5 U.S.C. 601 note; relating to 

12 regulatory planning and review); and 

13 (4) the term ‘‘Office’’ means the Office of In14 formation and Regulatory Affairs. 

15 (b) REQUIREMENT.—With respect to any regulatory 

16 action that an agency provides to the Office under section 

17 6(a)(3) of the Executive Order, and that the Adminis18 trator determines is a significant regulatory action under 

19 that section, the agency shall— 

20 (1) not later than the date on which the agency 

21 publishes the general notice of proposed rulemaking 

22 required under section 553(b) of title 5, United 

23 States Code, with respect to the action, place in the 

24 rulemaking docket— 

25 (A) the substance of any changes between 

26 the text of the draft regulatory action that the 


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1 agency provided to the Office under section 

2 6(a)(3)(B)(i) of the Executive Order and the 

3 text published in that general notice with re4 spect to the action; and 

5 (B) a statement regarding whether any 

6 change described in subparagraph (A) was 

7 made at the request of— 

8 (i) the Office; 

9 (ii) another agency; or 

10 (iii) a Member of Congress; and 

11 (2) not later than the date on which the agency 

12 publishes the regulatory action in the Federal Reg13 ister, place in the rulemaking docket— 

14 (A) the substance of any changes between 

15 the text of the regulatory action that the agency 

16 provided to the Office under section 

17 6(a)(3)(B)(i) of the Executive Order and the 

18 text of the regulatory action that the agency 

19 published in the Federal Register; and 

20 (B) a statement regarding whether any 

21 change described in subparagraph (A) was 

22 made at the request of— 

23 (i) the Office; 

24 (ii) another agency; or 

25 (iii) a Member of Congress. 


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1 SEC. 304. JUSTIFICATION OF WITHDRAWN RULES. 

2 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

3 (1) the term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad4 ministrator of the Office; 

5 (2) the terms ‘‘agency’’ and ‘‘regulatory action’’ 

6 have the meanings given those terms in section 3 of 

7 the Executive Order; 

8 (3) the term ‘‘Executive Order’’ means Execu9 tive Order 12866 (5 U.S.C. 601 note; relating to 

10 regulatory planning and review); and 

11 (4) the term ‘‘Office’’ means the Office of In12 formation and Regulatory Affairs. 

13 (b) REQUIREMENT.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—If an agency withdraws a 

15 regulatory action after providing the action to the 

16 Office under section 6(a)(3) of the Executive Order 

17 (or, if the agency does not provide the regulatory ac18 tion to the Office under that section, after pub19 lishing the general notice of proposed rulemaking 

20 with respect to the action under section 553(b) of 

21 title 5, United States Code), the agency shall publish 

22 in the Federal Register and on the website of the 

23 agency a statement regarding the decision by the 

24 agency to withdraw the action. 

25 (2) CONTENTS.—A statement required under 

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1 cy to withdraw a regulatory action shall include, at 

2 a minimum— 

3 (A) a detailed explanation of the reasons 

4 that the agency withdrew the action; and 

5 (B) an explanation regarding whether the 

6 decision by the agency to withdraw the action 

7 was based, in whole or in part, on a request by, 

8 or input from— 

9 (i) the Office; 

10 (ii) another agency; 

11 (iii) a Member of Congress; 

12 (iv) a State, local, or tribal govern13 ment; or 

14 (v) an organization, a corporation, a 

15 member of the public, or another inter16 ested party. 

17 SEC. 305. NEGOTIATED RULEMAKING. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter 5 of 

19 title 5, United States Code, is amended— 

20 (1) in section 561, in the first sentence, by in21 serting ‘‘between agencies and Federal, State, local, 

22 or tribal governments. This subchapter shall apply 

23 only to information negotiations between Federal, 

24 State, local, or tribal governments’’ after ‘‘informal 

25 rulemaking process’’; 


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1 (2) in section 563— 

2 (A) in subsection (a)— 

3 (i) in paragraph (2), by inserting 

4 ‘‘Federal, State, local, or tribal govern5 ment’’ after ‘‘identifiable’’; and 

6 (ii) in paragraph (3), by striking 

7 ‘‘persons who’’ and inserting ‘‘representa8 tives of Federal, State, local, and tribal 

9 governments that’’; and 

10 (B) in subsection (b)— 

11 (i) in paragraph (1)— 

12 (I) in subparagraph (A)— 

13 (aa) by striking ‘‘persons 

14 who’’ and inserting ‘‘Federal, 

15 State, local, or tribal govern16 ments that’’; and 

17 (bb) by striking ‘‘, including 

18 residents of rural areas’’; and 

19 (II) in subparagraph (B)— 

20 (aa) by striking ‘‘with such 

21 persons’’ and inserting ‘‘with rep22 resentatives of those govern23 ments’’; and 


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1 (bb) by striking ‘‘to such 

2 persons’’ and inserting ‘‘to those 

3 governments’’; and 

4 (ii) in paragraph (2), in the second 

5 sentence— 

6 (I) by striking ‘‘persons who’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘representatives of Fed8 eral, State, local, or tribal govern9 ments that’’; and 

10 (II) by striking ‘‘, including resi11 dents of rural areas’’; 

12 (3) in section 564— 

13 (A) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘; 

14 applications for membership on com15 mittees’’; 

16 (B) in subsection (a)— 

17 (i) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘the 

18 persons’’ and inserting ‘‘the representa19 tives of Federal, State, local, and tribal 

20 governments’’; 

21 (ii) in paragraph (6), by adding ‘‘and’’ 

22 at the end; 

23 (iii) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘; 

24 and’’ and inserting a period; and 

25 (iv) by striking paragraph (8); 


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1 (C) by striking subsection (b); 

2 (D) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub3 section (b); and 

4 (E) in subsection (b), as so redesignated— 

5 (i) in the subsection heading, by strik6 ing ‘‘AND APPLICATIONS’’; and 

7 (ii) by striking ‘‘and applications’’; 

8 (4) in section 565(a)— 

9 (A) in paragraph (1), in the first sentence, 

10 by striking ‘‘and applications’’; and 

11 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

12 (i) by striking ‘‘and applications’’; and 

13 (ii) by striking ‘‘publications,’’ and all 

14 that follows through the period at the end 

15 and inserting ‘‘publications.’’; and 

16 (5) in section 569(a), in the first sentence— 

17 (A) by striking ‘‘and encourage agency use 

18 of’’; and 

19 (B) by inserting ‘‘between Federal, State, 

20 local, and tribal governments’’ after ‘‘negotiated 

21 rulemaking’’. 

22 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

23 (1) BALANCED BUDGET ACT OF 1997.—Section 

24 4554(b)(1) of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (42 

25 U.S.C. 1395u note) is amended by striking ‘‘, using 


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1 a negotiated rulemaking process under subchapter 

2 III of chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code’’. 

3 (2) ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

4 ACT OF 1965.—The Elementary and Secondary Edu5 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) is 

6 amended— 

7 (A) in section 1601 (20 U.S.C. 6571)— 

8 (i) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘sub9 sections (b) through (d)’’ and insert ‘‘sub10 section (b)’’; 

11 (ii) by striking subsections (b) and 

12 (c); and 

13 (iii) by redesignating subsections (d) 

14 and (e) as subsections (b) and (c), respec15 tively; 

16 (B) by repealing section 1602 (20 U.S.C. 

17 6572); and 

18 (C) in section 8204(c)(1) (20 U.S.C. 

19 7824(c)(1)), by striking ‘‘using a negotiated 

20 rulemaking process to develop regulations for 

21 implementation no later than the 2017-2018 

22 academic year, shall define’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘shall, for implementation no later than the 

24 2017–2018 academic year, define’’. 


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1 (3) HEALTH INSURANCE PORTABILITY AND AC2 COUNTABILITY ACT OF 1996.—Section 216(b) of the 

3 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act 

4 of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 1320a–7b note) is amended— 

5 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

6 ‘‘NEGOTIATED’’; 

7 (B) by striking ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—’’ 

8 and all that follows through ‘‘chapter 5 of title 

9 5, United States Code, standards’’ and insert10 ing the following: 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health 

12 and Human Services (in this subsection referred to 

13 as the ‘Secretary’) shall establish standards’’; 

14 (C) by striking paragraphs (2) through 

15 (9); 

16 (D) by redesignating subparagraph (B) of 

17 paragraph (1) as paragraph (2) and adjusting 

18 the margins accordingly; and 

19 (E) in paragraph (2), as so redesignated, 

20 by striking ‘‘subparagraph (A)’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘paragraph (1)’’. 

22 (4) HIGHER EDUCATION ACT OF 1965.—The 

23 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et 

24 seq.) is amended— 

25 (A) in section 207 (20 U.S.C. 1022f)— 


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1 (i) by striking subsection (c); and 

2 (ii) by redesignating subsection (d) as 

3 subsection (c); 

4 (B) in section 422(g)(1) (20 U.S.C. 

5 1072(g)(1))— 

6 (i) in subparagraph (B), by adding 

7 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

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

9 ‘‘; and’’ and inserting a period; and 

10 (iii) by striking subparagraph (D); 

11 (C) in section 487A(b)(3)(B) (20 U.S.C. 

12 1094a(b)(3)(B)), by striking ‘‘in the negotiated 

13 rulemaking process,’’; 

14 (D) in section 491(l)(4)(A) (20 U.S.C. 

15 1098(l)(4)(A)), by striking ‘‘, not later than two 

16 years after the completion of the negotiated 

17 rulemaking process required under section 492 

18 resulting from the amendments to this Act 

19 made by the Higher Education Opportunity 

20 Act,’’; and 

21 (E) in section 492 (20 U.S.C. 1098a)— 

22 (i) in the section heading, by striking 

23 ‘‘NEGOTIATED’’; and 

24 (ii) by amending subsection (b) to 

25 read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(b) ISSUANCE OF REGULATIONS.—After obtaining 

2 the advice and recommendations described in subsection 

3 (a)(1), the Secretary shall issue final regulations within 

4 the 360-day period described in section 437(e) of the Gen5 eral Education Provisions Act (12 U.S.C. 1232(e)).’’. 

6 (5) HOUSING ACT OF 1949.—Section 515(r)(3) 

7 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1485) is 

8 amended by striking ‘‘in accordance with’’ and all 

9 that follows through the period at the end and in10 serting ‘‘under the rulemaking authority contained 

11 in section 557 of title 5, United States Code.’’. 

12 (6) MAGNUSON-STEVENS FISHERY CONSERVA13 TION AND MANAGEMENT ACT.—Section 305(g) of 

14 the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 

15 Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1855(g)) is amended— 

16 (A) by striking paragraphs (2) and (3); 

17 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

18 (i) by striking ‘‘(A)’’; and 

19 (ii) by redesignating subparagraph 

20 (B) as paragraph (2) and adjusting the 

21 margins accordingly; and 

22 (C) in paragraph (2), as so redesignated, 

23 by striking the second sentence. 

24 (7) MANDATORY PRICE REPORTING ACT OF

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1 ing Act of 2010 (Public Law 111–239; 124 Stat. 

2 2501) is amended— 

3 (A) by striking ‘‘WHOLESALE PORK CUTS’’ 

4 and all that follows through ‘‘Chapter 3’’ and 

5 inserting ‘‘WHOLESALE PORK CUTS.—Chapter 

6 3’’; and 

7 (B) by striking paragraphs (2), (3), and 

8 (4) (7 U.S.C. 1635k note). 

9 (8) PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE

10 CARE ACT.—Section 5602 of the Patient Protection 

11 and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 254b note) is 

12 amended— 

13 (A) in the section heading, by striking 

14 ‘‘NEGOTIATED’’; 

15 (B) by striking subsections (b) through 

16 (h); 

17 (C) in subsection (a)— 

18 (i) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 

19 subsection (b) and adjusting the margins 

20 accordingly; and 

21 (ii) in paragraph (1)— 

22 (I) by striking ‘‘(1) IN GEN23 ERAL.—’’; and 


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1 (II) by redesignating subpara2 graphs (A) and (B) as paragraphs (1) 

3 and (2), respectively; and 

4 (D) in subsection (b), as so redesignated, 

5 by striking ‘‘paragraph (1)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub6 section (a)’’. 

7 (9) PRICE-ANDERSON AMENDMENTS ACT OF

8 1988.—The Price-Anderson Amendments Act of 

9 1988 (Public Law 100–408; 102 Stat. 1066) is 

10 amended— 

11 (A) by striking subsection (b); and 

12 (B) in subsection (a)— 

13 (i) by striking ‘‘(1) PURPOSE.—’’; and 

14 (ii) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 

15 subsection (b) and adjusting the margins 

16 accordingly. 

17 (10) SOCIAL SECURITY ACT.—Title XVIII of 

18 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.) is 

19 amended— 

20 (A) in section 1834(l)(1) (42 U.S.C. 

21 1395m(l)(1)), by striking ‘‘through a negotiated 

22 rulemaking process described in title 5, United 

23 States Code, and’’; and 

24 (B) in section 1856(a) (42 U.S.C. 1395w– 

25 26(a))— 


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1 (i) by striking paragraphs (2) through 

2 (9); 

3 (ii) in paragraph (1)— 

4 (I) by striking ‘‘(A) IN GEN5 ERAL.—’’; 

6 (II) by striking ‘‘and using a ne7 gotiated rulemaking process under 

8 subchapter III of chapter 5 of title 

9 5’’; and 

10 (III) by redesignating subpara11 graph (B) as paragraph (2) and ad12 justing the margins accordingly; and 

13 (iii) in paragraph (2), as so redesig14 nated, by striking ‘‘subparagraph (A)’’ and 

15 inserting ‘‘paragraph (1)’’. 

16 (11) TITLE 5.—The table of sections for sub17 chapter III of chapter 5 of title 5, United States 

18 Code, is amended by striking the item relating to 

19 section 564 and inserting the following: 

‘‘564. Publication of notice.’’. 

20 (12) TITLE 49.—Section 31136(g)(1) of title 

21 49, United States Code, is amended— 

22 (A) by striking ‘‘shall—’’ and all that fol23 lows through ‘‘issue’’ and inserting ‘‘shall 

24 issue’’; 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘; or’’ and inserting a pe2 riod; and 

3 (C) by striking subparagraph (B). 

4 (13) TOXIC SUBSTANCES CONTROL ACT.—Sec5 tion 8(a) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (15 

6 U.S.C. 2607(a)) is amended by striking paragraph 

7 (6). 

8 (14) UNITED STATES HOUSING ACT OF 1937.— 

9 Section 9 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 

10 (42 U.S.C. 1437g) is amended by repealing sub11 section (f). 

12 SEC. 306. STREAMLINING OIRA REVIEW. 

13 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

14 (1) the term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad15 ministrator of the Office; 

16 (2) the terms ‘‘agency’’, ‘‘regulatory action’’, 

17 and ‘‘significant regulatory action’’ have the mean18 ings given those terms in section 3 of the Executive 

19 Order; 

20 (3) the term ‘‘Executive Order’’ means Execu21 tive Order 12866 (5 U.S.C. 601 note; relating to 

22 regulatory planning and review); and 

23 (4) the term ‘‘Office’’ means the Office of In24 formation and Regulatory Affairs. 

25 (b) PROHIBITIONS.— 


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1 (1) NON-EXECUTIVE BRANCH OFFICIALS.— 

2 With respect to a regulatory action of an agency, the 

3 Office may not engage in communications or meet4 ings with an individual that is not employed by the 

5 executive branch of the Federal Government if the 

6 regulatory action is or may be subject to review by 

7 the Office under section 6(b) of the Executive Order. 

8 (2) INFORMAL REVIEW.—With respect to a reg9 ulatory action of an agency that may be subject to 

10 review by the Office under section 6(b) of the Execu11 tive Order, the Office may not engage in commu12 nications or meetings with the agency before the 

13 date on which the agency submits the regulatory ac14 tion to the Office under section 6(a)(3) of the Exec15 utive Order. 

16 (c) TIME PERIOD FOR OIRA REVIEW.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para18 graph (2), the Office shall complete a review of a 

19 significant regulatory action under section 6(b) of 

20 the Executive Order not less than 45 days after the 

21 date on which the Office receives the significant reg22 ulatory action under section 6(a)(3) of the Executive 

23 Order. 

24 (2) EXTENSION.—The Office may extend the 

25 45-day period described in paragraph (1) by a single 


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1 30-day period if the Office provides the agency with, 

2 and makes publicly available, a written justification 

3 for the extension. 

4 (3) PUBLICATION OF REGULATORY ACTION.—If 

5 the Office waives review of a significant regulatory 

6 action of an agency under section 6(b)(2) of the Ex7 ecutive Order without a request for further consider8 ation or does not notify the agency in writing of the 

9 results of the review under section 6(b) of the Exec10 utive Order within the time frame described in para11 graph (1) or (2), the agency may publish the signifi12 cant regulatory action in the Federal Register. 

13 SEC. 307. LIMITING TEMPORARY COURT INJUNCTIONS AND 

14 POSTPONING OF FINAL RULES PENDING JU15 DICIAL REVIEW. 

16 Section 705 of title 5, United States Code, is amend17 ed— 

18 (1) by striking the first sentence; and 

19 (2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Not20 withstanding the preceding sentence, with respect to 

21 agency action relating to notice and comment rule22 making under section 553 of this title, on such con23 ditions as may be required and to the extent nec24 essary to prevent irreparable injury, only the review25 ing court to which a case may be taken on appeal 


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1 from or on application for certiorari or other writ to 

2 a reviewing court may issue all necessary and appro3 priate process to postpone the effective date of the 

4 agency action or to preserve status or rights pending 

5 conclusion of the review proceedings.’’. 

6 SEC. 308. PENALIZING INDIVIDUALS THAT SUBMIT FALSE 

7 INFORMATION TO AGENCIES. 

8 Section 553 of title 5, United States Code, as amend9 ed by section 302 of this Act, is amended by adding at 

10 the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(j) Any person that uses any false writing or docu12 ment knowing the same to contain any materially false, 

13 fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry with respect 

14 to a rulemaking under this section shall be fined not more 

15 than $250,000, imprisoned not more than 5 years, or 

16 both.’’. 

17 SEC. 309. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC 

18 ADVOCATE. 

19 Section 401 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 

20 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by adding at the end the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(d)(1)(A) There is established in the Office of Public 

23 Integrity an office to be known as the ‘Office of the Public 

24 Advocate’. 


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1 ‘‘(B) The Office of the Public Advocate shall be under 

2 the supervision of an official to be known as the ‘National 

3 Public Advocate’, who shall— 

4 ‘‘(i) be appointed by the President, by and with 

5 the advice and consent of the Senate; 

6 ‘‘(ii) report to the Director of the Office of Pub7 lic Integrity; 

8 ‘‘(iii) not be an employee of the Federal Gov9 ernment; 

10 ‘‘(iv) be entitled to compensation at the same 

11 rate as the highest rate of basic pay established for 

12 the Senior Executive Service under section 5382 of 

13 title 5, United States Code; 

14 ‘‘(v) have a background in customer service, 

15 consumer protection, and administrative law; 

16 ‘‘(vi) have experience representing the public in 

17 cases involving rules (as defined in section 551 of 

18 title 5, United States Code); 

19 ‘‘(vii) not have worked as an officer or employee 

20 in any Federal agency during the 2-year period pre21 ceding appointment under this subparagraph; and 

22 ‘‘(viii) agree not to accept an offer of employ23 ment with a Federal agency for not less than 5 

24 years after ceasing to serve as the National Public 

25 Advocate. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The duties of the Office of the Public Advocate 

2 shall include— 

3 ‘‘(A) assisting individuals in resolving conflicts 

4 with agencies; 

5 ‘‘(B) assisting agencies in soliciting public par6 ticipation in the rulemaking process; 

7 ‘‘(C) assisting individuals in participating in the 

8 rulemaking process; and 

9 ‘‘(D) identifying areas in which the public has 

10 problems in dealing with agencies and proposing 

11 changes to mitigate those problems. 

12 ‘‘(3) Not later than 180 days after the date on which 

13 the National Public Advocate is appointed under this sub14 section or 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

15 subsection, whichever is later, the National Public Advo16 cate shall propose regulations to carry out this sub17 section.’’. 

18 SEC. 310. ACTIONS BY PRIVATE PERSONS. 

19 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘‘agen20 cy’’ and ‘‘rule’’ have the meanings given those terms in 

21 section 551 of title 5, United States Code. 

22 (b) ACTIONS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—A person may bring a civil 

24 action for the person and for the United States Gov25 ernment, in the name of the Government, against 


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1 any person, including the United States Government 

2 and any other governmental instrumentality or agen3 cy to the extent permitted by the Eleventh Amend4 ment to the Constitution of the United States, for— 

5 (A) a violation of a final rule issued by an 

6 agency; or 

7 (B) the failure of the head of an agency to 

8 comply with any requirement under this Act. 

9 (2) NOTICE.—A copy of the complaint and 

10 written disclosure of substantially all material evi11 dence and information the person possesses shall be 

12 served on the Government pursuant to rule 4(d)(4) 

13 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The Gov14 ernment may elect to intervene and proceed with the 

15 action within 60 days after it receives both the com16 plaint and the material evidence and information. 

17 (3) PARTY CONDUCTING THE ACTION.—Before 

18 the expiration of the 60-day period under paragraph 

19 (2), the Government shall— 

20 (A) proceed with the action, in which case 

21 the action shall be conducted by the Govern22 ment; or 

23 (B) notify the court that it declines to pro24 ceed with the action, in which case the person 


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1 bringing the action shall have the right to con2 duct the action. 

3 (4) AWARD TO PLAINTIFF.— 

4 (A) GOVERNMENT PROCEEDS WITH AC5 TION.—If the Government proceeds with an ac6 tion brought by a person under this subsection, 

7 the person shall receive at least 15 percent but 

8 not more than 25 percent of the proceeds of the 

9 action or settlement of the claim, depending 

10 upon the extent to which the person substan11 tially contributed to the prosecution of the ac12 tion. Any payment to a person under this sub13 paragraph shall be made from the proceeds. 

14 The person shall also receive an amount for 

15 reasonable expenses that the court finds to have 

16 been necessarily incurred, plus reasonable attor17 ney’s fees and costs. The expenses, fees, and 

18 costs shall be awarded against the defendant. 

19 (B) GOVERNMENT DOES NOT PROCEED

20 WITH ACTION.—If the Government does not 

21 proceed with an action under this subsection, 

22 the person bringing the action or settling the 

23 claim shall receive an amount which the court 

24 decides is reasonable for collecting the civil pen25 alty and damages. The amount shall be not less 


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1 than 25 percent and not more than 30 percent 

2 of the proceeds of the action or settlement and 

3 shall be paid out of the proceeds. The person 

4 shall also receive an amount for reasonable ex5 penses that the court finds to have been nec6 essarily incurred, plus reasonable attorney’s 

7 fees and costs. The expenses, fees, and costs 

8 shall be awarded against the defendant. 

9 SEC. 311. SCOPE OF REVIEW. 

10 Section 706 of title 5, United States Code, is amend11 ed— 

12 (1) in the first sentence of the matter preceding 

13 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘To the extent nec14 essary’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To the 

15 extent necessary’’; 

16 (2) in subsection (a), as so designated, by in17 serting after the first sentence the following: ‘‘If a 

18 statute that an agency administers is silent or am19 biguous, and an agency has followed the procedures 

20 in section 553 or 554 of this title, as applicable, a 

21 reviewing court shall defer to the agency’s reason22 able or permissible interpretation of that statute.’’; 

23 (3) by striking ‘‘In making the foregoing deter24 minations’’ and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(b) REVIEW OF RECORD.—In making the deter2 minations under subsection (a)’’; 

3 (4) in subsection (b), as so designated, by in4 serting ‘‘except any part of the record that the agen5 cy excluded from consideration pursuant to section 

6 553(h)(1) of this title,’’ after ‘‘party,’’; and 

7 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(c) UNREASONABLE DELAY.—For purposes of sub9 section (a)(1), unreasonable delay shall include— 

10 ‘‘(1) when an agency has not issued a notice of 

11 proposed rulemaking within 1 year of the date of en12 actment of the legislation mandating the rule13 making, where no deadline for the rulemaking was 

14 specified in the enacted law; 

15 ‘‘(2) when an agency has not issued a final 

16 version of a proposed rule within 1 year of date on 

17 which the proposed rule was published in the Fed18 eral Register; and 

19 ‘‘(3) when an agency has not implemented a 

20 final rule within 1 year of the implementation date 

21 published in the Federal Register or, if no imple22 mentation date was provided, within 1 year of the 

23 date on which the final rule was published in the 

24 Federal Register.’’. 


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1 SEC. 312. EXPANDING RULEMAKING NOTIFICATIONS. 

2 Section 553 of title 5, United States Code, as amend3 ed by section 308 of this Act, is amended by adding at 

4 the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(k)(1) Not later than 2 business days after the date 

6 on which an agency publishes a notice of proposed rule7 making or a final rule under this section, the agency shall 

8 notify interested parties of the publication. 

9 ‘‘(2) The Director of the Government Publishing Of10 fice shall establish a process under which an agency shall 

11 notify interested parties under paragraph (1) through e12 mail or postal mail.’’. 

13 SEC. 313. PUBLIC PETITIONS. 

14 Section 553(e) of title 5, United States Code, is 

15 amended— 

16 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘Each agency’’; 

17 and 

18 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(2) If, during a 60-day period, an agency receives 

20 more than 100,000 signatures on a single petition under 

21 paragraph (1), the agency shall, not later than 30 days 

22 after the date on which the agency receives the petition, 

23 provide a written response that includes— 

24 ‘‘(A) an explanation of whether the agency has 

25 engaged or is engaging in the requested issuance, 

26 amendment, or repeal of a rule; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) if the agency has not engaged in the re2 quested issuance, amendment, or repeal of a rule, a 

3 written explanation for not engaging in the re4 quested issuance, amendment, or repeal.’’. 

5 SEC. 314. AMENDMENT TO CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW ACT. 

6 Section 801(b) of title 5, United States Code, is 

7 amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘(1)’’; and 

9 (2) by striking paragraph (2). 

10 SEC. 315. COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS. 

11 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘‘agen12 cy’’ and ‘‘regulation’’ have the meanings given those terms 

13 in section 3 of Executive Order 12866 (5 U.S.C. 601 note; 

14 relating to regulatory planning and review). 

15 (b) REQUIREMENT.—If an agency is performing a 

16 cost-benefit analysis in the course of issuing a regulation, 

17 the agency shall— 

18 (1) take into account the benefits of the regula19 tion to the public, including the nonquantifiable ben20 efits of the regulation; and 

21 (2) adopt a regulation that prioritizes benefits 

22 to the public, including nonquantifiable benefits. 

23 SEC. 316. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

24 It is the sense of Congress that— 


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1 (1) the Federal Employees Pay Comparability 

2 Act of 1990 (as enacted by section 529 of Public 

3 Law 101–509), which was designed to ensure that 

4 the disparity in pay between Federal employees on 

5 the General Schedule and non-Federal employees is 

6 not greater than 5 percent, has not been imple7 mented as envisioned, resulting in significant pay 

8 disparities between Federal Government and non9 Federal employees, including private-sector employ10 ees; 

11 (2) Federal employees have experienced pay 

12 challenges in recent years owing to pay freezes, re13 duced pay increases, and unpaid furlough days, 

14 which have adversely impacted the ability of the 

15 Federal Government to recruit and retain skilled 

16 employees; and 

17 (3) the President and Congress should allow the 

18 statutory pay laws to be implemented as intended, 

19 providing an annual across-the-board pay adjust20 ment and a locality pay adjustment that varies by 

21 specific pay locality area. 

22 TITLE IV—JUDICIAL ETHICS 

23 SEC. 401. CLARIFICATION OF GIFT BAN. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7353 of title 5, United 

25 States Code, is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding 

2 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘anything of value’’ and 

3 inserting ‘‘a gift’’; and 

4 (2) in subsection (d)— 

5 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

6 the end; 

7 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking the pe8 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

9 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(3) the term ‘gift’ means anything of value, in11 cluding transportation, travel, lodgings and meals, 

12 whether provided in-kind, by purchase of a ticket, 

13 payment in advance, or reimbursement after the ex14 pense has been incurred.’’. 

15 (b) REGULATIONS.—The Judicial Conference of the 

16 United States shall promulgate regulations to carry out 

17 the amendment made by subsection (a) with respect to 

18 the judicial branch. 

19 SEC. 402. RESTRICT PRIVATELY FUNDED EDUCATIONAL 

20 EVENTS AND SPEECHES. 

21 (a) JUDICIAL EDUCATION FUND.— 

22 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Chapter 42 of title 28, 

23 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

24 end the following: 


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1 ‘‘§ 630. Judicial Education Fund 

2 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

3 ‘‘(1) the term ‘Fund’ means the Judicial Edu4 cation Fund established under subsection (b); 

5 ‘‘(2) the term ‘institution of higher education’ 

6 has the meaning given that term under section 

7 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

8 U.S.C. 1001(a)); 

9 ‘‘(3) the term ‘national bar association’ means 

10 a national organization that is open to general mem11 bership to all members of the bar; 

12 ‘‘(4) the term ‘private judicial seminar’— 

13 ‘‘(A) means a seminar, symposia, panel 

14 discussion, course, or a similar event that pro15 vides continuing legal education to judges; and 

16 ‘‘(B) does not include— 

17 ‘‘(i) seminars that last 1 day or less 

18 and are conducted by, and on the campus 

19 of, an institute of higher education; 

20 ‘‘(ii) seminars that last 1 day or less 

21 and are conducted by a national bar asso22 ciation or State or local bar association for 

23 the benefit of the bar association member24 ship; or 

25 ‘‘(iii) seminars of any length con26 ducted by, and on the campus of an instiVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:49 Nov 21, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00136 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7140.IH H7140

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1 tute of higher education or by a national 

2 bar association or State or local bar asso3 ciation, where a judge is a presenter and 

4 at which judges constitute less than 25 

5 percent of the participants; and 

6 ‘‘(5) the term ‘State or local bar association’ 

7 means a State or local organization that is open to 

8 general membership to all members of the bar in the 

9 specified geographic region. 

10 ‘‘(b) FUND.—There is established within the United 

11 States Treasury a fund to be known as the ‘Judicial Edu12 cation Fund’. 

13 ‘‘(c) USE OF AMOUNTS.—Amounts in the Fund may 

14 be made available for the payment of necessary expenses, 

15 including reasonable expenditures for transportation, food, 

16 lodging, private judicial seminar fees and materials, in17 curred by a judge or justice in attending a private judicial 

18 seminar approved by the Board of the Federal Judicial 

19 Center. Necessary expenses shall not include expenditures 

20 for recreational activities or entertainment other than that 

21 provided to all attendees as an integral part of the private 

22 judicial seminar. Any payment from the Fund shall be ap23 proved by the Board. 

24 ‘‘(d) REQUIRED INFORMATION.—The Board may ap25 prove a private judicial seminar after submission of inforVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:49 Nov 21, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00137 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7140.IH H7140

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1 mation by the sponsor of that private judicial seminar that 

2 includes— 

3 ‘‘(1) the content of the private judicial seminar 

4 (including a list of presenters, topics, and course 

5 materials); and 

6 ‘‘(2) the litigation activities of the sponsor and 

7 the presenters at the private judicial seminar (in8 cluding the litigation activities of the employer of 

9 each presenter) on the topic related to those ad10 dressed at the private judicial seminar. 

11 ‘‘(e) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—If the Board approves 

12 a private judicial seminar, the Board shall make the infor13 mation submitted under subsection (d) relating to the pri14 vate judicial seminar available to judges and the public 

15 by posting the information online. 

16 ‘‘(f) GUIDELINES.—The Judicial Conference shall 

17 promulgate guidelines to ensure that the Board only ap18 proves private judicial seminars that are conducted in a 

19 manner so as to maintain the public’s confidence in an 

20 unbiased and fair-minded judiciary. 

21 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

22 are authorized to be appropriated for deposit in the Fund 

23 $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019, 2020, and 2021, 

24 to remain available until expended.’’. 


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1 (2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND2 MENT.—The table of sections for chapter 42 of title 

3 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at 

4 the end the following: 

‘‘630. Judicial Education Fund.’’. 

5 (b) PRIVATE JUDICIAL SEMINAR GIFTS PROHIB6 ITED.— 

7 (1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 

8 (A) the term ‘‘gift’’ has the meaning given 

9 that term under section 7353 of title 5, United 

10 States Code, as amended by section 401; 

11 (B) the term ‘‘institution of higher edu12 cation’’ has the meaning given that term under 

13 section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 

14 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)); and 

15 (C) the terms ‘‘national bar association’’, 

16 ‘‘private judicial seminar’’, and ‘‘State or local 

17 bar association’’ have the meanings given those 

18 terms under section 630 of title 28, United 

19 States Code, as added by subsection (a). 

20 (2) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days 

21 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Judicial 

22 Conference of the United States shall promulgate 

23 regulations to apply section 7353(a) of title 5, 

24 United States Code, to prohibit the solicitation or 


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1 acceptance of a gift in connection with a private ju2 dicial seminar. 

3 (3) EXCEPTION.—The prohibition under the 

4 regulations promulgated under paragraph (2) shall 

5 not apply if— 

6 (A) the judge participates in a private judi7 cial seminar as a speaker, panel participant, or 

8 otherwise presents information; 

9 (B) Federal judges are not the primary au10 dience at the private judicial seminar; and 

11 (C) the gift accepted is— 

12 (i) reimbursement from the private ju13 dicial seminar sponsor of reasonable trans14 portation, food, or lodging expenses on any 

15 day on which the judge speaks, partici16 pates, or presents information, as applica17 ble; 

18 (ii) attendance at the private judicial 

19 seminar on any day on which the judge 

20 speaks, participates, or presents informa21 tion, as applicable; or 

22 (iii) anything excluded from the defi23 nition of a gift under regulations of the 

24 Judicial Conference of the United States 

25 under sections 7351 and 7353 of title 5, 


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1 United States Code, as in effect on the 

2 date of enactment of this Act. 

3 SEC. 403. CODE OF CONDUCT. 

4 (a) APPLICABILITY.—The Code of Conduct for 

5 United States Judges adopted by the Judicial Conference 

6 of the United States shall apply to the justices of the Su7 preme Court of the United States to the same extent as 

8 such Code applies to circuit and district judges. 

9 (b) ENFORCEMENT.—The Judicial Conference shall 

10 establish procedures, modeled after the procedures set 

11 forth in chapter 16 of title 28, United States Code, under 

12 which— 

13 (1) complaints alleging that a justice of the Su14 preme Court of the United States has violated the 

15 Code of Conduct referred to in subsection (a) may 

16 be filed with or identified by the Conference; 

17 (2) such complaints are reviewed and inves18 tigated by the Conference; and 

19 (3) further action, where appropriate, is taken 

20 by the Conference, with respect to such complaints. 

21 (c) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS; EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

22 (1) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 

23 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

24 Judicial Conference shall submit to Congress the 

25 procedures established under subsection (b). 


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1 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The procedures estab2 lished under subsection (b) shall take effect 270 

3 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 404. IMPROVING DISCLOSURE. 

5 (a) FINANCIAL REPORTS.—Section 103(h) of the 

6 Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is 

7 amended by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(3) The Judicial Conference shall make publicly 

9 available online, at no cost, each report required under 

10 this title that is filed with the Judicial Conference in a 

11 searchable, sortable, machine readable, and downloadable 

12 format.’’. 

13 (b) RECUSAL DECISIONS.—Section 455 of title 28, 

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

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(g) Each justice, judge, and magistrate judge of the 

17 United States shall maintain a list of each association or 

18 interest that would require the justice, judge, or mag19 istrate to be recused under subsection (b)(4).’’. 

20 (c) SPEECHES.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each justice, judge, and 

22 magistrate judge of the United States shall maintain 

23 and submit to the Judicial Conference of the United 

24 States a copy of each speech or other significant oral 


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1 communication made by the justice, judge or mag2 istrate. 

3 (2) AVAILABILITY.—The Judicial Conference of 

4 the United States shall maintain and make each 

5 speech or other significant oral communication sub6 mitted under paragraph (1) available to the public 

7 in printed form, upon request, and online, at no 

8 cost, in a searchable, sortable, machine readable, 

9 and downloadable format. 

10 (3) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days 

11 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Judicial 

12 Conference of the United States shall promulgate 

13 regulations regarding the types of oral communica14 tions that are required to be maintained, submitted, 

15 and made publicly available under this subsection. 

16 (d) LIVESTREAMING JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS.— 

17 (1) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term 

18 ‘‘appellate court of the United States’’ means any 

19 United States circuit court of appeals and the Su20 preme Court of the United States. 

21 (2) STREAMING OF COURT PROCEEDINGS.—In 

22 accordance with procedures established by the Judi23 cial Conference of the United States, the audio of 

24 each open session conducted by an appellate court of 

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1 temporaneously with the session, unless the appel2 late court of the United States, by a majority vote, 

3 determines that making audio of the session avail4 able online would violate the constitutional rights of 

5 any party to the proceeding. 

6 (e) PUBLICIZING CASE ASSIGNMENT INFORMA7 TION.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

9 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Judicial 

10 Conference of the United States shall promulgate 

11 regulations requiring each court of the United States 

12 to make case assignment data available to the public 

13 online, at no cost, in a searchable, sortable, machine 

14 readable, and downloadable. 

15 (2) CONTENTS.—The case assignment data 

16 made available under paragraph (1) shall include, at 

17 a minimum, and to the extent available, the case 

18 title, docket number, case origin, filing date, and 

19 name of each authoring judge, concurring judge, and 

20 dissenting judge for each opinion issued in the case. 

21 (f) MAKING WEBSITES USER-FRIENDLY.—Not later 

22 than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

23 the Judicial Conference of the United States shall promul24 gate regulations requiring an evaluation of, and improve25 ments to, the website of each district court of the United 


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1 States to ensure the website is easy to understand, includ2 ing that it is clear how to file a complaint relating to a 

3 judge or an employee of the district court. 

4 SEC. 405. APPOINTMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE LAW 

5 JUDGES. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3105 of title 5, United 

7 States Code, is amended by inserting after the first sen8 tence the following: ‘‘Administrative law judge positions 

9 shall be positions in the competitive service.’’. 

10 (b) CONVERSION OF POSITIONS.—With respect to 

11 any individual serving on the date of enactment of this 

12 Act in an excepted service position as an administrative 

13 law judge appointed under section 3105 of title 5, United 

14 States Code, as in effect on the day before the date of 

15 enactment of this Act, the head of the agency employing 

16 the administrative law judge shall convert the appointment 

17 to a permanent appointment in the competitive service in 

18 the agency. 

19 (c) APPLICABILITY.—This section and the amend20 ments made by this section shall apply on and after the 

21 date of enactment of this Act. 

22 SEC. 406. IMPROVE REPORTING ON JUDICIAL DIVERSITY. 

23 Section 331 of title 28, United States Code, is 

24 amended in the eighth undesignated paragraph by adding 

25 at the end the following: ‘‘The report submitted by the 


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1 Chief Justice under this paragraph shall include a report 

2 on the diversity of the Federal judiciary, including diver3 sity of justices and judges of the United States based on 

4 gender, race, ethnicity, disability status, sexual orienta5 tion, gender identity, national origin, and professional ex6 perience before being appointed a justice or judge of the 

7 United States.’’. 

8 SEC. 407. PLEADING STANDARDS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Rule 12 of the Federal Rules of 

10 Civil Procedure is amended by adding at the end the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(j) PLEADING STANDARDS. A court shall not dismiss 

13 a complaint under Rule 12(b)(6), (c) or (e): 

14 ‘‘(1) unless it appears beyond doubt that the 

15 plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of the 

16 claim which would entitle the plaintiff to relief; or 

17 ‘‘(2) on the basis of a determination by the 

18 court that the factual contents of the complaint do 

19 not show the plaintiff’s claim to be plausible or are 

20 insufficient to warrant a reasonable inference that 

21 the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.’’. 

22 (b) APPLICABILITY.—Rule 12(j) of the Federal Rules 

23 of Civil Procedure, as added by subsection (a) shall apply 

24 with respect to the dismissal of complaints except as other25 wise expressly provided by an Act of Congress enacted 


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1 after the date of the enactment of this Act or by amend2 ments made after such date of enactment to the Federal 

3 Rules of Civil Procedure pursuant to the procedures pre4 scribed by the Judicial Conference of the United States 

5 under chapter 131 of title 28, United States Code. 

6 SEC. 408. AVAILABILITY OF JUDICIAL OPINIONS. 

7 Section 205 of the E-Government Act of 2002 (44 

8 U.S.C. 3501 note) is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (a)(5), by striking ‘‘text 

10 searchable format’’ and inserting ‘‘text searchable 

11 and machine-readable file format that may be cited 

12 using a vendor-neutral and medium-neutral citation 

13 system’’; and 

14 (2) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(3) BULK ACCESS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) PROVISION TO GPO.—Each written 

18 opinion required to be made accessible on a 

19 website under subsection (a)(5) shall be pro20 vided to the Government Publishing Office. 

21 ‘‘(B) ACCESS.—The Director of the Gov22 ernment Publishing Office shall make available 

23 to the public for bulk download all written opin24 ions provide to the Government Publishing Of25 fice under subparagraph (A).’’. 


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1 TITLE V—ENFORCEMENT 

2 Subtitle A—Office of Public 

3 Integrity 

4 SEC. 511. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF PUBLIC INTEG5 RITY. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Ethics in Government Act of 

7 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 

8 (1) in title I, by striking ‘‘Government Ethics’’ 

9 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Public Integ10 rity’’; 

11 (2) in the heading for title IV, by striking 

12 ‘‘GOVERNMENT ETHICS’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘PUBLIC INTEGRITY’’; 

14 (3) in section 401— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘Government Ethics’’ each 

16 place it appears and inserting ‘‘Public Integ17 rity’’; 

18 (B) in subsection (a)— 

19 (i) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘There is 

20 established’’; and 

21 (ii) by adding at the end the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(2) The purposes of the Office of Public Integrity 

24 are— 


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1 ‘‘(A) to consolidate and strengthen Federal eth2 ics enforcement and anti-corruption public integrity 

3 efforts; 

4 ‘‘(B) to conduct anti-corruption, ethics, and 

5 public integrity oversight of officers and employees 

6 of the Federal Government through investigations, 

7 corrective action, and other actions and penalties; 

8 ‘‘(C) to promote public integrity and prevent 

9 corruption within the Federal Government through 

10 education, advisory, guidance, and rulemaking; 

11 ‘‘(D) to facilitate accountability through affirm12 ative public disclosures, lobbying registration, and 

13 the promotion of transparency across the Federal 

14 Government; and 

15 ‘‘(E) to protect the public’s interest in democ16 racy and Federal policymaking.’’; and 

17 (C) by adding after subsection (d), as 

18 added by section 309 of this Act, the following: 

19 ‘‘(e)(1) There is established within the Office of Pub20 lic Integrity a division to be known as the ‘Government 

21 Ethics Division’. 

22 ‘‘(2) The Government Ethics Division shall carry out 

23 all functions of the Office of Government Ethics under this 

24 Act as of the day before the date of enactment of this 

25 subsection, including— 


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1 ‘‘(A) providing advice to designated agency eth2 ics officials, including legal advisories, education 

3 advisories, and program management advisories on 

4 substantive ethics issues; 

5 ‘‘(B) providing training and education opportu6 nities to designated agency ethics officials on an on7 going basis; and 

8 ‘‘(C) providing confidential advice, which, sub9 ject to paragraph (3), shall not lead to enforcement 

10 action, for any agency employee seeking confidential 

11 ethics advice. 

12 ‘‘(3)(A) The Government Ethics Division may refer 

13 a matter for enforcement based on information obtained 

14 in providing advice to an employee under paragraph 

15 (2)(C) if the employee— 

16 ‘‘(i) knowingly makes a material misrepresenta17 tion, including making a significant omission in pro18 viding information, to the Government Ethics Divi19 sion; 

20 ‘‘(ii) has already taken the action in violation of 

21 the laws or regulations relating to conflicts of inter22 est or other ethics issues; 

23 ‘‘(iii) reveals significant criminal activity, par24 ticularly criminal activity outside the jurisdiction of 

25 the Office of Public Integrity; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) engaged in a prohibited personnel practice 

2 described in paragraph (8) or subparagraph (A)(i), 

3 (B), (C), or (D) of paragraph (9) of section 2302(b) 

4 of title 5, United States Code; or 

5 ‘‘(v) engaged in other actions, as established by 

6 the Director by regulation. 

7 ‘‘(B) An employee who seeks advice under paragraph 

8 (2)(C) may be subject to administrative remedies, such as 

9 reprimand, divestiture, forced recusal, or other corrective 

10 actions to remedy the violation. 

11 ‘‘(C) Notwithstanding any other provision in this 

12 paragraph, the Director may promulgate regulations (in13 cluding regulations under subparagraph (A)(v)) to ensure 

14 that— 

15 ‘‘(i) an employee who engages in conduct in 

16 good faith reliance upon an advisory opinion issued 

17 to the employee by the Government Ethics Division 

18 or a designated agency ethics official generally shall 

19 not be subject to civil, criminal, or disciplinary ac20 tion by the Office of Public Integrity; 

21 ‘‘(ii) an advisory opinion issued to an employee 

22 by the Government Ethics Division or a designated 

23 agency ethics official shall not prevent the employee 

24 from being subject to other civil or disciplinary ac25 tion if the conduct of the employee violates another 


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1 law, rule, regulation, or lawful management policy or 

2 directive; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) if an employee has actual knowledge or 

4 reason to believe that an advisory opinion issued to 

5 the employee by the Government Ethics Division or 

6 a designated agency ethics official is based on fraud7 ulent, misleading, or otherwise incorrect information, 

8 the reliance of the employee on the opinion not be 

9 deemed to be in good faith.’’; 

10 (4) in section 403, by striking ‘‘Government 

11 Ethics’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Public 

12 Integrity’’; and 

13 (5) in section 503(2), by striking ‘‘Government 

14 Ethics’’ and inserting ‘‘Public Integrity’’. 

15 (b) OFFICERS.— 

16 (1) DIRECTOR.—Section 401(b) of the Ethics 

17 in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is 

18 amended— 

19 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘There shall 

20 be’’; 

21 (B) by inserting ‘‘without regard to polit22 ical affiliation and solely on the basis of integ23 rity and demonstrated ability to fulfill the re24 sponsibilities of the role of Director’’ after ‘‘who 

25 shall be appointed’’; 


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1 (C) by striking ‘‘Effective with respect’’ 

2 and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(3) Effective with respect’’; 

4 (D) by inserting after paragraph (1), as so 

5 designated, the following: 

6 ‘‘(2) Each individual appointed by the President to 

7 the position of Director— 

8 ‘‘(A) shall not have any conflict of interest with 

9 respect to any aspect of performing the duties and 

10 responsibilities of the Director; 

11 ‘‘(B) shall have a demonstrated record in public 

12 integrity and ethics enforcement; 

13 ‘‘(C) shall not have ever been registered, or re14 quired to be registered, as a lobbyist under the Lob15 bying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601 et 

16 seq.); 

17 ‘‘(D) during the 4-year period ending on the 

18 date on which the President nominates the indi19 vidual to the position of Director, shall not have en20 gaged in any significant political activity (including 

21 being a candidate for public office, fundraising for a 

22 candidate for public office or a political party, or 

23 serving as an officer or employee of a political cam24 paign or party); 


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1 ‘‘(E) shall not have ever been an agent of a for2 eign principal registered under the Foreign Agents 

3 Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 611 et seq.); 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(F) during the 4-year period ending on the 

6 date on which the President nominates the indi7 vidual to the position of Director, shall not served as 

8 a fiduciary or personal attorney for an officer or em9 ployee of the Federal Government, including anyone 

10 elected to public office.’’; and 

11 (E) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(4) The Director may only be removed from office 

13 by the President for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or mal14 feasance in office. 

15 ‘‘(5) Not later than 30 days before the date on which 

16 the President removes the Director from office or trans17 fers the Director to another position or location for ineffi18 ciency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office, the Presi19 dent shall submit to the Senate and the House of Rep20 resentatives written notice of the reasons for the removal 

21 or transfer. 

22 ‘‘(6) During the period of any absence or unavail23 ability of the Director, including a vacancy in the office 

24 of the Director, all powers and duties of the Director shall 

25 be vested in the Deputy Director. 


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1 ‘‘(7) The Director may continue to serve beyond the 

2 expiration of the term of the Director until a successor 

3 is appointed, by and with the advice and consent of the 

4 Senate.’’. 

5 (2) ASSISTANT DIRECTORS.—Section 401(c)(1) 

6 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 

7 App.) is amended by inserting ‘‘and Assistant Direc8 tors (which may include an Assistant Director for 

9 Investigations, an Assistant Director for Govern10 ment Transparency, and an Assistant Director for 

11 the Government Ethics Division)’’ after ‘‘including 

12 attorneys’’. 

13 (3) DEPUTY DIRECTOR.—Section 401 of the 

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

15 is amended by adding after subsection (e), as added 

16 by subsection (a) of this section, the following: 

17 ‘‘(f)(1) There shall be in the Office of Public Integrity 

18 a Deputy Director, who shall— 

19 ‘‘(A) be appointed by the President in accord20 ance with paragraph (2), by and with the advice and 

21 consent of the Senate; and 

22 ‘‘(B) serve as acting Director in the event of 

23 the absence or unavailability of the Director, includ24 ing a vacancy in the office of the Director. 


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1 ‘‘(2) Each individual appointed by the President to 

2 the position of Deputy Director— 

3 ‘‘(A) shall not have any conflict of interest with 

4 respect to any aspect of performing the duties and 

5 responsibilities of the Deputy Director; 

6 ‘‘(B) shall have a demonstrated record in public 

7 integrity and ethics enforcement; 

8 ‘‘(C) shall not have ever been registered, or re9 quired to be registered, as a lobbyist under the Lob10 bying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601 et 

11 seq.); 

12 ‘‘(D) during the 4-year period ending on the 

13 date on which the President nominates the indi14 vidual to the position of Deputy Director, shall not 

15 have engaged in any significant political activity (in16 cluding being a candidate for public office, fund17 raising for a candidate for public office or a political 

18 party, or serving as an officer or employee of a polit19 ical campaign or party); 

20 ‘‘(E) shall not have ever been an agent of a for21 eign principal registered under the Foreign Agents 

22 Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 611 et seq.); 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(F) during the 4-year period ending on the 

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1 vidual to the position of Deputy Director, shall not 

2 served as a fiduciary or personal attorney for an of3 ficer or employee of the Federal Government, includ4 ing anyone elected to public office.’’. 

5 (c) AUTHORITY AND FUNCTIONS.—Section 402 of 

6 the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) 

7 is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a)— 

9 (A) by striking ‘‘shall provide’’ and insert10 ing the following: ‘‘shall— 

11 ‘‘(1) provide’’; 

12 (B) by striking the period at the end and 

13 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

14 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(2) investigate potential violations by officers and 

16 employees in all branches of the Federal Government or 

17 by any other person of the laws or regulations relating 

18 to conflicts of interest or other ethics issues, to the extent 

19 allowable by law and the Constitution.’’; 

20 (2) in subsection (b)— 

21 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

22 (i) by striking ‘‘the President or’’; 

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

24 ‘‘other ethics issues’’; and 


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1 (iii) by striking ‘‘title II of this Act’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘title I’’; 

3 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

4 (i) by striking ‘‘the President or’’; and 

5 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and other ethics 

6 issues’’ before the semicolon; 

7 (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘title II 

8 of this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘title I’’; 

9 (D) in paragraph (4)— 

10 (i) by striking ‘‘conflict of interest 

11 laws or regulations’’ and inserting ‘‘laws or 

12 regulations relating to conflicts of interest 

13 or other ethics issues’’; and 

14 (ii) by striking ‘‘ethical problems’’ and 

15 inserting ‘‘other ethics issue’’; 

16 (E) in paragraph (6)— 

17 (i) by striking ‘‘the President or’’; and 

18 (ii) by striking ‘‘ethical problems’’ and 

19 inserting ‘‘other ethics issues’’; 

20 (F) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘conflict 

21 of interest problems’’ and inserting ‘‘conflicts of 

22 interest or other ethics issues’’; 

23 (G) by striking paragraph (9) and insert24 ing the following: 


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1 ‘‘(9)(A) investigating potential violations by of2 ficers and employees in the Federal Government (in3 cluding officers and employees in positions in the 

4 Executive Office of the President (including the 

5 White House Office)) of the laws or regulations re6 lating to conflicts of interest or other ethics issues; 

7 ‘‘(B) ordering (or with respect to the President, 

8 recommending) corrective action on the part of 

9 agencies, officers, and employees, as determined ap10 propriate by the Director; 

11 ‘‘(C) as the Director determines appropriate, 

12 referring an alleged violation of the laws or regula13 tions relating to conflicts of interest or other ethics 

14 issues to the Attorney General or the head of the ap15 propriate agency for civil or criminal enforcement; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(D) order appropriate disciplinary action with 

18 respect to an officer or employee in the executive 

19 branch, in accordance with subsection (f)(2);’’; 

20 (H) by striking paragraph (11) and insert21 ing the following: 

22 ‘‘(11)(A) evaluating the effectiveness of the 

23 laws and regulations relating to conflicts of interest 

24 and other ethics issues and recommending to Con25 gress appropriate amendments to prevent corruption 


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1 and to improve Government ethics, accountability, 

2 public integrity, and transparency; and 

3 ‘‘(B) preparing an annual report to Congress, 

4 which shall include— 

5 ‘‘(i) any recommended amendments de6 scribed in subparagraph (A); 

7 ‘‘(ii) a description of any significant ac8 tions taken by the Director in carrying out the 

9 duties of the Director, including specific steps 

10 taken to ensure that Federal officers and em11 ployees are complying with the laws and regula12 tions relating to conflicts of interest or other 

13 ethics issues; 

14 ‘‘(iii) information concerning significant 

15 violations of the laws or regulations relating to 

16 conflicts of interest or other ethics issues; and 

17 ‘‘(iv) corrective action concerning violations 

18 described in clause (iii) and progress made in 

19 implementing such corrective action;’’; 

20 (I) in paragraph (12), by striking ‘‘conflict 

21 of interest and ethical problems’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘conflicts of interest and other ethics issues’’; 

23 (J) by striking paragraph (13) and insert24 ing the following: 


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1 ‘‘(13) referring any potential violation of the 

2 laws and regulations relating to conflicts of interest 

3 and other ethics issues determined appropriate by 

4 the Director for criminal enforcement to the Attor5 ney General, accompanied by any evidence in the 

6 possession of the Director and recommendations, if 

7 any, of the Director regarding the appropriate 

8 charges or penalties;’’; 

9 (K) in paragraph (14), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

10 at the end; 

11 (L) in paragraph (15), by striking ‘‘title II 

12 of this Act.’’ and inserting ‘‘title I;’’; and 

13 (M) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(16)(A) assuming responsibilities for disclo15 sures of Executive Branch financial holdings, lob16 bying, and influencing activities; 

17 ‘‘(B) conducting periodic and routine audits of 

18 disclosures described in subparagraph (A) to ensure 

19 the accuracy of the documents; and 

20 ‘‘(C) conducting targeted audits of disclosures 

21 described in subparagraph (A) when the Director 

22 has reason to believe such disclosures contain inac23 curacies or misinformation; 

24 ‘‘(17) receiving, and within a reasonable time25 frame responding to, complaints from members of 


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1 the public of alleged violations of the laws or regula2 tions relating to conflicts of interest or other ethics 

3 issues; 

4 ‘‘(18) reporting publicly anonymized informa5 tion regarding the resolution of complaints received 

6 under paragraph (17); 

7 ‘‘(19) making available online on a central 

8 website that allows records to be available in a 

9 searchable, sortable, and downloadable format all 

10 ethics records that are required to be made publicly 

11 available under any provision of law, or that the Di12 rector determines may and should be made publicly 

13 available, including ethics records described sub14 section (j)(1); 

15 ‘‘(20) after providing notice and an opportunity 

16 for a hearing, imposing appropriate civil monetary 

17 penalties against individuals and entities who violate 

18 the laws or regulations relating to conflicts of inter19 est or other ethics issues; 

20 ‘‘(21) making appropriate enforcement referrals 

21 to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Of22 fice of the Special Counsel, and other relevant Fed23 eral or State law enforcement agencies in instances 

24 of violations of Federal or State law, where appro25 priate; 


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1 ‘‘(22) except as otherwise required by law or re2 served to the President, making and overseeing any 

3 waiver of the laws or regulations relating to conflicts 

4 of interest or other ethics issues; 

5 ‘‘(23) testifying before each House of Congress 

6 at least annually; 

7 ‘‘(24) approving any significant determination 

8 by a designated agency ethics official, including any 

9 ethics agreement, financial disclosure, recusal agree10 ment, or divestment determination, for any indi11 vidual serving in a position— 

12 ‘‘(A) on any level of the Executive Sched13 ule under subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 

14 5, United States Code; 

15 ‘‘(B) in the executive branch pursuant to 

16 an appointment by the President, by and with 

17 the advice and consent of the Senate; or 

18 ‘‘(C) in the Executive Office of the Presi19 dent; 

20 ‘‘(25) overseeing the day to day activities of 

21 each Inspector General in the executive branch, ex22 cept to the extent provided otherwise by law; and 

23 ‘‘(26) administering the provisions of this title 

24 as they pertain to the heads of agencies.’’; 

25 (3) in subsection (e)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

2 the end; 

3 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking the pe4 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

5 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(3) each executive agency shall furnish to the 

7 Director all information and records in the posses8 sion of the executive agency that the Director deter9 mines to be necessary for the performance of the du10 ties of the Director.’’; 

11 (4) in subsection (f)— 

12 (A) in paragraph (1)(A)— 

13 (i) in clause (i), by inserting ‘‘(or, 

14 with respect to the President, rec15 ommend)’’ after ‘‘order’’ the first place it 

16 appears; and 

17 (ii) in clause (ii), by inserting ‘‘(or, 

18 with respect to the President, rec19 ommend)’’ after ‘‘order’’; 

20 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

21 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

22 (I) in clause (ii)(II), by inserting 

23 ‘‘and Congress’’ after the ‘‘the Presi24 dent’’; and 

25 (II) in clause (iv)— 


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1 (aa) in subclause (I), by 

2 striking ‘‘may recommend’’ and 

3 all that follows through ‘‘brought 

4 against the officer or employee’’ 

5 and inserting ‘‘may recommend 

6 that the agency head take a spe7 cific disciplinary action (including 

8 reprimand, suspension, demotion, 

9 or dismissal) or that the agency 

10 head take such disciplinary ac11 tion as the agency head deter12 mines appropriate with respect to 

13 the officer or employee’’; and 

14 (bb) by striking subclause 

15 (II) and inserting the following: 

16 ‘‘(II) if the Director recommends 

17 a specific disciplinary action under 

18 subclause (I) and the head of the 

19 agency (not including the President) 

20 has not taken appropriate disciplinary 

21 action within 90 days after the Direc22 tor recommends such action, may, 

23 after notifying the President and Con24 gress in writing, order appropriate 

25 disciplinary action with respect to the 


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1 officer or employee, in accordance 

2 with subparagraph (B), including rep3 rimand, suspension, demotion, or dis4 missal of the officer or employee.’’; 

5 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 

6 (I) by striking clause (iii) and in7 serting the following: 

8 ‘‘(iii) Subject to clause (iv) of this subparagraph, be9 fore the Director orders any action under subparagraph 

10 (A)(iii) or orders any disciplinary action under subpara11 graph (A)(iv), the Director shall afford the officer or em12 ployee involved an opportunity for a hearing, if requested 

13 by such officer or employee, which shall be conducted on 

14 the record.’’; 

15 (II) by redesignating clause (iv) 

16 as clause (vi); 

17 (III) by inserting after clause 

18 (iii) the following: 

19 ‘‘(iv) The Director shall make publicly available any 

20 recommendation of a specific disciplinary action made by 

21 the Director under subparagraph (A)(iv)(I). 

22 ‘‘(v) The authority of the Director under subpara23 graph (A)(iv)(II) to order disciplinary action may not be 

24 delegated.’’; and 


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1 (IV) in clause (vi), as so redesig2 nated— 

3 (aa) by striking ‘‘title 2’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘title I’’; and 

5 (bb) by striking ‘‘section 

6 206’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

7 104’’; and 

8 (iii) by adding at the end the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(C)(i)(I) A political appointee (as defined in section 

11 714(h) of title 38, United States Code) with respect to 

12 whom the Director orders a disciplinary action under sub13 paragraph (A)(iv) may appeal the order to the President. 

14 ‘‘(II) A determination by the President in an appeal 

15 under subclause (I) shall be— 

16 ‘‘(aa) made in writing; 

17 ‘‘(bb) submitted to Congress; and 

18 ‘‘(cc) made publicly available by the President. 

19 ‘‘(III) A determination by the President in an appeal 

20 under subclause (I) shall not be subject to judicial review. 

21 ‘‘(ii) An officer or employee who is not a political ap22 pointee with respect to whom the Director orders a dis23 ciplinary action under subparagraph (A)(iv) may— 


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1 ‘‘(I) appeal a final order or decision of the Di2 rector to the Merit Systems Protection Board under 

3 section 7701 of title 5, United States Code; and 

4 ‘‘(II) seek judicial review of a final order or de5 cision of the Merit Systems Protection Board in the 

6 Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in accord7 ance with section 7703 of title 5, United States 

8 Code.’’; 

9 (C) in paragraph (3), in the matter pre10 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘para11 graph (2)(A)(iii)’’ and inserting ‘‘clause (iii) or 

12 (iv) of paragraph (2)(A)’’; 

13 (D) by striking paragraph (5); and 

14 (E) by redesignating paragraph (6) as 

15 paragraph (5); and 

16 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(g) As part of an investigation of potential violations 

18 of the laws or regulations relating to conflicts of interest 

19 or other ethics issues, the Director may require by sub20 poena the attendance of and testimony by witnesses and 

21 the production any book, check, canceled check, cor22 respondence, communication, document, email, papers, 

23 physical evidence, record, recording, tape, or other mate24 rial (including electronic records) relating to any matter 


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1 or question the Director is authorized to investigate from 

2 any individual or entity. 

3 ‘‘(h)(1) If the Attorney General declines to prosecute 

4 a criminal matter referred by the Director, the Attorney 

5 General shall submit to the Director and make publicly 

6 available written notice regarding the declination. 

7 ‘‘(2) The Attorney General may redact information 

8 from the publicly available written notice under paragraph 

9 (1) if the Attorney General determines that disclosure of 

10 the information would constitute a clearly unwarranted in11 vasion of personal privacy. 

12 ‘‘(i)(1) In addition to the authority otherwise pro13 vided by this Act, the Director, any Assistant Director for 

14 Investigations under the Director who is appointed by the 

15 Director, and any special agent supervised by the Director 

16 or Assistant Director may be authorized by the Attorney 

17 General to seek warrants for search of a premises or sei18 zure of evidence issued under the authority of the United 

19 States upon probable cause to believe that a violation has 

20 been committed. 

21 ‘‘(2) The Attorney General shall promulgate, and re22 vise as appropriate, guidelines which shall govern the exer23 cise of the law enforcement powers established under para24 graph (1). 


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1 ‘‘(3)(A) The power authorized for the Office of Public 

2 Integrity under paragraph (1) may be rescinded or sus3 pended upon— 

4 ‘‘(i) a determination by the Attorney General 

5 that the exercise of authorized power by the Office 

6 of Public Integrity has not complied with the guide7 lines promulgated by the Attorney General under 

8 paragraph (2); or 

9 ‘‘(ii) a determination by the Attorney General 

10 that available assistance from other law enforcement 

11 agencies is sufficient to meet the need for such pow12 ers. 

13 ‘‘(B) The powers authorized to be exercised by any 

14 individual under paragraph (1) may be rescinded or sus15 pended with respect to that individual upon a determina16 tion by the Attorney General that such individual has not 

17 complied with guidelines promulgated by the Attorney 

18 General under paragraph (2). 

19 ‘‘(4) No provision of this subsection shall limit the 

20 exercise of law enforcement powers established under any 

21 other statutory authority, including United States Mar22 shals Service special deputation. 

23 ‘‘(j)(1) In carrying out subsection (b)(19), except for 

24 classified records and any specific record described in this 

25 paragraph the Director determines should not be made 


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1 publicly available, the website described in subsection 

2 (b)(19) shall include— 

3 ‘‘(A) public financial disclosure reports of nomi4 nees and appointees to positions on any level of the 

5 Executive Schedule under subchapter II of chapter 

6 53 of title 5, United States Code; 

7 ‘‘(B) other public financial disclosure reports 

8 reviewed by the Office of Public Integrity; 

9 ‘‘(C) ethics agreements of individuals nomi10 nated or appointed to a position by the President; 

11 ‘‘(D) certifications of compliance with ethics 

12 agreements by individuals appointed to a position by 

13 the President; 

14 ‘‘(E) ethics agreements of individuals appointed 

15 pursuant to subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of section 

16 105(a)(2) or subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of sec17 tion 106(a)(1) of title 3, United States Code; 

18 ‘‘(F) certifications of compliance with ethics 

19 agreements by individuals appointed pursuant to 

20 subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of section 105(a)(2) 

21 or subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of section 

22 106(a)(1) of title 3, United States Code; 

23 ‘‘(G) all ethics waivers, including waivers for 

24 senior government officials as defined in section 101 


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1 of the Anti-Corruption and Public Integrity Act, 

2 issued pursuant to— 

3 ‘‘(i) section 207 or 208 of title 18, United 

4 States Code; 

5 ‘‘(ii) section 2635.502(d) of title 5, Code of 

6 Federal Regulations, or any successor thereto; 

7 ‘‘(iii) section 2635.503(c) of title 5, Code 

8 of Federal Regulations, or any successor there9 to; 

10 ‘‘(iv) any Executive Order; and 

11 ‘‘(v) any other authority to waive other 

12 ethics requirements or extend any ethics-related 

13 deadlines; 

14 ‘‘(H) certificates of divestiture; 

15 ‘‘(I) records of approval by agencies of the ac16 ceptance of gifts by individuals appointed to a posi17 tion by the President from outside sources for which 

18 employees must obtain agency approval; 

19 ‘‘(J) records relating to the initial ethics brief20 ings of individuals appointed to a position by the 

21 President required by section 2638.305 of title 5, 

22 Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor there23 to; 

24 ‘‘(K) records of ethics training completed by in25 dividuals appointed to a position by the President; 


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1 ‘‘(L) reports of the review by the Office of Pub2 lic Integrity of agency ethics programs; 

3 ‘‘(M) report filed by executive agencies with the 

4 General Services Administration regarding the use 

5 of Government aircraft by senior officials, which 

6 shall be posted at least every 90 days and shall con7 tain a complete explanation of the decision to use a 

8 Government aircraft, the cost of the use of a Gov9 ernment aircraft, and the selection of the type of 

10 aircraft used; 

11 ‘‘(N) any reports submitted to Congress by the 

12 Office of Public Integrity; and 

13 ‘‘(O) any other ethics records that the Director 

14 makes available to the public. 

15 ‘‘(2) The Director shall ensure that— 

16 ‘‘(A) all ethics agreements approved by the Di17 rector specify conflicts of interest for each indi18 vidual, including all matters from which the indi19 vidual shall be recused; and 

20 ‘‘(B) the information relating to ethics agree21 ments made available under subsection (b)(19) is 

22 updated to reflect any additional matters from which 

23 the individual shall be recused.’’. 


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1 (d) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Section 408 of the 

2 Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is 

3 amended— 

4 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a)’’ before ‘‘The Director 

5 shall,’’; and 

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

7 ‘‘(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law or 

8 any rule, regulation, or policy directive, upon request by 

9 a committee or subcommittee of Congress, the Director, 

10 or any employee of the Office of Public Integrity des11 ignated by the Director, may transmit to the committee 

12 or subcommittee, by report, testimony, or otherwise, infor13 mation and views on functions, responsibilities, or other 

14 matters relating to the Office of Public Integrity, without 

15 review, clearance, or approval by any other administrative 

16 authority. 

17 ‘‘(c)(1) For each fiscal year, the Director may trans18 mit a budget estimate and request to Congress. 

19 ‘‘(2) The President shall include in each budget sub20 mitted under section 1105 of title 31, United States 

21 Code— 

22 ‘‘(A) a separate statement of the budget esti23 mate and request prepared with the Director; 

24 ‘‘(B) the amount requested by the President for 

25 the Office of Public Integrity; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) any comments of the Director with respect 

2 to the proposal by the President if the Director con3 cludes that the budget submitted by the President 

4 would substantially inhibit the Director from per5 forming the duties of the office.’’. 

6 (e) DEFINITIONS.—Title IV of the Ethics in Govern7 ment Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by adding 

8 at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 409. DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this 

10 title— 

11 ‘‘(1) the term ‘agency’ includes the Executive 

12 Office of the President; 

13 ‘‘(2) the term ‘head of an agency’ includes the 

14 President or a designee of the President, for pur15 poses of applying this title to the White House and 

16 the Executive Office of the President; and 

17 ‘‘(3) the term ‘laws or regulations relating to 

18 conflicts of interest or other ethics issues’ includes 

19 this Act, sections 203 through 209 of title 18, 

20 United States Code, the Stop Trading on Congres21 sional Knowledge Act of 2012 (Public Law 112–105; 

22 5 U.S.C. App., note to section 101 of Public Law 

23 95–521), any Executive order substantially con24 cerning Government ethics, any written ethics agree25 ment or pledge signed by a Presidential appointee, 


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1 and any other relevant ethics statutes or regula2 tions.’’. 

3 (f) PROVISION OF FINANCIAL DISCLOSURES TO THE

4 OFFICE OF PUBLIC INTEGRITY.—Section 103(j) of the 

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

6 amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘and the Di8 rector of the Office of Public Integrity’’ after ‘‘Offi9 cial Conduct of the House of Representatives’’; and 

10 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘and the Di11 rector of the Office of Public Integrity’’ after ‘‘Eth12 ics of the Senate’’. 

13 (g) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

14 (1) Section 5314 of title 5, United States Code, 

15 is amended by striking the item relating to the Di16 rector of the Office of Government Ethics and in17 serting the following: 

18 ‘‘Director of the Office of Public Integrity.’’. 

19 (2) Section 7302(a) of title 5, United States 

20 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘Government Ethics’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘Public Integrity’’. 

22 (3) Section 7353(d)(1)(D) of title 5, United 

23 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘Government 

24 Ethics’’ and inserting ‘‘Public Integrity’’. 


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1 (4) Section 11(b)(1)(E) of the Inspector Gen2 eral Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by 

3 striking ‘‘Government Ethics’’ and inserting ‘‘Public 

4 Integrity’’. 

5 (5) Section 12(f) of the Federal Deposit Insur6 ance Act (12 U.S.C. 1822(f)) is amended by striking 

7 ‘‘Government Ethics’’ each place it appears and in8 serting ‘‘Public Integrity’’. 

9 (6) Section 152(g) of the Financial Stability 

10 Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5342(g)) is amended by 

11 striking ‘‘Government Ethics’’ and inserting ‘‘Public 

12 Integrity’’. 

13 (7) Section 9(o)(12) of the Small Business Act 

14 (15 U.S.C. 638(o)(12)) is amended by striking 

15 ‘‘Government Ethics’’ and inserting ‘‘Public Integ16 rity’’. 

17 (8) Section 207 of title 18, United States Code, 

18 is amended by striking ‘‘Government Ethics’’ each 

19 place it appears and inserting ‘‘Public Integrity’’. 

20 (9) Section 208 of title 18, United States Code, 

21 is amended by striking ‘‘Government Ethics’’ each 

22 place it appears and inserting ‘‘Public Integrity’’. 

23 (10) Section 1043(b) of the Internal Revenue 

24 Code of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘Government 


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1 Ethics’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Public 

2 Integrity’’. 

3 (11) Section 594(j)(5) of title 28, United States 

4 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘Government Ethics’’ 

5 and inserting ‘‘Public Integrity’’. 

6 (12) Section 1353 of title 31, United States 

7 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘Government Ethics’’ 

8 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Public Integ9 rity’’. 

10 (13) Section 2303(c) of title 41, United States 

11 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘Government Ethics’’ 

12 and inserting ‘‘Public Integrity’’. 

13 (14) Section 3(d)(3) of the Department of the 

14 Interior Volunteer Recruitment Act of 2005 (43 

15 U.S.C. 1475b(d)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘Gov16 ernment Ethics’’ and inserting ‘‘Public Integrity’’. 

17 (15) Section 40122(d) of title 49, United States 

18 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘Government Ethics’’ 

19 and inserting ‘‘Public Integrity’’. 

20 (16) Section 102A of the National Security Act 

21 of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3024) is amended by striking 

22 ‘‘Government Ethics’’ each place it appears and in23 serting ‘‘Public Integrity’’. 

24 (17) Section 12(g) of the Central Intelligence 

25 Agency Act of 1949 (50 U.S.C. 3512(g)) is amended 


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1 in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by striking 

2 ‘‘Government Ethics’’ and inserting ‘‘Public Integ3 rity’’. 

4 SEC. 512. DESIGNATED AGENCY ETHICS OFFICIALS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 109(3) of the Ethics in 

6 Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended to 

7 read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(3) ‘designated agency ethics official’ means 

9 an officer or employee of an agency— 

10 ‘‘(A) who is appointed and supervised by 

11 the head of the agency, after consultation with 

12 the Director of the Office of Public Integrity 

13 and the Inspector General of the agency; 

14 ‘‘(B) who may only be removed by the 

15 head of the agency, after consultation with the 

16 Director of the Office of Public Integrity and 

17 the Inspector General of the agency; 

18 ‘‘(C) has a permanent duty station in the 

19 same physical building as the head of the agen20 cy employing the officer or employee, unless the 

21 head of the agency is the President; 

22 ‘‘(D) is designated to administer the provi23 sions of this title within the agency, except as 

24 they pertain to the head of the agency; 


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1 ‘‘(E) may not have other significant duties 

2 or responsibilities that might distract from the 

3 duty of the officer or employee to administer 

4 the provisions of this title within the agency; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(F) who shall not, at any time or in any 

7 manner, be prevented, inhibited, or prohibited 

8 by the head of the agency from administering 

9 the provisions of this title within the agency.’’. 

10 (b) REVIEW BY DIRECTOR.—Section 111 of the Eth11 ics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amend12 ed— 

13 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a)’’ before ‘‘The provisions’’; 

14 (2) by inserting ‘‘(subject to subsection (b))’’ 

15 after ‘‘designated agency ethics official’’; and 

16 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(b)(1) A designated agency ethics official shall sub18 mit to the Director of the Office of Public Integrity— 

19 ‘‘(A) each significant determination (in20 cluding any ethics agreement, financial disclo21 sure, recusal agreement, or divestment deter22 mination) by the designated agency ethics offi23 cial relating to the application or implementa24 tion of the laws or regulations relating to con25 flicts of interest or other ethics issues (includVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:49 Nov 21, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00180 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7140.IH H7140

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1 ing this title) for any individual serving in a po2 sition— 

3 ‘‘(i) on any level of the Executive 

4 Schedule under subchapter II of chapter 

5 53 of title 5, United States Code; 

6 ‘‘(ii) in the executive branch pursuant 

7 to an appointment by the President, by 

8 and with the advice and consent of the 

9 Senate; or 

10 ‘‘(iii) in the Executive Office of the 

11 President; 

12 ‘‘(B) any determination by the designated 

13 agency ethics official relating to the application 

14 or implementation of the laws or regulations re15 lating to conflicts of interest or other ethics 

16 issues (including this title) that the Director re17 quests from the designated agency ethics offi18 cial. 

19 ‘‘(2) The Director of the Office of Public Integ20 rity— 

21 ‘‘(A) may review any determination re22 ceived under paragraph (1); 

23 ‘‘(B) shall notify and advise the designated 

24 agency ethics official if the Director determines 

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1 graph (1) does not comport with the laws or 

2 regulations relating to conflicts of interest or 

3 other ethics issues; 

4 ‘‘(C) not later than 30 days after the noti5 fication and advice under subparagraph (B), 

6 may reverse or modify the determination if the 

7 Director determines that the determination does 

8 not comport with the laws or regulations relat9 ing to conflicts of interest or other ethics issues; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(D) shall periodically audit a sample of 

12 determinations received under paragraph (1).’’. 

13 (c) AUTHORITY TO RECOMMEND DISCIPLINE.—Sec14 tion 111 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 

15 U.S.C. App.), as amended by subsection (b), is amended 

16 by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(c)(1) If a designated agency ethics official has cred18 ible evidence or reason to believe that an officer or em19 ployee of the agency is violating, or has violated, any rule, 

20 regulation, or Executive order relating to conflicts of inter21 est or standards of conduct, the designated agency ethics 

22 official may— 

23 ‘‘(A) refer potential violations to the Inspector 

24 General or the Director of the Office of Public In25 tegrity; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) recommend that the head of the agency 

2 take a specific disciplinary action (including dis3 missal). 

4 ‘‘(2) A designated agency ethics official shall make 

5 publicly available any recommendation of a specific dis6 ciplinary action made by the designated agency ethics offi7 cial under paragraph (1).’’. 

8 (d) CURRENT DAEOS.—An individual serving as a 

9 designated agency ethics official on the day before the date 

10 of enactment of this Act may continue to serve as the des11 ignated agency ethics official for the agency employing the 

12 individual if— 

13 (1) determined appropriate by the head of the 

14 agency employing the designated agency ethics offi15 cial; and 

16 (2) after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

17 individual— 

18 (A) reports directly to the head of the 

19 agency employing the designated agency ethics 

20 official; and 

21 (B) may only be removed by the head of 

22 the agency, after consultation with the Director 

23 of the Office of Public Integrity and the Inspec24 tor General of the agency. 


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1 Subtitle B—Inspectors General 

2 SEC. 531. GENERAL SUPERVISION AND REMOVAL OF IN3 SPECTORS GENERAL. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Inspector General Act of 

5 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 

6 (1) in section 3— 

7 (A) in subsection (a), by striking the sec8 ond sentence and inserting the following: ‘‘Each 

9 Inspector General shall report to and be under 

10 the general supervision of the Director of the 

11 Office of Public Integrity, and shall not report 

12 to, or be subject to supervision by, any other of13 ficer of the establishment involved.’’; and 

14 (B) in subsection (b)— 

15 (i) in the first sentence— 

16 (I) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘An 

17 Inspector General’’; and 

18 (II) by inserting ‘‘for inefficiency, 

19 neglect of duty, or malfeasance in of20 fice’’ before the period at the end; 

21 (ii) by striking the second sentence 

22 and inserting the following: ‘‘The Director 

23 of the Office of Public Integrity may make 

24 a formal recommendation to the President 

25 for the removal of an Inspector General 


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1 under this subsection. If an Inspector Gen2 eral is removed from office, is transferred 

3 to another position or location within an 

4 establishment, or is placed on paid or un5 paid leave, the President shall commu6 nicate in writing the reasons for any such 

7 removal, leave placement, or transfer to 

8 both Houses of Congress and to the Direc9 tor of the Office of Public Integrity not 

10 later than 30 days before the removal, 

11 leave placement, or transfer.’’; and 

12 (iii) by adding at the end the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(2)(A) In the event of a vacancy in the position of 

15 Inspector General of an establishment of more than 210 

16 days, the Director of the Office of Public Integrity may 

17 direct an officer or employee of the establishment to per18 form the functions and duties of the position of Inspector 

19 General temporarily in an acting capacity for a period of 

20 not more than 365 days. 

21 ‘‘(B) If an Inspector General of an establishment is 

22 not appointed during the 365-day period described in sub23 paragraph (A), the Director of the Office of Public Integ24 rity may direct the same or another officer or employee 

25 of the establishment to perform the functions and duties 


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1 of the position of Inspector General temporarily in an act2 ing capacity for a period of not more than 365 days. 

3 ‘‘(C) If an Inspector General of an establishment is 

4 not appointed during the 365-day period described in sub5 paragraph (B), the Director of the Office of Public Integ6 rity may direct the same or another officer or employee 

7 of the establishment to perform the functions and duties 

8 of the position of Inspector General temporarily in an act9 ing capacity for a period of not more than 365 days.’’; 

10 (2) in section 8A(a), by inserting ‘‘and the Di11 rector of the Office of Public Integrity’’ before the 

12 period at the end; 

13 (3) in section 8B, by amending subsection (a) 

14 to read as follows: 

15 ‘‘(a) The Director of the Office of Public Integrity— 

16 ‘‘(1) may delegate the authority specified in the 

17 second sentence of section 3(a) to the Chairman or 

18 another member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commis19 sion; and 

20 ‘‘(2) may not delegate the authority specified in 

21 the second sentence of section 3(a) to any other offi22 cer or employee of the Nuclear Regulatory Commis23 sion.’’; 

24 (4) in section 8C, by amending subsection (a) 

25 to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(a) DELEGATION.—The Director of the Office of 

2 Public Integrity— 

3 ‘‘(1) may delegate the authority specified in the 

4 second sentence of section 3(a) to the Chairperson 

5 or Vice Chairperson of the Federal Deposit Insur6 ance Corporation; and 

7 ‘‘(2) may not delegate the authority specified in 

8 the second sentence of section 3(a) to any other offi9 cer or employee of the Federal Deposit Insurance 

10 Corporation.’’; 

11 (5) in section 8G— 

12 (A) in subsection (a)— 

13 (i) in paragraph (5), by striking 

14 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

15 (ii) in paragraph (6), by striking the 

16 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 

17 and 

18 (iii) by adding at the end the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(7) the term ‘Director’ means the Director of 

21 the Office of Public Integrity.’’; 

22 (B) in subsection (c), in the first sentence, 

23 by inserting ‘‘, after consulting with the Direc24 tor,’’ after ‘‘head of the designated Federal en25 tity’’; 


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1 (C) in subsection (d)(1), by striking the 

2 first sentence and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘Each Inspector General shall report to and be 

4 under the general supervision of the Director, 

5 and shall not report to, or be subject to super6 vision by, any other officer or employee of the 

7 designated Federal entity.’’; and 

8 (D) in subsection (e)— 

9 (i) in paragraph (1), by inserting 

10 ‘‘and after consulting with the Director’’ 

11 before the period at the end; and 

12 (ii) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘An 

13 Inspector General may be removed from 

14 office by the head of the designated Fed15 eral entity for inefficiency, neglect of duty, 

16 or malfeasance in office after the head of 

17 the designated entity consults with the Di18 rector, or by the President for inefficiency, 

19 neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.’’ 

20 before ‘‘If an Inspector’’; and 

21 (6) in section 8M(b)(1)— 

22 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

23 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 


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1 (B) in subparagraph (B)(iii)(II), by strik2 ing the period at the end and inserting a semi3 colon; and 

4 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(C) ensure that, if any portion of a report 

6 described in subparagraph (A) contains infor7 mation that is classified, sensitive, or otherwise 

8 prohibited from disclosure by law, a redacted 

9 version of the report be posted on the website 

10 of the Office of Inspector General that does not 

11 contain the classified, sensitive, or prohibited 

12 information; 

13 ‘‘(D) ensure that, if an entire report de14 scribed in subparagraph (A) is classified, sen15 sitive, or otherwise prohibited from disclosure 

16 by law, the Inspector General posts the title of 

17 the report, the date of publication of the report, 

18 a general description of the subject matter of 

19 the report, and a justification for the report not 

20 to be posted on the website of the Office of In21 spector General; and 

22 ‘‘(E) include on the website of the Office 

23 of Inspector General a listing of each report de24 scribed in subparagraph (D) that is not posted 

25 on the website.’’. 


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1 (b) INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE CENTRAL INTEL2 LIGENCE AGENCY.—Section 17(b) of the Central Intel3 ligence Agency Act of 1949 (50 U.S.C. 3517(b)) is amend4 ed— 

5 (1) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘of the Office 

6 of Public Integrity, who may delegate that authority 

7 to the Director of the Agency’’ before the period at 

8 the end; and 

9 (2) in paragraph (6)— 

10 (A) in the first sentence, by inserting ‘‘for 

11 inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in 

12 office’’ before the period at the end; and 

13 (B) by inserting after the first sentence 

14 the following: ‘‘The Director of the Office of 

15 Public Integrity may make a formal rec16 ommendation to the President for the removal 

17 of the Inspector General under this para18 graph.’’. 

19 (c) INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE INTELLIGENCE

20 COMMUNITY.—Section 103H(c) of the National Security 

21 Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3033(c)) is amended— 

22 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘National In23 telligence’’ and inserting ‘‘the Office of Public Integ24 rity, who may delegate that authority to the Director 

25 of National Intelligence’’; and 


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1 (2) in paragraph (4)— 

2 (A) in the first sentence, by inserting ‘‘for 

3 inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in 

4 office’’ before the period at the end; and 

5 (B) by inserting after the first sentence 

6 the following: ‘‘The Director of the Office of 

7 Public Integrity may make a formal rec8 ommendation to the President for the removal 

9 of the Inspector General under this para10 graph.’’. 

11 (d) INSPECTOR GENERAL OF SIGAR.—Section 

12 1229(e)(1) of the National Defense Authorization Act for 

13 Fiscal Year 2008 (Public Law 110–181; 122 Stat. 379) 

14 is amended by striking ‘‘the Secretary of State and the 

15 Secretary of Defense’’ and inserting ‘‘the Director of the 

16 Office of Public Integrity, who may delegate that authority 

17 to the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense’’. 

18 (e) INSPECTOR GENERAL OF SIGTARP.—Section 

19 121(b) of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 

20 2008 (12 U.S.C. 5231(b)) is amended by adding at the 

21 end the following: 

22 ‘‘(7) The Special Inspector General shall report to 

23 and be under the general supervision of the Director of 

24 the Office of Public Integrity, who may delegate that au25 thority to the Secretary.’’. 


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1 (f) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO FEDERAL VA2 CANCIES REFORM ACT.—Subchapter III of chapter 33 of 

3 title 5, United States Code, is amended— 

4 (1) in section 3345— 

5 (A) in subsection (a), in the matter pre6 ceding paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘If’’ and in7 serting ‘‘Subject to subsection (d), if’’ and 

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

9 ‘‘(d) After the date that is 210 days after the date 

10 on which a vacancy in the office of the Inspector General 

11 of an agency described in subsection (a) begins, the Presi12 dent may not exercise the authority under this section with 

13 respect to that vacancy in the office of the Inspector Gen14 eral.’’; 

15 (2) in section 3346— 

16 (A) in subsection (a), in the matter pre17 ceding paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘and subject 

18 to subsection (d),’’ after ‘‘sickness,’’; and 

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

20 ‘‘(d) A person serving as acting officer in the office 

21 of the Inspector General of an agency under section 3345 

22 may not serve in the office after the date that is 210 days 

23 after the date on which the vacancy in the office begins, 

24 without regard to whether a nomination to the office has 

25 been submitted to, is pending in, has been rejected by, 


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1 has been withdrawn by the President from, or has been 

2 returned to the President by the Senate.’’; 

3 (3) in section 3349(b), in the matter preceding 

4 paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘, or, in the case of an 

5 Inspector General, that an officer is serving after 

6 the end of the 210 day period under section 

7 3346(d),’’ after ‘‘3349a,’’; and 

8 (4) in section 3349a(b), in the matter preceding 

9 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘With’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘Except in the case of an Inspector General, with’’. 

11 Subtitle C—Office of Congressional 

12 Ethics 

13 SEC. 551. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this subtitle— 

15 (1) the term ‘‘applicable ethics committee’’ 

16 means the Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate 

17 (for Senators and employees of the Senate) or the 

18 Committee on Ethics of the House of Representa19 tives (for Members of the House of Representatives 

20 and employees of the House of Representatives); 

21 (2) the term ‘‘Board’’ means the Congressional 

22 Ethics Board established under section 553(a); 

23 (3) the term ‘‘employee of Congress’’ means an 

24 employee of the House of Representatives or an em25 ployee of the Senate; 


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1 (4) the term ‘‘employee of the House of Rep2 resentatives’’ has the meaning given the term in sec3 tion 101 of the Congressional Accountability Act of 

4 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301) and includes an elected or ap5 pointed officer of the House of Representatives; 

6 (5) the term ‘‘employee of the Senate’’ has the 

7 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Con8 gressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 

9 1301) and includes an elected or appointed officer of 

10 the Senate; and 

11 (6) the term ‘‘Member’’ means any Senator or 

12 Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commis13 sioner to, the Congress. 

14 SEC. 552. THE OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL ETHICS. 

15 For the purpose of assisting the House of Represent16 atives and the Senate in carrying out the responsibilities 

17 under article I, section 5, clause 2 of the Constitution of 

18 the United States (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Dis19 cipline Clause’’), there is established an independent office 

20 in the legislative branch to be known as the ‘‘Office of 

21 Congressional Ethics’’ (referred to in this subtitle as the 

22 ‘‘Office’’), which shall be governed by the Congressional 

23 Ethics Board established under section 553(a). 


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1 SEC. 553. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BOARD OF THE OFFICE 

2 OF CONGRESSIONAL ETHICS. 

3 (a) BOARD.— 

4 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF BOARD.—The Office 

5 shall be governed by a Congressional Ethics Board 

6 consisting of 9 members, of whom— 

7 (A) 2 shall be appointed by the Majority 

8 Leader of the Senate; 

9 (B) 2 shall be appointed by the Minority 

10 Leader of the Senate; 

11 (C) 2 shall be appointed by the Speaker of 

12 the House of Representatives; 

13 (D) 2 shall be appointed by the Minority 

14 Leader of the House of Representatives; and 

15 (E) 1 shall be appointed by agreement of 

16 the Majority Leader of the Senate, the Minority 

17 Leader of the Senate, the Speaker of the House 

18 of Representatives, and the Minority Leader of 

19 the House of Representatives, or by agreement 

20 of not less than 3 of those individuals. 

21 (2) QUALIFICATIONS OF BOARD MEMBERS.— 

22 (A) EXPERTISE.—Each member of the 

23 Board shall be an individual of exceptional pub24 lic standing who is specifically qualified to serve 

25 on the Board by virtue of the individual’s edu26 cation, training, or experience in 1 or more of 


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1 the legislative, judicial, regulatory, professional 

2 ethics, business, legal, or academic fields. 

3 (B) SELECTION BASIS.—Selection and ap4 pointment of each member of the Board shall 

5 be without regard to political affiliation and 

6 solely on the basis of fitness to perform the du7 ties of a member of the Board. 

8 (C) CITIZENSHIP.—Each member of the 

9 Board shall be a United States citizen. 

10 (D) DISQUALIFICATIONS.—No individual 

11 shall be eligible for appointment to, or service 

12 on, the Board who— 

13 (i) has ever been registered, or re14 quired to be registered, as a lobbyist under 

15 the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 

16 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.); 

17 (ii) engages in, or is otherwise em18 ployed in, lobbying of the Congress; 

19 (iii) is registered or is required to be 

20 registered as an agent of a foreign prin21 cipal under the Foreign Agents Registra22 tion Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 611 et seq.); 

23 (iv) is, or has been in the 4 years pre24 ceding the date of appointment, a Member, 


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1 employee of the Senate, or employee of the 

2 House of Representatives; 

3 (v) is an officer or employee of the 

4 Federal Government; 

5 (vi) during the 4 years preceding the 

6 date of appointment, engaged in any sig7 nificant political activity (including being a 

8 candidate for public office, fundraising for 

9 a candidate for public office or a political 

10 party, or serving as an officer or employee 

11 of a political campaign or party); or 

12 (vii) during the 4 years preceding the 

13 date of appointment, served as a fiduciary 

14 or personal attorney for an officer or em15 ployee of the Federal Government, includ16 ing any Member. 

17 (3) TERM AND REMOVAL.— 

18 (A) LENGTH OF TERM.—The term of a 

19 member of the Board shall be for 2 Congresses. 

20 (B) TERM LIMITS.—A member of the 

21 Board may not serve during 4 consecutive Con22 gresses. 

23 (C) REMOVAL.—A member of the Board 

24 may be removed only for cause and upon unani25 mous agreement among the Majority Leader 


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1 and the Minority Leader of the Senate and the 

2 Speaker and the Minority Leader of the House 

3 of Representatives. 

4 (D) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy on the 

5 Board shall be filled for the unexpired portion 

6 of the term in the same manner, and by the 

7 same appointing authority, as the original ap8 pointment under paragraph (1). 

9 (b) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE-CHAIRPERSON.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The members of the Board 

11 shall elect a chairperson and a vice-chairperson of 

12 the Board by a majority vote. The chairperson and 

13 the vice-chairperson shall serve a 1-year term, and 

14 may be reelected for additional 1-year terms. 

15 (2) DUTIES.—The chairperson of the Board 

16 shall preside at the meetings of the Board, and the 

17 vice-chairperson shall preside in the absence or dis18 ability of the chairperson. 

19 (c) MEETINGS.— 

20 (1) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of 

21 the Board shall constitute a quorum, except that a 

22 lesser number of members may hold hearings. 

23 (2) MEETINGS.—The Board shall meet at the 

24 call of the chairperson or the call of a majority of 

25 its members, pursuant to the rules of the Board. 


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1 (3) VOTING.—Except as otherwise specifically 

2 provided, a majority vote of the Board under this 

3 subtitle shall require an affirmative vote of 5 or 

4 more members. 

5 (d) COMPENSATION.—A member of the Board shall 

6 not be considered to be an officer or employee of the 

7 House or Senate, but shall be compensated at a rate equal 

8 to the daily equivalent of the minimum annual rate of 

9 basic pay prescribed for GS–15 of the General Schedule 

10 under section 5107 of title 5, United States Code, for each 

11 day (including travel time) during which such member is 

12 engaged in the performance of the duties of the Board. 

13 (e) DUTIES OF BOARD.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall— 

15 (A) be the governing body of the Office, 

16 and oversee the Office in the implementation of 

17 all duties required under this subtitle; and 

18 (B) review each complaint made against a 

19 Member or employee of Congress through the 

20 review process described in section 555(b). 

21 (2) HEARINGS.—The Board may hold such 

22 hearings as are necessary and may sit and act only 

23 in executive session at such times and places, solicit 

24 such testimony, and receive such relevant evidence, 

25 as may be necessary to carry out its duties. 


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1 (f) FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE REPORTS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the Board 

3 shall file an annual financial disclosure report with 

4 the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the 

5 House of Representatives on or before May 15 of 

6 each calendar year immediately following any year in 

7 which the member served on the Board. Each such 

8 report shall be on a form prepared jointly by the 

9 Clerk and the Secretary that is substantially similar 

10 to the form required for individuals at the executive 

11 branch who must complete a confidential financial 

12 disclosure report under section 102 of the Ethics in 

13 Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.). 

14 (2) DISTRIBUTION OF REPORT.—The Secretary 

15 of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Rep16 resentatives, working jointly, shall— 

17 (A) not later than 7 days after the date 

18 each financial disclosure report under para19 graph (1) is filed, send a copy of each such re20 port to the applicable ethics committees; and 

21 (B) annually print all such financial disclo22 sure reports as a document of Congress, and 

23 make the document available to the public. 


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1 SEC. 554. DUTIES AND POWERS OF THE OFFICE AND THE 

2 BOARD. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Office is authorized— 

4 (1) in accordance with section 555— 

5 (A) to investigate any alleged violation, by 

6 a Member or employee of Congress, of any eth7 ics law (including regulations), rule, or other 

8 standard of conduct applicable to the conduct of 

9 such Member or employee under applicable 

10 House or Senate rules in the performance of 

11 the duties, or the discharge of the responsibil12 ities, of the Member or employee; and 

13 (B) in any case where the Board deter14 mines, after the investigation described in sub15 paragraph (A), that there was a probable viola16 tion of any ethics law, rule, or other standard 

17 of conduct described in such subparagraph, to 

18 present the probable ethics violation to the ap19 plicable ethics committee; 

20 (2) to refer to appropriate Federal or State au21 thorities, including the Office of Public Integrity and 

22 the Department of Justice as appropriate, any evi23 dence of a violation by a Member or employee of 

24 Congress of any law (including laws applicable to the 

25 performance of the duties, or the discharge of the 

26 responsibilities, of the Member or employee), which 


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1 may have been disclosed in an investigation by the 

2 Office, in accordance with subsection (b); 

3 (3) to provide advice and informal guidance to 

4 Members and employees of Congress regarding any 

5 ethics law (including regulations), rule, or other 

6 standard of conduct applicable to such individuals in 

7 their official capacities, and develop and carry out 

8 periodic educational briefings for Members and em9 ployees of Congress on those laws, rules, and other 

10 standards; 

11 (4)(A) to give consideration to the request of 

12 any Member or employee of Congress for a formal 

13 advisory opinion or other formal ruling, subject to 

14 the approval of the applicable ethics committee, with 

15 respect to the general propriety of any current or 

16 proposed conduct of such Member or employee; 

17 (B) to provide a formal advisory opinion or 

18 other formal ruling, in accordance with subpara19 graph (A), in situations that the Board determines 

20 appropriate; and 

21 (C) subject to the requirement for approval by 

22 the applicable ethics committee in accordance with 

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1 lish such opinion for the guidance of other Members 

2 and employees of Congress; 

3 (5) if the Office determines, during the course 

4 of any investigation under this subtitle, that a lob5 byist or lobbying firm may be in noncompliance with 

6 the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601 

7 et seq.),— 

8 (A) to notify the United States Attorney 

9 for the District of Columbia and the Director of 

10 the Office of Public Integrity of the potential 

11 violation; and 

12 (B) to notify the lobbyist or lobbying firm 

13 of such determination, in writing; 

14 (6) to provide informal guidance to lobbyists or 

15 lobbying firms engaged in lobbying activity or lob16 bying contacts under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 

17 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) to covered legislative 

18 branch officials (as defined in section 3 of such Act 

19 (2 U.S.C. 1602)) of their responsibilities under such 

20 Act; 

21 (7) to aid in the enforcement of ethics require22 ments for Members or employees of Congress under 

23 this subtitle or any other provision of law; and 

24 (8) to administer the process for Members and 

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1 ers from any ethics law (including regulations), rule, 

2 or other standard that applies to Members and em3 ployees of Congress, subject to approval of the appli4 cable ethics committee. 

5 (b) REFERRALS TO LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFI6 CIALS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Upon a majority vote of the 

8 Board, the Office may refer potential legal violations 

9 committed by a Member or employee of Congress to 

10 the Department of Justice or other relevant Federal 

11 or State law enforcement officials, which referral 

12 shall include all appropriate evidence gathered dur13 ing any review conducted under this subtitle. 

14 (2) NO APPROVAL REQUIRED.—A referral 

15 under paragraph (1) does not require the approval 

16 of either of the applicable ethics committees. 

17 (3) NOTIFICATION.—The Board shall notify the 

18 Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate or the 

19 Committee on Ethics of the House of Representa20 tives, and the Director of the Office of Public Integ21 rity of all referrals under this subsection. 

22 (c) ADVISORY OPINIONS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Upon a majority vote of the 

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1 tions of rules and other standards of conduct appli2 cable to Members and employees of Congress, which 

3 shall be submitted to each applicable ethics com4 mittee for approval. 

5 (2) REQUIREMENTS FOR ETHICS COMMITTEE

6 REVIEW.—Each applicable ethics committee may re7 vise, overturn, dismiss, or issue any recommended 

8 formal advisory opinions or interpretations under 

9 paragraph (1) that is applicable to the Members and 

10 employees of that House of Congress. A rec11 ommended formal advisory opinion or interpretation 

12 under paragraph (1) is only binding if issued by one 

13 of the applicable ethics committees. 

14 (3) REQUIREMENTS.—Any applicable ethics 

15 committee decision described in paragraph (2) shall 

16 be recorded and made publicly available, and shall 

17 be accompanied by a written explanation for that ac18 tion. Dissenting members of the applicable ethics 

19 committee are allowed to issue their own report de20 tailing reasons for disagreeing with the decision. 

21 (d) LIMITATIONS ON REVIEW.—No review shall be 

22 undertaken by the Board of any alleged violation of law, 

23 rule, regulation or standard of conduct not in effect at 

24 the time of the alleged violation, nor shall any review be 


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1 undertaken by the Board of any alleged violation that oc2 curred before the date of enactment of this Act. 

3 (e) PROHIBITION ON PUBLIC DISCLOSURE.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

5 (A) REQUIRED AFFIRMATION BY MEMBERS

6 AND STAFF.—When an individual becomes a 

7 member of the Board or employee of the Office, 

8 that individual shall execute the following oath 

9 or affirmation in writing: ‘‘I do solemnly swear 

10 (or affirm) that I will not disclose to any person 

11 or entity outside of the Office any information 

12 received in the course of my service with the 

13 Office, except as authorized by the Board by 

14 majority vote as necessary to conduct official 

15 business or pursuant to its rules.’’. Copies of 

16 the executed oath shall be provided to the Clerk 

17 of the House of Representatives and the Sec18 retary of the Senate as part of the records of 

19 the House and Senate. 

20 (B) PROHIBITION ON PUBLIC DISCLO21 SURE.—No testimony received, or any other in22 formation obtained, by a member of the Board 

23 or employee of the Office shall be publicly dis24 closed to any person or entity outside the Of25 fice, unless approved by a majority vote of the 


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1 Board. Any communication to any person or en2 tity outside the Office may occur only as au3 thorized by the Board. 

4 (C) PROCEDURES AND INVESTIGATION.— 

5 The Office shall establish procedures necessary 

6 to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of any 

7 information received by the Office. Any 

8 breaches of confidentiality shall be investigated 

9 by the Board and appropriate action shall be 

10 taken. 

11 (2) PROVISION WITH RESPECT TO OFFICE OF

12 PUBLIC INTEGRITY OR ETHICS COMMITTEES.—Para13 graph (1) shall not preclude— 

14 (A) any member of the Board or any em15 ployee of the Office from presenting a report or 

16 findings of the Board, or testifying before the 

17 Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate or 

18 the Committee on Ethics of the House of Rep19 resentatives by any member of the Board or 

20 employee of the Office, if requested by either 

21 committee pursuant to the rules of the com22 mittee; 

23 (B) any necessary communication with the 

24 Office of Public Integrity; 


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1 (C) any necessary communication with the 

2 Department of Justice or any other law en3 forcement agency; or 

4 (D) any necessary communication with the 

5 Majority Leader of the Senate, Minority Leader 

6 of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Rep7 resentatives, or Minority Leader of the House 

8 of Representatives. 

9 (3) OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT.—Before the 

10 Board votes on a recommendation or statement to 

11 be transmitted to the appropriate congressional com12 mittee relating to official conduct of any Member or 

13 employee of Congress, the Board shall provide that 

14 individual the opportunity to present, orally or in 

15 writing (at the discretion of the Board), a statement 

16 to the Board. 

17 (f) PRESENTATION OF REPORTS TO SELECT COM18 MITTEE ON ETHICS OF THE SENATE OR THE COMMITTEE

19 ON ETHICS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.— 

20 Whenever the Board transmits any report to the applica21 ble ethics committee relating to the official conduct of any 

22 Member or employee of Congress, it shall designate a 

23 member of the Board or employee to present the report 

24 to such committee if requested by such committee. 


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1 (g) MAINTAINING OF FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE RE2 PORTS.—The Office shall receive, and maintain, a copy 

3 of each report filed under section 101 of the Ethics in 

4 Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) by a Member 

5 or employee of Congress. 

6 (h) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH THE

7 OFFICE OF PUBLIC INTEGRITY.—The Office shall enter 

8 into a memorandum of understanding with the Director 

9 of the Office of Public Integrity in order— 

10 (1) to share any information necessary for the 

11 execution of each office’s respective duties and re12 sponsibilities, including the copies of reports de13 scribed in subsection (g); 

14 (2) to ensure consistent interpretation and en15 forcement of the Nation’s ethics laws for executive 

16 and legislative branch employees and officials; and 

17 (3) to reduce and mitigate jurisdictional confu18 sion. 

19 SEC. 555. REVIEW PROCESS OF COMPLAINTS. 

20 (a) SOURCE OF COMPLAINTS.— 

21 (1) CITIZEN COMPLAINTS.— 

22 (A) CITIZEN INITIATED SWORN COM23 PLAINT.—Any citizen of the United States, in24 cluding a Member or employee of Congress, 

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1 leging a violation by a Member or employee of 

2 Congress of any law (including any regulation), 

3 rule, or other standard of conduct applicable to 

4 the conduct of such Member or employee in the 

5 performance of the duties, or the discharge of 

6 the responsibilities, of the Member or employee, 

7 subject to subparagraph (B). 

8 (B) BAN ON FILING PRIOR TO ELEC9 TION.—The Board may not accept citizen com10 plaints regarding the conduct of a Member filed 

11 in the— 

12 (i) 30 days prior to a primary election 

13 for which the Member in question is a can14 didate; and 

15 (ii) 60 days prior to a general election 

16 for which the Member in question is a can17 didate. 

18 (C) CONTENT.—The complaint under sub19 paragraph (A) shall be a notarized written 

20 statement alleging a violation against 1 or more 

21 named persons and stating the essential facts 

22 constituting the violation charged. 

23 (2) BOARD MEMBER OR OFFICE OF CONGRES24 SIONAL ETHICS INITIATED COMPLAINT.—A member 

25 of the Board or an employee of the Office may file 


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1 a complaint alleging a violation by a Member or em2 ployee of Congress of any law (including any regula3 tion), rule, or other standard of conduct applicable 

4 to the conduct of such Member or employee in the 

5 performance of the duties, or the discharge of the 

6 responsibilities, of the Member or employee. 

7 (3) NOTIFICATION.—Upon receipt of a com8 plaint filed under paragraph (1) or (2) that meets 

9 the requirements of this subsection, the Office 

10 shall— 

11 (A) notify the person alleged to have com12 mitted the violation that a complaint has been 

13 filed; and 

14 (B) refer the complaint to the Board for 

15 consideration under the review process de16 scribed in subsection (b). 

17 (b) REVIEW PROCESS OF ALLEGED VIOLATIONS BY

18 MEMBERS OR EMPLOYEES OF CONGRESS.— 

19 (1) REQUEST.—After receiving a complaint 

20 under subsection (a)(3)(B), 2 or more members of 

21 the Board may submit a joint written statement to 

22 all members of the Board authorizing the Office to 

23 undertake a preliminary review of any alleged viola24 tion by a Member or employee of Congress of any 

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1 ard of conduct applicable to the conduct of such 

2 Member or employee in the performance of the du3 ties, or the discharge of the responsibilities, of the 

4 Member or employee, along with a brief description 

5 of the specific matter. 

6 (2) PRELIMINARY REVIEW.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 7 busi8 ness days after receipt of an authorization 

9 statement from 2 or more members of the 

10 Board under paragraph (1), the Board shall— 

11 (i) instruct the Office to initiate a 

12 preliminary review of the alleged violation; 

13 and 

14 (ii) provide a written notification of 

15 the commencement of the preliminary re16 view, including a statement of the nature 

17 of the review, to— 

18 (I) the applicable ethics com19 mittee; 

20 (II) any individual who is the 

21 subject of the preliminary review; and 

22 (III) the Director of the Office of 

23 Public Integrity. 

24 (B) OPPORTUNITY TO TERMINATE PRE25 LIMINARY REVIEW.—At any time, the Board 


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1 may, by a majority vote, terminate a prelimi2 nary review on any ground, including that the 

3 matter under review is de minimis in nature. If 

4 the Board votes to terminate the preliminary 

5 review— 

6 (i) the review process under this sec7 tion is completed and no further actions 

8 shall be taken; and 

9 (ii) the Board— 

10 (I) shall notify, in writing, the in11 dividual who was the subject of the 

12 preliminary review, the Director of the 

13 Office of Public Integrity, and the ap14 plicable ethics committee, of its deci15 sion to terminate the review of the 

16 matter; and 

17 (II) may, in any case where the 

18 Board votes to terminate the prelimi19 nary review, send a report, including 

20 any findings of the Board, to the ap21 plicable ethics committee and to the 

22 Director of the Office of Public Integ23 rity. 

24 (3) SECOND-PHASE REVIEW PROCESS.— 

25 (A) VOTE FOR SECOND-PHASE REVIEW.— 


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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—After the prelimi2 nary review conducted under paragraph 

3 (2) is completed, the Board shall vote on 

4 whether to authorize a second-phase review 

5 of the matter under consideration. If there 

6 is an affirmative vote of 4 or more mem7 bers of the Board to authorize the second8 phase review, the Board shall authorize the 

9 second-phase review process in accordance 

10 with subparagraph (B). 

11 (ii) TERMINATION OF MATTER.—If a 

12 vote to authorize a second-phase review 

13 under clause (i) does not succeed, the re14 view process under this section shall be 

15 completed and no further actions shall be 

16 taken. 

17 (iii) NOTIFICATION TO PARTIES.—The 

18 Board— 

19 (I) shall notify, in writing, the in20 dividual who was the subject of the 

21 preliminary review, the Director of the 

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1 view of the matter or to terminate the 

2 review process; and 

3 (II) may, in any case where the 

4 Board decides to terminate the review 

5 process of the violation under clause 

6 (ii), send a report, including any find7 ings of the Board, to the applicable 

8 ethics committee and to the Director 

9 of the Office of Public Integrity. 

10 (B) SECOND-PHASE REVIEW.—In any case 

11 where a second-phase review is required, the 

12 Board shall authorize the Office to commence, 

13 and complete, a second-phase review. 

14 (C) COMPLETION OF SECOND-PHASE RE15 VIEW.—Upon the completion of any second16 phase review, the Board shall— 

17 (i) evaluate the review and determine, 

18 based on a majority vote, whether— 

19 (I) the applicable ethics com20 mittee should dismiss the matter that 

21 was the subject of such review, which 

22 may be made on any ground, includ23 ing that the matter under review is de 

24 minimis in nature; 


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1 (II) the matter requires further 

2 review by the applicable ethics com3 mittee; or 

4 (III) the applicable ethics com5 mittee should take action relating to 

6 the matter, including any rec7 ommendation for the disciplinary ac8 tion or sanctions that the committee 

9 should take; 

10 (ii) transmit to the applicable ethics 

11 committee a written report that includes— 

12 (I) a statement of the nature of 

13 the review and the Member or em14 ployee of Congress who is the subject 

15 of the review, including any probable 

16 ethics violations uncovered in either 

17 the preliminary or second-phase re18 view; 

19 (II) any recommendations of the 

20 Board based on votes conducted under 

21 clause (i), or a statement that the 

22 matter is unresolved because of a tie 

23 vote of the Board or a failure to meet 

24 the majority vote threshold established 

25 under section 553(c)(3); 


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1 (III) a description of the number 

2 of members voting in the affirmative 

3 and in the negative for any action de4 scribed in clause (i); 

5 (IV) any findings of the Board, 

6 including— 

7 (aa) any findings of fact; 

8 (bb) a description of any rel9 evant information that the Board 

10 was unable to obtain or witnesses 

11 whom the Board was unable to 

12 interview, and the reasons there13 for; and 

14 (cc) a citation of any rel15 evant law, regulation, or stand16 ard of conduct relating to the 

17 violation; and 

18 (V) any supporting documenta19 tion; 

20 (iii) transmit to the individual who is 

21 the subject of the second-phase review the 

22 written report of the Board described in 

23 clause (ii); 

24 (iv) transmit to the Director of the 

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1 port of the Board described in clause (ii), 

2 and may include any recommendations for 

3 action by the Director that the Board may 

4 recommend; and 

5 (v) make public, on a website main6 tained by the Office, the written report of 

7 the Board described in clause (ii), unless a 

8 majority of the members of the Board vote 

9 to withhold the report from the public 

10 where public disclosure could compromise 

11 the ability of the applicable ethics com12 mittee or a law enforcement agency to act 

13 on probable ethics violations. 

14 (D) AUTHORITY FOR REPRIMAND.—Upon 

15 the completion of any second-phase review, the 

16 Board— 

17 (i) may, upon a majority vote, rep18 rimand, in writing, the alleged violator for 

19 potential violations of the law; 

20 (ii) in any case where a reprimand 

21 under clause (i) is issued, shall provide a 

22 copy of the reprimand to— 

23 (I) the presiding officer of the 

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1 leged violator serves (if such indi2 vidual is a Member of Congress); or 

3 (II) the alleged violator’s em4 ployer, if the individual is an employee 

5 of Congress; and 

6 (iii) may make the reprimand avail7 able to the public. 

8 (c) REQUESTS FROM APPLICABLE ETHICS COMMIT9 TEES.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

11 provision of this subtitle, upon receipt of a written 

12 request from an applicable ethics committee that the 

13 Board cease its review of any matter and refer such 

14 matter to the committee because of the ongoing in15 vestigation of such matter by the committee, the 

16 Board shall refer such matter to the committee, 

17 cease its preliminary or second-phase review, as ap18 plicable, of that matter and so notify any individual 

19 who is the subject of the review. In any such case, 

20 the Board shall send a written report to the com21 mittee containing a statement that, upon the request 

22 of that committee, the matter is referred to it for its 

23 consideration. Nothing in this paragraph shall be 

24 construed to prevent the Board from sending any in25 formation regarding the matter to the Director of 


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1 the Office of Public Integrity or to other law en2 forcement agencies. 

3 (2) RESUMPTION OF REVIEW.—If the applicable 

4 ethics committee notifies the Board in writing that 

5 it is unable to resolve any matter described in para6 graph (1), the Board may begin or continue, as the 

7 case may be, a second-phase review of the matter in 

8 accordance with subsection (b)(3). 

9 (d) PROCEDURES.— 

10 (1) REVIEW POWERS.—Members of the Board 

11 or employees of the Office may, during either an ini12 tial review or second-phase review— 

13 (A) administer oaths; 

14 (B) require, by subpoena or otherwise, the 

15 attendance and testimony of such witnesses and 

16 the production of such books, records, cor17 respondence, accounts, memoranda, papers, 

18 documents, tapes, and materials as the Board 

19 or the Office considers advisable; 

20 (C) take the deposition of witnesses; and 

21 (D) conduct general audits of filings under 

22 the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 

23 1601 et seq.). 

24 (2) WITNESSES.— 


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1 (A) WITNESSES.—Any witness interviewed 

2 as part of a review under this section shall sign 

3 a statement acknowledging that the witness un4 derstands that section 1001 of title 18, United 

5 States Code (popularly known as the ‘‘False 

6 Statements Act’’), applies to the testimony of 

7 the witness and to any documents the witness 

8 provides. 

9 (B) PAYMENT.—Witnesses appearing be10 fore the Office may be paid in the same manner 

11 as prescribed by clause 5 of rule XI of the 

12 Rules of the House of Representatives, as in ef13 fect on the day before the date of enactment of 

14 this Act. 

15 (3) PROHIBITION OF EX PARTE COMMUNICA16 TIONS.—There shall be no ex parte communications 

17 between any member of the Board or employee of 

18 the Office and any individual who is the subject of 

19 any review by the Board or between any member of 

20 the Board and any interested party, and no Member 

21 or employee of the Congress may communicate with 

22 any member of the Board or employee of the Office 

23 regarding any matter under review by the Board ex24 cept as authorized by the Board. 


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1 (4) CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS.—If a person dis2 obeys or refuses to comply with a subpoena, or if a 

3 witness refuses to testify to a matter, the Board 

4 may recommend to the applicable ethics committee 

5 that such person be held in contempt of Congress. 

6 (e) PROTECTION FROM FRIVOLOUS CHARGES.— 

7 (1) CIVIL PENALTY FOR INITIAL COMPLAINT.— 

8 (A) FALSE COMPLAINT.—It shall be un9 lawful for any person to knowingly file with the 

10 Office a false complaint of misconduct by any 

11 Member or employee of Congress. 

12 (B) ENCOURAGEMENT TO FILE FALSE

13 COMPLAINT.—It shall be unlawful for any per14 son to encourage another person to file a false 

15 complaint of misconduct by any Member or em16 ployee of Congress. 

17 (C) ACTION BY OFFICE OF PUBLIC INTEG18 RITY.—The Director of the Office of Public In19 tegrity, after providing notice and an oppor20 tunity for a hearing, may impose a civil penalty 

21 on any person who violates subparagraph (A) or 

22 (B) in the amount of the greater of— 

23 (i) $10,000; or 

24 (ii) the cost of the preliminary review. 


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1 (2) BAN ON ALL SUBSEQUENT COMPLAINTS.— 

2 Any person upon whom the Director of the Office of 

3 Public Integrity imposes a civil penalty under para4 graph (1)(C) may not file a complaint with the 

5 Board again. 

6 SEC. 556. PERSONNEL MATTERS. 

7 (a) COMPENSATION OF EMPLOYEES.— 

8 (1) APPOINTMENT.—Upon a majority vote of 

9 the Board, the Board may appoint and fix the com10 pensation of such professional, nonpartisan staff (in11 cluding staff with relevant experience in investiga12 tions and law enforcement) of the Office as the 

13 Board considers necessary to perform its duties. 

14 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—Each employee of the 

15 Office shall be professional and demonstrably quali16 fied for the position for which the employee is hired. 

17 (3) STAFFING REQUIREMENTS.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The employees of the 

19 Office shall be assembled and retained as a pro20 fessional, nonpartisan staff, and the Office as a 

21 whole, and each individual employee, shall per22 form all official duties in a nonpartisan manner. 

23 (B) NO PARTISAN POLITICAL ACTIVITY.— 

24 No employee of the Office shall engage in any 


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1 partisan political activity directly affecting any 

2 congressional or presidential election. 

3 (C) LIMITATION OR PUBLIC SPEAKING OR

4 PUBLICATION.—No employee of the Office may 

5 accept public speaking engagements or write for 

6 publication on any subject that is in any way 

7 related to the employee’s employment or duties 

8 with the Office without specific prior approval 

9 from the chairperson and vice-chairperson of 

10 the Board. 

11 (b) TERMINATION OF EMPLOYEES.—The employ12 ment of an employee of the Office may be terminated dur13 ing a Congress solely by a majority vote of the Board. 

14 (c) REIMBURSEMENTS.—Members of the Board, and 

15 employees of the Office, may be reimbursed for travel, sub16 sistence, and other necessary expenses incurred by mem17 bers or employees in the performance of their duties in 

18 the same manner as is permissible for such expenses of 

19 other employees of the House or Senate. 

20 (d) AGREEMENTS FOR MEMBERS AND EMPLOYEES; 

21 RETENTION OF DOCUMENTS BY THE CLERK.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Before any individual who is 

23 appointed to serve on the Board or before any indi24 vidual is hired to be an employee of the Office may 

25 do so, the individual shall execute a signed document 


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1 containing the following statement: ‘‘I agree not to 

2 be a candidate for the office of Senator or Rep3 resentative in, or Delegate or Resident Commis4 sioner to, the Congress for purposes of the Federal 

5 Election Campaign Act of 1971 until at least 4 

6 years after I am no longer a member of the Congres7 sional Ethics Board or employee of the Office of 

8 Congressional Ethics.’’. 

9 (2) RETENTION OF DOCUMENTS.—Copies of the 

10 signed and executed document shall be retained by 

11 the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the 

12 Secretary of the Senate as part of the records of the 

13 House and the Senate. The Clerk and the Secretary, 

14 working jointly, shall make the signatures a matter 

15 of public record, causing the names of each indi16 vidual who has signed the document to be published 

17 in a portion of the Congressional Record designed 

18 for that purpose, and make cumulative lists of such 

19 names available on the websites of the Clerk and the 

20 Secretary. 

21 (e) CODE OF CONDUCT.—The Board— 

22 (1) shall establish a code of conduct to govern 

23 the behavior of the members of the Board and the 

24 employee of the Office, which shall include the avoid25 ance of conflicts of interest; and 


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1 (2) may issue other rules as the Board deter2 mines necessary to carry out the functions of the 

3 Board and the Office. 

4 SEC. 557. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

5 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

6 this subtitle such sums as may be necessary. 

7 SEC. 558. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS AND RULES OF CON8 STRUCTION. 

9 (a) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO THE ETHICS IN

10 GOVERNMENT ACT OF 1978.—Section 109(18) of the 

11 Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is 

12 amended— 

13 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through 

14 (D), as amended, as subparagraphs (B) through 

15 (E), respectively; 

16 (2) by inserting before subparagraph (B), as re17 designated by paragraph (1) of this subsection, the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(A) the Office of Congressional Ethics es20 tablished under section 552 of the Anti-Corrup21 tion and Public Integrity Act, for Senators, 

22 Members of the House of Representatives, offi23 cers and employees of the Senate, and officers 

24 and employees of the House of Representatives 

25 required to file financial disclosure reports with 


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1 the Secretary of the Senate pursuant to section 

2 103(h) of this title;’’; 

3 (3) in subparagraph (B) (as so redesignated), 

4 by striking ‘‘Senators, officers and employees of the 

5 Senate, and other officers or employees of the legis6 lative branch’’ and inserting ‘‘officers or employees 

7 of the legislative branch not described in subpara8 graph (A)’’; and 

9 (4) in subparagraph (C) (as so redesignated), 

10 by striking ‘‘Members, officers and employees of the 

11 House of Representatives and other officers or em12 ployees of the legislative branch’’ and inserting ‘‘offi13 cers or employees of the legislative branch not de14 scribed in subparagraph (A)’’. 

15 (b) TERMINATION OF THE OFFICE OF CONGRES16 SIONAL ETHICS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.— 

17 Beginning on the date on which all members of the Board 

18 are appointed, the Office of Congressional Ethics of the 

19 House of Representatives shall be eliminated and section 

20 1 of H. Res. 895 (110th Congress, March 11, 2008) shall 

21 cease to have any force or effect. 

22 (c) RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.—The provisions of 

23 this subtitle are enacted— 

24 (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of 

25 the Senate and of the House of Representatives, and 


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1 as such they shall be considered as part of the rules 

2 of the Senate and the House, respectively, and shall 

3 supersede other rules only to the extent that they 

4 are inconsistent therewith; and 

5 (2) with full recognition of the constitutional 

6 right of the Senate and the House of Representa7 tives to change such rules at any time, in the same 

8 manner, and to the same extent as in the case of 

9 any other rule of the Senate or House of Represent10 atives. 

11 Subtitle D—Applicability 

12 SEC. 571. APPLICABILITY. 

13 This title and the amendments made by this title 

14 shall apply on and after the date of enactment of this Act. 

15 TITLE VI—TRANSPARENCY AND 

16 GOVERNMENT RECORDS 

17 Subtitle A—Transparency for Fed18 eral Personnel and Candidates 

19 for Federal Office 

20 SEC. 601. CATEGORIES RELATING TO THE AMOUNT OR 

21 VALUE OF CERTAIN INCOME. 

22 Section 102 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 

23 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (a)— 

25 (A) in paragraph (1)(B)— 


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1 (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), 

2 by striking ‘‘which of the following cat3 egories the amount or value of such item 

4 of income is within’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

5 amount or value of such item of income in 

6 accordance with the following’’; 

7 (ii) by redesignating clauses (i) 

8 through (iv) as subclauses (I) through 

9 (IV), respectively, and adjusting the mar10 gin accordingly; 

11 (iii) by inserting before subclause (I), 

12 as so redesignated, the following: 

13 ‘‘(i) For items of income with an 

14 amount or value of not more than 

15 $25,000, which of the following categories 

16 the amount or value of such item of in17 come is within:’’; 

18 (iv) in clause (i)(III), as so des19 ignated, by adding ‘‘or’’ at the end; 

20 (v) in clause (i)(IV), as so designated, 

21 by striking ‘‘$15,000,’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘$25,000.’’; and 

23 (vi) by striking clauses (v) through 

24 (ix) and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(ii) For items of income with an 

2 amount or value of greater than $25,000, 

3 the amount or value of the item of income, 

4 rounded as follows: 

5 ‘‘(I) For items of income with an 

6 amount or value of greater than 

7 $25,000 but not more than $100,000, 

8 the amount or value rounded to the 

9 nearest $10,000. 

10 ‘‘(II) For items of income with 

11 an amount or value of greater than 

12 $100,000 but not more than 

13 $1,000,000, the amount or value 

14 rounded to the nearest $100,000. 

15 ‘‘(III) For items of income with 

16 an amount or value of greater than 

17 $1,000,000, the amount or value 

18 rounded to the nearest $1,000,000.’’; 

19 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘cat20 egory of value’’ and inserting ‘‘value, in accord21 ance with subsection (d)(2),’’; and 

22 (C) in paragraph (4), in the matter pre23 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘category 

24 of value’’ and inserting ‘‘value, in accordance 

25 with subsection (d)(2),’’; and 


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1 (2) in subsection (d)— 

2 (A) in paragraph (1), in the matter pre3 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘(3), (4), 

4 (5), and (8)’’ and inserting ‘‘(5) and (8)’’; 

5 (B) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 

6 paragraph (3); and 

7 (C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(2) The amount or value of the items covered in 

10 paragraphs (3) and (4) of subsection (a) shall be reported 

11 as follows: 

12 ‘‘(A) For items with an amount or value of not 

13 more than $25,000, which of the following categories 

14 the amount or value of such item is within: 

15 ‘‘(i) Not more than $15,000. 

16 ‘‘(ii) Greater than $15,000 but not more 

17 than $25,000. 

18 ‘‘(B) For items with an amount or value of 

19 greater than $25,000, the amount or value of the 

20 item, rounded as follows: 

21 ‘‘(i) For items with an amount or value of 

22 greater than $25,000 but not more than 

23 $100,000, the amount or value rounded to the 

24 nearest $10,000. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) For items with an amount or value of 

2 greater than $100,000 but not more than 

3 $1,000,000, the amount or value rounded to the 

4 nearest $100,000. 

5 ‘‘(iii) For items with an amount or value 

6 of greater than $1,000,000, the amount or 

7 value rounded to the nearest $1,000,000.’’. 

8 SEC. 602. DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INCOME TAX RE9 TURNS BY PRESIDENTS, VICE PRESIDENTS, 

10 MEMBERS OF CONGRESS, AND CERTAIN CAN11 DIDATES. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the Ethics in Govern13 ment Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 

14 (1) by inserting after section 102 the following: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 102A. DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INCOME TAX RE16 TURNS BY PRESIDENTS, VICE PRESIDENTS, 

17 MEMBERS OF CONGRESS, AND CERTAIN CAN18 DIDATES. 

19 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

20 ‘‘(1) the term ‘covered candidate’ means an in21 dividual— 

22 ‘‘(A) required to file a report under section 

23 101(c); and 


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1 ‘‘(B) who is nominated by a major party 

2 as a candidate for the office of President, Vice 

3 President, or Member of Congress; 

4 ‘‘(2) the term ‘covered individual’ means— 

5 ‘‘(A) a President, Vice President, or Mem6 ber of Congress required to file a report under 

7 subsection (a) or (d) of section 101; and 

8 ‘‘(B) an individual who occupies the office 

9 of the President, Vice President, or a Member 

10 of Congress required to file a report under sec11 tion 101(e); 

12 ‘‘(3) the term ‘income tax return’ means, with 

13 respect to any covered candidate or covered indi14 vidual, any return (within the meaning of section 

15 6103(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) re16 lated to Federal income taxes, but does not in17 clude— 

18 ‘‘(A) information returns issued to persons 

19 other than such covered candidate or covered 

20 individual; and 

21 ‘‘(B) declarations of estimated tax; and 

22 ‘‘(4) the term ‘major party’ has the meaning 

23 given the term in section 9002 of the Internal Rev24 enue Code of 1986. 

25 ‘‘(b) DISCLOSURE.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) COVERED INDIVIDUALS.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the in3 formation described in subsections (a) and (b) 

4 of section 102, a covered individual shall in5 clude in each report required to be filed under 

6 this title a copy of the income tax returns of the 

7 covered individual for— 

8 ‘‘(i) with respect to the President or 

9 Vice President, the 8 most recent taxable 

10 years and every year the individual was in 

11 Federal elected office for which a return 

12 have been filed with the Internal Revenue 

13 Service as of the date on which the report 

14 is filed; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) with respect to a Member of 

16 Congress, the 2 most recent taxable years 

17 and every year the individual was in Fed18 eral elected office for which a return has 

19 been filed with the Internal Revenue Serv20 ice as of the date on which the report is 

21 filed. 

22 ‘‘(B) FAILURE TO DISCLOSE.—If an in23 come tax return is not disclosed under subpara24 graph (A), the Director of the Office of Public 

25 Integrity shall submit to the Secretary of the 


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1 Treasury a request that the Secretary of the 

2 Treasury provide the Director of the Office of 

3 Public Integrity with a copy of the income tax 

4 return. 

5 ‘‘(C) PUBLICLY AVAILABLE.—Each income 

6 tax return submitted under this paragraph shall 

7 be filed with the Director of the Office of Public 

8 Integrity and made publicly available in the 

9 same manner as the information described in 

10 subsections (a) and (b) of section 102. 

11 ‘‘(D) REDACTION OF CERTAIN INFORMA12 TION.—Before making any income tax return 

13 submitted under this paragraph available to the 

14 public, the Director of the Office of Public In15 tegrity shall redact such information as the Di16 rector of the Office of Public Integrity, in con17 sultation with the Secretary of the Treasury de18 termines appropriate. 

19 ‘‘(2) CANDIDATES.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 15 

21 days after the date on which a covered can22 didate is nominated, the covered candidate shall 

23 amend the report filed by the covered candidate 

24 under section 101(c) with the Federal Election 


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1 Commission to include a copy of the income tax 

2 returns of the covered candidate for— 

3 ‘‘(i) with respect to a candidate for 

4 nomination or election to the office of 

5 President or Vice President, the 8 most re6 cent taxable years and every year the indi7 vidual was in Federal elected office for 

8 which a return has been filed with the In9 ternal Revenue Service; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) with respect to a candidate for 

11 nomination or election to the office of 

12 Member of Congress, the 2 most recent 

13 taxable years and every year the individual 

14 was in Federal elected office for which a 

15 return has been filed with the Internal 

16 Revenue Service. 

17 ‘‘(B) FAILURE TO DISCLOSE.—If an in18 come tax return is not disclosed under subpara19 graph (A) the Federal Election Commission 

20 shall submit to the Secretary of the Treasury a 

21 request that the Secretary of the Treasury pro22 vide the Federal Election Commission with the 

23 income tax return. 

24 ‘‘(C) PUBLICLY AVAILABLE.—Each income 

25 tax return submitted under this paragraph shall 


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1 be filed with the Federal Election Commission 

2 and made publicly available in the same manner 

3 as the information described in section 102(b). 

4 ‘‘(D) REDACTION OF CERTAIN INFORMA5 TION.—Before making any income tax return 

6 submitted under this paragraph available to the 

7 public, the Federal Election Commission shall 

8 redact such information as the Federal Election 

9 Commission, in consultation with the Secretary 

10 of the Treasury and the Director of the Office 

11 of Public Integrity, determines appropriate. 

12 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULE FOR SITTING PRESI13 DENTS.—Not later than 30 days after the date of 

14 enactment of this section, the President shall submit 

15 to the Director of the Office of Public Integrity a 

16 copy of the income tax returns described in para17 graph (1)(A)(i).’’; and 

18 (2) in section 104— 

19 (A) in subsection (a)— 

20 (i) in paragraph (1), in the first sen21 tence, by inserting ‘‘, 102B, or 102C, or 

22 any individual who knowingly and willfully 

23 falsifies or who knowingly and willfully 

24 fails to file an income tax return that such 

25 individual is required to disclose pursuant 


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1 to section 102A, 102B, or 102C’’ before 

2 the period; and 

3 (ii) in paragraph (2)(A)— 

4 (I) in clause (i), by inserting 

5 ‘‘102B, or 102C, or falsify any income 

6 tax return that such person is re7 quired to disclose under section 102A, 

8 102B, or 102C’’ before the semicolon; 

9 and 

10 (II) in clause (ii), by inserting 

11 ‘‘102B, or 102C, or fail to file any in12 come tax return that such person is 

13 required to disclosed under section 

14 102A, 102B, or 102C’’ before the pe15 riod; 

16 (B) in subsection (b), in the first sentence 

17 by inserting ‘‘or willfully failed to file or has 

18 willfully falsified an income tax return required 

19 to be disclosed under section 102A, 102B, or 

20 102C’’ before the period; 

21 (C) in subsection (c), by inserting ‘‘or fail22 ing to file or falsifying an income tax return re23 quired to be disclosed under section 102A, 

24 102B, or 102C’’ before the period; and 

25 (D) in subsection (d)(1)— 


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1 (i) in the matter preceding subpara2 graph (A), by inserting ‘‘or files an income 

3 tax return required to be disclosed under 

4 section 102A, 102B, or 102C’’ after 

5 ‘‘title’’; and 

6 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

7 ‘‘or such income tax return, as applicable,’’ 

8 after ‘‘report’’. 

9 (b) AUTHORITY TO DISCLOSE INFORMATION.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 6103(l) of the Inter11 nal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at 

12 the end the following new paragraph: 

13 ‘‘(23) DISCLOSURE OF RETURN INFORMATION

14 OF PRESIDENTS, VICE PRESIDENTS, MEMBERS OF

15 CONGRESS, AND CERTAIN CANDIDATES.— 

16 ‘‘(A) DISCLOSURE OF RETURNS OF PRESI17 DENTS, VICE PRESIDENTS, AND MEMBERS OF

18 CONGRESS.— 

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

20 shall, upon written request from the Direc21 tor of the Office of Public Integrity pursu22 ant to section 102A(b)(1)(B) of the Ethics 

23 in Government Act of 1978, provide to of24 ficers and employees of the Office of Public 

25 Integrity a copy of any income tax return 


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1 of any President, Vice President, or Mem2 ber of Congress that is required to be filed 

3 under section 102A(b)(1) of such Act. 

4 ‘‘(ii) DISCLOSURE TO PUBLIC.—The 

5 Director of the Office of Public Integrity 

6 may disclose to the public any income tax 

7 return of any President, Vice President, 

8 and Member of Congress that is required 

9 to be filed with the Director of the Office 

10 of Public Integrity pursuant to section 

11 102A(b)(1) of the Ethics in Government 

12 Act of 1978. 

13 ‘‘(B) DISCLOSURE OF RETURNS OF CER14 TAIN CANDIDATES FOR PRESIDENT, VICE

15 PRESIDENT, AND MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

17 shall, upon written request from the Chair18 man of the Federal Election Commission 

19 pursuant to section 102A(b)(2)(B) of the 

20 Ethics in Government Act of 1978, provide 

21 to officers and employees of the Federal 

22 Election Commission copies of the applica23 ble returns of any covered candidate (as 

24 defined in section 102A(a) of such Act). 


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1 ‘‘(ii) DISCLOSURE TO PUBLIC.—The 

2 Federal Election Commission may disclose 

3 to the public any applicable return of any 

4 covered candidate (as defined in section 

5 102A(a) of such Act) that is required to be 

6 filed with the Commission pursuant to sec7 tion 102A(b)(2) of the Ethics in Govern8 ment Act. 

9 ‘‘(iii) APPLICABLE RETURNS.—For 

10 purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘ap11 plicable returns’ means— 

12 ‘‘(I) with respect to any covered 

13 candidate for the office of President 

14 or Vice President, income tax returns 

15 for the 8 most recent taxable years 

16 and every year the individual was in 

17 Federal elected office for which a re18 turn has been filed as of the date of 

19 the nomination; and 

20 ‘‘(II) with respect to any covered 

21 candidate for the office of Member of 

22 Congress, income tax returns for the 

23 2 most recent taxable years and every 

24 year the individual was in Federal 

25 elected office for which a return has 


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1 been filed as of the date of the nomi2 nation.’’. 

3 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

4 6103(p)(4) of such Code, in the matter preceding 

5 subparagraph (A) and in subparagraph (F)(ii), is 

6 amended by striking ‘‘or (22)’’ and inserting ‘‘(22), 

7 or (23)’’ each place it appears. 

8 SEC. 603. TRANSPARENCY RELATING TO CANDIDATES FOR 

9 FEDERAL OFFICE AND MEMBERS OF CON10 GRESS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the Ethics in Govern12 ment Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by inserting 

13 after section 102A, as added by section 602 of this Act, 

14 the following: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 102B. DISCLOSURE RELATING TO COVERED ENTITIES 

16 ASSOCIATED WITH MEMBERS OF CONGRESS 

17 AND COVERED CANDIDATES. 

18 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

19 ‘‘(1) the term ‘close family member’, with re20 spect to a reporting individual, includes— 

21 ‘‘(A) a parent of the reporting individual; 

22 ‘‘(B) a spouse of the reporting individual; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(C) an adult child of the reporting indi25 vidual; 


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1 ‘‘(2) the term ‘covered candidate’ has the mean2 ing given the term in section 102A(a); 

3 ‘‘(3) the term ‘covered entity’ means a corpora4 tion, company, firm, partnership, or other business 

5 enterprise; 

6 ‘‘(4) the term ‘gross receipts’ has the meaning 

7 given the term in section 993(f) of the Internal Rev8 enue Code of 1986; 

9 ‘‘(5) the term ‘income tax return’ has the 

10 meaning given the term in section 102A(a); 

11 ‘‘(6) the term ‘Member of Congress’ means— 

12 ‘‘(A) a Member of Congress required to file 

13 a report under subsection (a) or (d) of section 

14 101; and 

15 ‘‘(B) an individual who occupies the office 

16 of Member of Congress and is required to file 

17 a report under section 101(e); and 

18 ‘‘(7) the term ‘reporting individual’ means— 

19 ‘‘(A) a covered candidate; or 

20 ‘‘(B) a Member of Congress. 

21 ‘‘(b) DISCLOSURE.— 

22 ‘‘(1) MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date 

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1 sultation with the Federal Election Commission, 

2 promulgates regulations under paragraph (3), 

3 in addition to the information described in sub4 sections (a) and (b) of section 102, a Member 

5 of Congress shall include in each report re6 quired to be filed under this title, with respect 

7 to the 2 most recent taxable years and every 

8 year the Member of Congress was in Federal 

9 elected office for which an income tax return 

10 has been filed with the Internal Revenue Serv11 ice as of the date on which the report is filed— 

12 ‘‘(i) a statement of the name of any 

13 covered entity— 

14 ‘‘(I) in which the Member of 

15 Congress has a significant direct or 

16 indirect ownership interest; and 

17 ‘‘(II) that has gross receipts that 

18 meet or exceed the threshold value es19 tablished by regulations promulgated 

20 pursuant to paragraph (3); 

21 ‘‘(ii) a copy of any income tax return 

22 filed by a covered entity described in clause 

23 (i) for any taxable year ending with or 

24 within such years; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) in the case of a covered entity 

2 described in clause (i) that is a privately 

3 owned or closely held covered entity, a 

4 statement of— 

5 ‘‘(I) each— 

6 ‘‘(aa) asset of the covered 

7 entity; and 

8 ‘‘(bb) liability of the covered 

9 entity; 

10 ‘‘(II) all— 

11 ‘‘(aa) income from sources 

12 within the United States, as de13 scribed in section 861 of the In14 ternal Revenue Code of 1986; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(bb) income from sources 

17 without the United States, as de18 scribed in section 862 of the In19 ternal Revenue Code of 1986; 

20 ‘‘(III) the name of each co-owner 

21 or co-member of the covered entity; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(IV) for any co-owner or co24 member described in subclause (III) 

25 that is not a natural person, the name 


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1 of each natural person that controls, 

2 directly or indirectly, the co-owner or 

3 co-member. 

4 ‘‘(B) CLOSE FAMILY MEMBERS.—In addi5 tion to the information described in subpara6 graph (A), the Director of the Office of Public 

7 Integrity may, on a case-by-case basis and in 

8 accordance with the regulations promulgated 

9 under paragraph (3), require that a Member of 

10 Congress include in each report required to be 

11 filed under this title by the Member of Congress 

12 the information described in subparagraph (A) 

13 with respect to any covered entity— 

14 ‘‘(i) in which a close family member of 

15 the Member of Congress has a significant 

16 direct or indirect ownership interest; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) that has gross receipts that meet 

18 or exceed the threshold value established 

19 by regulations promulgated pursuant to 

20 paragraph (3). 

21 ‘‘(C) FAILURE TO DISCLOSE.—If an in22 come tax return is not disclosed under subpara23 graph (A)(ii), the Director of the Office of Pub24 lic Integrity shall submit to the Secretary of the 

25 Treasury a request that the Secretary of the 


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1 Treasury provide the Director of the Office of 

2 Public Integrity with a copy of the income tax 

3 return. 

4 ‘‘(D) PUBLICLY AVAILABLE.—All informa5 tion, including any income tax return, described 

6 in this subsection required to be included in a 

7 report under this title shall be filed with the Di8 rector of the Office of Public Integrity and 

9 made publicly available in the same manner as 

10 the information described in subsections (a) and 

11 (b) of section 102. 

12 ‘‘(E) REDACTION OF CERTAIN INFORMA13 TION.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Before making 

15 any information, including any income tax 

16 return, described in this paragraph re17 quired to be included in a report under 

18 this title available to the public, the Direc19 tor of the Office of Public Integrity shall 

20 redact— 

21 ‘‘(I) if the information contained 

22 in the report contains a trade secret 

23 the disclosure of which is likely to 

24 cause substantial harm to the com25 petitive position of the covered entity 


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1 to which the information contained in 

2 the report pertains, the information 

3 relating to the trade secret; and 

4 ‘‘(II) such information as the Di5 rector of the Office of Public Integ6 rity, in consultation with the Sec7 retary of the Treasury, determines ap8 propriate. 

9 ‘‘(ii) REQUEST FOR REDACTION.—A 

10 Member of Congress submitting a report 

11 under this title that contains information, 

12 including any income tax return, described 

13 in this paragraph that contains a trade se14 cret described in clause (i)(I) may request 

15 that the Director of the Office of Public 

16 Integrity redact the information relating to 

17 the trade secret. 

18 ‘‘(2) CANDIDATES.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date 

20 that is 180 days after the date on which the Di21 rector of the Office of Public Integrity, in con22 sultation with the Federal Election Commission, 

23 promulgates regulations under paragraph (3), 

24 not later than 15 days after the date on which 

25 a covered candidate is nominated, the covered 


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1 candidate shall amend the report filed by the 

2 covered candidate under section 101(c) with the 

3 Federal Election Commission to include, with 

4 respect to the years described in subparagraph 

5 (B)— 

6 ‘‘(i) a statement of the name of any 

7 covered entity— 

8 ‘‘(I) in which the covered can9 didate has a significant direct or indi10 rect ownership interest; and 

11 ‘‘(II) that has gross receipts that 

12 meet or exceed the threshold value es13 tablished by regulations promulgated 

14 pursuant to paragraph (3); 

15 ‘‘(ii) a copy of any income tax return 

16 filed by a covered entity described in clause 

17 (i) for any taxable year ending with or 

18 within such years; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) in the case of a covered entity 

20 described in clause (i) that is a privately 

21 owned or closely held covered entity, a 

22 statement of— 

23 ‘‘(I) each— 

24 ‘‘(aa) asset of the covered 

25 entity; and 


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1 ‘‘(bb) liability of the covered 

2 entity; 

3 ‘‘(II) all— 

4 ‘‘(aa) income from sources 

5 within the United States, as de6 scribed in section 861 of the In7 ternal Revenue Code of 1986; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(bb) income from sources 

10 without the United States, as de11 scribed in section 862 of the In12 ternal Revenue Code of 1986; 

13 ‘‘(III) the name of each co-owner 

14 or co-member of the covered entity; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(IV) for any co-owner or co17 member described in subclause (III) 

18 that is not a natural person, the name 

19 of each natural person that controls, 

20 directly or indirectly, the co-owner or 

21 co-member. 

22 ‘‘(B) APPLICABLE YEARS.—The years de23 scribed in this subparagraph are as follows: 

24 ‘‘(i) In the case of a report filed under 

25 section 101(c) by a covered candidate for 


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1 the office of President or Vice President, 

2 the 8 years preceding the date on which 

3 the report is filed. 

4 ‘‘(ii) In the case of a report filed 

5 under section 101(c) by a covered can6 didate for the office of Member of Con7 gress, the 2 years preceding the date on 

8 which the report is filed. 

9 ‘‘(C) CLOSE FAMILY MEMBERS.—In addi10 tion to the information described in subpara11 graph (A), the Federal Election Commission 

12 may, on a case-by-case basis and in accordance 

13 with the regulations promulgated under para14 graph (3), require that a covered candidate in15 clude in each report required to be filed under 

16 section 101(c) by the covered candidate the in17 formation described in subparagraph (A) with 

18 respect to any covered entity— 

19 ‘‘(i) in which a close family member of 

20 the covered candidate has a significant di21 rect or indirect ownership interest; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) that has gross receipts that meet 

23 or exceed the threshold value established 

24 by regulations promulgated pursuant to 

25 paragraph (3). 


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1 ‘‘(D) FAILURE TO DISCLOSE.—If an in2 come tax return is not disclosed under subpara3 graph (A)(ii), the Chairman of the Federal 

4 Election Commission shall submit to the Sec5 retary of the Treasury a request that the Sec6 retary of the Treasury provide the Federal 

7 Election Commission with a copy of the income 

8 tax return. 

9 ‘‘(E) PUBLICLY AVAILABLE.—All informa10 tion, including any income tax return, described 

11 in this subsection required to be included in a 

12 report under section 101(c) shall be filed with 

13 the Federal Election Commission and made 

14 publicly available in the same manner as the in15 formation described in subsections (a) and (b) 

16 of section 102. 

17 ‘‘(F) REDACTION OF CERTAIN INFORMA18 TION.— 

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Before making 

20 any information, including any income tax 

21 return, described in this paragraph re22 quired to be included in a report under 

23 section 101(c) available to the public, the 

24 Federal Election Commission shall re25 dact— 


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1 ‘‘(I) if the information contained 

2 in the report contains a trade secret 

3 the disclosure of which is likely to 

4 cause substantial harm to the com5 petitive position of the covered entity 

6 to which the information contained in 

7 the report pertains, the information 

8 relating to the trade secret; and 

9 ‘‘(II) such information as the 

10 Federal Election Commission, in con11 sultation with the Secretary of the 

12 Treasury, determines appropriate. 

13 ‘‘(ii) REQUEST FOR REDACTION.—A 

14 covered candidate submitting a report 

15 under section 101(c) that contains infor16 mation, including any income tax return, 

17 described in this paragraph that contains a 

18 trade secret described in clause (i)(I) may 

19 request that the Federal Election Commis20 sion redact the information relating to the 

21 trade secret. 

22 ‘‘(3) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 120 days 

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1 sultation with the Federal Elections Commission, 

2 promulgate regulations to— 

3 ‘‘(A) establish each threshold value for 

4 purposes of— 

5 ‘‘(i) subparagraphs (A)(i)(II) and 

6 (B)(ii) of paragraph (1); and 

7 ‘‘(ii) subparagraphs (A)(i)(II) and 

8 (C)(ii) of paragraph (2); 

9 ‘‘(B) define the term ‘significant direct or 

10 indirect interest’; 

11 ‘‘(C) ensure that information described in 

12 this subsection that is required to be contained 

13 in a report filed under this title does not— 

14 ‘‘(i) disclose any trade secret that is 

15 likely to cause substantial harm to the 

16 competitive position of the covered entity 

17 to which it pertains; or 

18 ‘‘(ii) violate the privacy of any indi19 vidual who is not the reporting individual 

20 who files the report; and 

21 ‘‘(D) prescribe appropriate circumstances 

22 in which to require a Member of Congress or 

23 covered candidate to provide information under 

24 paragraph (1)(B) or (2)(C). 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 102C. DISCLOSURE RELATING TO COVERED ORGANI2 ZATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH COVERED CAN3 DIDATES. 

4 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

5 ‘‘(1) the term ‘covered candidate’ has the mean6 ing given the term in section 102A(a); 

7 ‘‘(2) the term ‘covered organization’ means an 

8 organization required to— 

9 ‘‘(A) file an income tax return under sec10 tion 6033 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

11 1986; and 

12 ‘‘(B) include information under subsection 

13 (e) thereof; 

14 ‘‘(3) the term ‘income tax return’ has the 

15 meaning given the term in section 102A(a); and 

16 ‘‘(4) the term ‘key employee’ means— 

17 ‘‘(A) an individual who is 1 of the 5 indi18 viduals receiving the highest amount of com19 pensation paid by a covered organization; or 

20 ‘‘(B) an individual receiving compensation 

21 paid by a covered organization in an amount 

22 that exceeds $100,000. 

23 ‘‘(b) DISCLOSURE.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 15 days 

25 after the date on which a covered candidate is nomi26 nated, the covered candidate shall amend the report 


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1 filed by the covered candidate under section 101(c) 

2 with the Federal Election Commission to include— 

3 ‘‘(A) a statement identifying each covered 

4 organization of which the covered candidate has 

5 been an officer, director, trustee, board mem6 ber, or key employee during the 2 years pre7 ceding the date on which the report is filed; and 

8 ‘‘(B) for each covered organization identi9 fied under subparagraph (A), a copy of each in10 come tax return required to be filed by the cov11 ered organization under section 6033 of the In12 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 for each taxable 

13 year ending with or within any taxable years 

14 described in subparagraph (A) in which the cov15 ered candidate was an officer, director, trustee, 

16 board member, or key employee of the covered 

17 organization. 

18 ‘‘(2) FAILURE TO DISCLOSE.—If an income tax 

19 return is not disclosed under paragraph (1)(B), the 

20 Federal Election Commission shall submit to the 

21 Secretary of the Treasury a request that the Sec22 retary of the Treasury provide the Federal Election 

23 Commission with the income tax return. 

24 ‘‘(3) PUBLICLY AVAILABLE.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—All information, in2 cluding any income tax return, described in this 

3 subsection required to be included in a report 

4 under section 101(c) shall be filed with the 

5 Federal Election Commission and made publicly 

6 available in the same manner as the informa7 tion described in section 102(b). 

8 ‘‘(B) INCOME TAX RETURNS.—The Direc9 tor of the Office of Public Integrity shall make 

10 a copy of each income tax return described in 

11 paragraph (1)(B) included in a report filed 

12 under section 101(c) publicly available on the 

13 website described in section 402(b)(19) until— 

14 ‘‘(i) the date on which the reporting 

15 individual ceases to be a covered candidate; 

16 or 

17 ‘‘(ii) if the reporting individual is 

18 elected to the office for which the reporting 

19 individual was a covered candidate, the 

20 date on which the reporting individual 

21 ceases to serve in the office for which the 

22 reporting individual was a covered can23 didate. 

24 ‘‘(4) REDACTION.—Before making any informa25 tion, including any income tax return, described in 


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1 this subsection required to be included in a report 

2 under section 101(c) available to the public, the 

3 Federal Election Commission shall redact such infor4 mation as the Federal Election Commission, in con5 sultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the 

6 Director of the Office of Public Integrity, determines 

7 appropriate.’’. 

8 (b) AUTHORITY TO DISCLOSE INFORMATION.—Para9 graph (23) of section 6103(l) of the Internal Revenue 

10 Code of 1986, as added by section 602, is amended by 

11 adding at the end the following new subparagraphs: 

12 ‘‘(C) DISCLOSURE OF RETURNS OF COV13 ERED ENTITIES ASSOCIATED WITH MEMBERS

14 OF CONGRESS AND COVERED CANDIDATES.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.— 

16 ‘‘(I) COVERED ENTITIES ASSOCI17 ATED WITH MEMBERS OF CON18 GRESS.—The Secretary shall, upon 

19 written request from the Director of 

20 the Office of Public Integrity pursu21 ant to section 102B(b)(1)(C) of the 

22 Ethics in Government Act of 1978 

23 provide to officers and employees of 

24 the Office of Public Integrity a copy 

25 of any income tax return of a covered 


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1 entity (as defined in section 102B(a) 

2 of such Act) that relates to a year de3 scribed in section 102B(b)(1)(A) of 

4 such Act and is required to be filed 

5 under section 102B(b) of such Act. 

6 ‘‘(II) COVERED ENTITIES ASSOCI7 ATED WITH COVERED CANDIDATES.— 

8 The Secretary shall, upon written re9 quest from the Chairman of the Fed10 eral Election Commission pursuant to 

11 section 102B(b)(2)(D) of the Ethics 

12 in Government Act of 1978 provide to 

13 officers and employees of the Federal 

14 Election Commission a copy of any in15 come tax return of a covered entity 

16 (as defined in section 102B(a) of such 

17 Act) that relates to a year described 

18 in section 102B(b)(2)(B) of such Act 

19 and is required to be filed under sec20 tion 102B(b) of such Act. 

21 ‘‘(ii) DISCLOSURE TO PUBLIC.—The 

22 Director of the Office of Public Integrity 

23 and the Chairman of the Federal Election 

24 Commission may disclose to the public the 

25 income tax return of any covered entity (as 


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1 so defined) that is required to be filed pur2 suant to section 102B(b) of the Ethics in 

3 Government Act of 1978. 

4 ‘‘(D) DISCLOSURE OF RETURNS OF COV5 ERED ORGANIZATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH COV6 ERED CANDIDATES.— 

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

8 shall, upon written request from the Chair9 man of the Federal Election Commission 

10 pursuant to section 102C(b)(2) of the Eth11 ics in Government Act of 1978, provide to 

12 officers and employees of the Federal Elec13 tion Commission copies of any income tax 

14 return required to be filed under section 

15 6033 by an organization described in 

16 clause (iii) for any year taxable year end17 ing with or within the period described in 

18 section 102C(b)(1)(B) of such Act. 

19 ‘‘(ii) DISCLOSURE TO PUBLIC.—The 

20 Federal Election Commission may disclose 

21 to the public income tax returns of any or22 ganization described in clause (iii) that is 

23 required to be filed with the Commission 

24 pursuant to section 102C(b) of the Ethics 

25 in Government Act of 1978. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) ORGANIZATION DESCRIBED.— 

2 An organization is described in this clause 

3 if such organization is a covered organiza4 tion (as defined in section 102C(a) of the 

5 Ethics in Government Act of 1978) of 

6 which a person who has been nominated as 

7 a covered candidate (as defined in section 

8 102A(a) of such Act) has been an officer, 

9 director, trustee, board member, or key 

10 employee (as defined in section 102C(a) of 

11 such Act) during the period described in 

12 section 102C(b)(1)(A) of such Act.’’. 

13 (c) PROVISION OF FINANCIAL DISCLOSURES TO THE

14 FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION.—Section 103(j) of the 

15 Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is 

16 amended— 

17 (1) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end the 

18 following: ‘‘In the case of a report filed under this 

19 title with the Clerk of the House of Representatives 

20 by a covered candidate, as defined in section 

21 102A(a), a copy of the report shall also be sent by 

22 the Clerk to the Federal Election Commission within 

23 the 7-day period beginning on the day the report is 

24 filed.’’; and 


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1 (2) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end the 

2 following: ‘‘In the case of a report filed under this 

3 title with the Secretary of the Senate by a covered 

4 candidate, as defined in section 102A(a), a copy of 

5 the report shall also be sent by the Secretary to the 

6 Federal Election Commission within the 7-day pe7 riod beginning on the day the report is filed.’’. 

8 Subtitle B—Think Tank, Nonprofit, 

9 and Advocate Transparency 

10 SEC. 611. AMENDMENTS TO THE LOBBYING DISCLOSURE 

11 ACT OF 1995. 

12 (a) ENFORCEMENT REPORT.—Section 6(b) of the 

13 Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1605(b)) is 

14 amended— 

15 (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(1) REPORTS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara19 graph (B), after the end of each semiannual pe20 riod beginning on January 1 and July 1, the 

21 Attorney General, in consultation with the Di22 rector of the Office of Public Integrity, shall 

23 submit to each congressional committee referred 

24 to in paragraph (2) a report that includes, for 

25 that semiannual period a statement of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the aggregate number of enforce2 ment actions taken by the Department of 

3 Justice under this Act; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) by case, any sentence or fine im5 posed in each such enforcement action. 

6 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION NOT ALREADY A MAT7 TER OF PUBLIC RECORD.—A report submitted 

8 under subparagraph (A) may not include the 

9 name of any individual, or any personally iden10 tifiable information, that is not already a mat11 ter of public record, as of the date on which the 

12 report is submitted.’’; and 

13 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘paragraph (1)’’ and in15 serting ‘‘paragraph (1)(A)’’; and 

16 (B) by inserting ‘‘and the Committee on 

17 Oversight and Government Reform’’ after 

18 ‘‘Committee on the Judiciary’’. 

19 (b) REPORTS BY THINK TANK, NONPROFIT, AND AD20 VOCACY GROUPS.—The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 

21 (2 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) is amended— 

22 (1) by redesignating sections 6 through 28 (2 

23 U.S.C. 1605 et seq.), as amended by title II of this 

24 Act, as sections 7 through 29, respectively; and 


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1 (2) by inserting after section 5 (2 U.S.C. 1604) 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 6. REPORTS BY THINK TANK, NONPROFIT, AND ADVO4 CACY GROUPS. 

5 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—In this section— 

6 ‘‘(1) the term ‘covered organization’ means any 

7 organization— 

8 ‘‘(A) that is described in paragraph (3), 

9 (4), or (6) of section 501(c) of the Internal 

10 Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax 

11 under section 501(a) of such Code; and 

12 ‘‘(B) that— 

13 ‘‘(i) engages in lobbying activities; or 

14 ‘‘(ii) is a client; and 

15 ‘‘(2) the term ‘covered product’ means any com16 munication that is— 

17 ‘‘(A) made to a covered legislative branch 

18 official or covered executive branch official in 

19 the course of any lobbying contact by, or on be20 half of, a covered organization; 

21 ‘‘(B) testimony— 

22 ‘‘(i) given by, or on behalf of, a cov23 ered organization before a committee, sub24 committee, or task force of Congress; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) submitted by, or on behalf of, a 

2 covered organization for inclusion in the 

3 public record of a hearing conducted by 

4 such committee, subcommittee, or task 

5 force; or 

6 ‘‘(C) made by, or on behalf of, a covered 

7 organization in response to a notice in the Fed8 eral Register, Commerce Business Daily, or 

9 other similar publication soliciting communica10 tions from the public and directed to the agency 

11 official specifically designated in the notice to 

12 receive such communications. 

13 ‘‘(b) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

14 of enactment of this section, and not later than January 

15 30th of each year thereafter, or on the first business day 

16 after January 30th if January 30th is not a business day, 

17 each covered organization shall submit to the Director of 

18 the Office of Public Integrity a report for the preceding 

19 calendar year that includes, with respect to each covered 

20 product made or given by, or on behalf of, the covered 

21 organization during that year— 

22 ‘‘(1) the name of each donor who donated any 

23 amount that was— 

24 ‘‘(A) used to pay the cost of making or giv25 ing the covered product; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) donated with the intention of sup2 porting any lobbying activity by the covered or3 ganization; and 

4 ‘‘(2) a statement of whether, before the date on 

5 which the covered product was made or given, any 

6 existing or potential donor to the covered organiza7 tion previewed, commented on, reviewed, or edited 

8 the covered product. 

9 ‘‘(c) DISCLOSURE.—The information required to be 

10 submitted with respect to a covered product under sub11 section (b)(2) shall be included on or with that covered 

12 product.’’. 

13 (c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

14 Section 25(b) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, as 

15 so redesignated, is amended, in the matter preceding para16 graph (1), by striking ‘‘9, 10, 11, and 12’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘10, 11, 12, and 13’’. 

18 SEC. 612. AMENDMENTS TO THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE 

19 OF 1986. 

20 (a) INCLUSION OF LOBBYING INFORMATION ON AN21 NUAL RETURNS OF CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS.—Sec22 tion 6033(b)(5) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

23 amended— 

24 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ before ‘‘the names’’; and 


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1 (2) by inserting ‘‘and, if it engages in lobbying 

2 activities (as defined in section 3 of the Lobbying 

3 Disclosure Act of 1995) or is a client (as defined in 

4 such section), a statement of whether any such con5 tribution was intended to support any lobbying activ6 ity (as so defined) or lobbying contact (as defined in 

7 such section) by or on behalf of it, and, if so, a de8 scription of such lobbying activity or lobbying con9 tact’’ after ‘‘substantial contributors,’’. 

10 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

11 this section shall apply to returns required to be filed for 

12 taxable years ending on or after the date that is 1 year 

13 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

14 Subtitle C—Strengthening FOIA 

15 Enforcement 

16 SEC. 621. STRENGTHENING FOIA ENFORCEMENT. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 552 of title 5, United 

18 States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Freedom of Infor19 mation Act’’), is amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (a)— 

21 (A) in paragraph (4)— 

22 (i) in subparagraph (B), in the first 

23 sentence— 

24 (I) by striking ‘‘and to order’’ 

25 and inserting ‘‘, to order’’; and 


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1 (II) by inserting before the pe2 riod at the end the following: ‘‘, to 

3 order an agency to make available for 

4 public inspection, including by posting 

5 electronically, the records described in 

6 paragraph (2), to make available to 

7 the public on the website of the agen8 cy the records described in subsection 

9 (p), and to award other appropriate 

10 equitable relief’’; and 

11 (ii) in subparagraph (F)(i), in the 

12 first sentence— 

13 (I) by inserting ‘‘, orders an 

14 agency to make available for public in15 spection, including by posting elec16 tronically, the records described in 

17 paragraph (2), or orders an agency to 

18 make available to the public on the 

19 website of the agency the records de20 scribed in subsection (p),’’ after ‘‘im21 properly withheld from the complain22 ant’’; and 

23 (II) by inserting ‘‘or unavail24 ability of records’’ after ‘‘the withVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:49 Nov 21, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00268 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7140.IH H7140

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1 holding’’ each place that term ap2 pears; and 

3 (B) in paragraph (6), by adding at the end 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘(G)(i) Notwithstanding any determination 

6 made under subparagraph (A)(i), or any appeal to 

7 such a determination under subparagraph (A)(ii), 

8 the Office of Government Information Services es9 tablished under subsection (h) shall require an agen10 cy to comply with a request for records made under 

11 paragraph (1), (2), or (3), or any other requirement 

12 of this subsection, if the Office determines that the 

13 agency has not reasonably and impartially complied 

14 with the requirements of this subsection. 

15 ‘‘(ii) If the Office makes a determination under 

16 clause (i) that an agency has not reasonably or im17 partially complied with a request for records made 

18 under paragraph (1), (2), or (3), or any other re19 quirement of this subsection, and requires the agen20 cy to comply with that request or requirement, the 

21 Office shall make available to the public on the 

22 website of the Office that determination and any re23 sponse and regular update by the agency of compli24 ance by the agency. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) Nothing in clause (i) or (ii) shall be con2 strued to prevent or restrict the ability of an indi3 vidual to bring a suit to compel the disclosure of 

4 records under this section.’’; 

5 (2) in subsection (d), by inserting ‘‘any Member 

6 of’’ before ‘‘Congress’’; 

7 (3) in subsection (h)(3)— 

8 (A) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ before ‘‘The Of9 fice’’; and 

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

11 ‘‘(B) The Director of the Office of Public Integ12 rity, or a designee of the Director, may submit a 

13 non-binding recommendation to the Office of Gov14 ernment Information Services regarding the disclo15 sure of information under this section during a me16 diation service provided under subparagraph (A).’’; 

17 and 

18 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(n) Each agency shall maintain and make available 

20 through a single website, which may be the website de21 scribed in subsection (m) and shall be managed by the 

22 Office of Public Integrity, an agency record database 

23 that— 


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1 ‘‘(1) contains a log of the status of each open 

2 request for records from the agency under this sec3 tion; and 

4 ‘‘(2) makes each request for records under this 

5 section with which the agency complies available in 

6 a format that is searchable, sortable, machine read7 able, and downloadable not later than 60 days after 

8 the date on which the request is first received by the 

9 agency.’’. 

10 SEC. 622. EXEMPTIONS FROM DISCLOSURE. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 552(b) of title 5, United 

12 States Code, is amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (3)(B), by inserting ‘‘with an 

14 explanation for the exemption’’ after ‘‘specifically 

15 cites to this paragraph’’; 

16 (2) in paragraph (4), by inserting before the 

17 semicolon at the end the following: ‘‘, only if disclo18 sure of the commercial or financial information is 

19 likely to cause substantial harm to the competitive 

20 position of the person from whom the information 

21 was obtained’’; 

22 (3) in paragraph (5)— 

23 (A) by striking ‘‘provided that the delibera24 tive process privilege shall not apply to records 

25 created 25 years or more before the date on 


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1 which the records were requested’’ and insert2 ing ‘‘and excluding— 

3 ‘‘(A) any opinion that is a controlling interpre4 tation of law; 

5 ‘‘(B) any final report or memorandum created 

6 by an entity other than the agency, including other 

7 Governmental entities, at the request of the agency 

8 and used to make a final policy decision; 

9 ‘‘(C) any guidance document used by the agen10 cy to respond to the public; and 

11 ‘‘(D) any record created not less than 25 years 

12 before the date on which the records were re13 quested’’; 

14 (4) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘similar files’’ 

15 and inserting ‘‘personal information, such as per16 sonal contact information or personal financial infor17 mation,’’; 

18 (5) in paragraph (7)— 

19 (A) in subparagraph (E)— 

20 (i) by inserting a comma before ‘‘if 

21 such’’; and 

22 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and the record or in23 formation was created less than 25 years 

24 before the date on which the records were 


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1 requested’’ after ‘‘circumvention of the 

2 law’’; and 

3 (B) by adding ‘‘or’’ at the end; 

4 (6) by striking paragraph (8); 

5 (7) by redesignating paragraph (9) as para6 graph (8); and 

7 (8) in the flush text following paragraph (8), as 

8 so redesignated— 

9 (A) by inserting before ‘‘Any reasonably 

10 segregable portion’’ the following: ‘‘An agency 

11 may not withhold information under this sub12 section unless the agency reasonably foresees 

13 that disclosure would cause specific identifiable 

14 harm to an interest protected by an exemption, 

15 or if disclosure is prohibited by law.’’; and 

16 (B) by inserting before ‘‘If technically fea17 sible,’’ the following: ‘‘For each record withheld 

18 in whole or in part under paragraph (3), the 

19 agency shall identify the statute that exempts 

20 the record from disclosure.’’. 

21 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

22 (1) ENERGY POLICY AND CONSERVATION

23 ACT.—Section 254(a)(2)(A) of the Energy Policy 

24 and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6274(a)(2)(A)) is 


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1 amended by striking ‘‘(b)(9)’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘(b)(8)’’. 

3 (2) FEDERAL CREDIT UNION ACT.—Section 

4 216(j)(3)(A) of the Federal Credit Union Act (12 

5 U.S.C. 1790d(j)(3)(A)) is amended— 

6 (A) by striking ‘‘; or’’ and all that follows 

7 and inserting a period; and 

8 (B) by striking ‘‘excising’’ and all that fol9 lows through ‘‘any portion’’ and inserting ‘‘ex10 cising any portion’’. 

11 (3) SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934.—Sec12 tion 24 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 

13 U.S.C. 78x) is amended— 

14 (A) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘(g)’’ 

15 and inserting ‘‘(f)’’; 

16 (B) by striking subsection (e); and 

17 (C) by redesignating subsections (f) and 

18 (g) as subsections (e) and (f), respectively. 

19 SEC. 623. PUBLIC INTEREST BALANCING TEST. 

20 Section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly 

21 known as the ‘‘Freedom of Information Act’’), as amended 

22 by this subtitle, is amended— 

23 (1) in subsection (b), in the matter preceding 

24 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘This section’’ and in25 serting ‘‘Subject to subsection (o), this section’’; and 


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

2 ‘‘(o)(1) Notwithstanding the applicability of an ex3 emption from disclosure under subsection (b), an agency 

4 shall make available a record or any segregable portion 

5 of a record if the public interest in disclosure clearly out6 weighs the interest protected by the exemption. 

7 ‘‘(2) In evaluating the public interest in disclosing a 

8 record or a portion of a record under paragraph (1), an 

9 agency and courts shall consider— 

10 ‘‘(A) the extent to which access to the record 

11 will further public understanding of the operations 

12 or decision making of an agency or Government offi13 cial; 

14 ‘‘(B) the extent to which the age of the record 

15 diminishes the rationale for withholding the record; 

16 ‘‘(C) any reasonable suspicion of governmental 

17 wrongdoing; 

18 ‘‘(D) the importance of the record to the public 

19 in order for the public to make informed decisions 

20 with respect to the electoral and democratic process; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(E) any other factors that the agency or court 

23 determines necessary.’’. 


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1 SEC. 624. AFFIRMATIVE DISCLOSURE OF AGENCY RECORDS 

2 ON WEBSITE. 

3 Section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly 

4 known as the ‘‘Freedom of Information Act’’), as amended 

5 by this subtitle, is amended by adding at the end the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(p)(1) Each agency shall make available to the pub8 lic on the website of the agency— 

9 ‘‘(A) information relating to each advisory com10 mittee (as defined in section 3 of the Federal Advi11 sory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.)) of the agency, 

12 including— 

13 ‘‘(i) the charter of the advisory committee 

14 and a description of the activities of the advi15 sory committee; 

16 ‘‘(ii) the name and basic biography of each 

17 member of the advisory committee, and any 

18 conflict of interest, ethics waiver, or recusal in19 formation relating to each member; 

20 ‘‘(iii) the meeting agendas, minutes, tran21 scripts, and any recordings of the advisory com22 mittee; 

23 ‘‘(iv) any upcoming events of the advisory 

24 committee; 

25 ‘‘(v) timelines of any ongoing advisory 

26 committee work; and 


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1 ‘‘(vi) a full list of nominated members of 

2 the advisory committee and the final selected 

3 membership of the advisory committee; 

4 ‘‘(B) information relating to Federal contracts 

5 of the agency, including— 

6 ‘‘(i) a copy of each contract, task, and de7 livery order; 

8 ‘‘(ii) information on past performance of 

9 contractors, if available; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) except for information that is exempt 

11 from disclosure under subsection (b)(4), all cor12 respondence and documents related to the pro13 vision of services to the Federal Government by 

14 contractors earning— 

15 ‘‘(I) $10,000,000 during a 1-year pe16 riod under a Federal contract or license; or 

17 ‘‘(II) more than 20 percent of total 

18 revenue of the contractor from Federal 

19 sources; 

20 ‘‘(C) ethics documents maintained by the Office 

21 of Public Integrity, including— 

22 ‘‘(i) final submissions of ethics paperwork 

23 for an individual in a position on any level of 

24 the Executive Schedule under subchapter II of 

25 chapter 53 of this title; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) waivers; and 

2 ‘‘(iii) any document granting a recusal on 

3 a specific issue for an individual in a position 

4 on any level of the Executive Schedule under 

5 subchapter II of chapter 53 of this title; 

6 ‘‘(D) basic employee organizational charts and 

7 office contact information, including— 

8 ‘‘(i) charts that minimally include the 

9 names, job titles, and salaries of all noncareer 

10 appointees and career appointees, as defined in 

11 section 3132 of this title; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) front office contact information for 

13 every office within the agency; 

14 ‘‘(E) each communication sent to Congress or 

15 to a committee of Congress, including— 

16 ‘‘(i) congressional testimony; 

17 ‘‘(ii) each unclassified report submitted to 

18 Congress, as required by statute; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) each response to questions for con20 gressional hearing records, provided that the re21 sponse does not include individual casework or 

22 constituent information; and 

23 ‘‘(F) human resources data of the agency, in 

24 the aggregate, including— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the number of involuntary transfers, 

2 hires, and voluntary and involuntary departures 

3 each quarter; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) information on the racial, ethnic, and 

5 gender diversity with respect to hires, depar6 tures, and involuntary transfers. 

7 ‘‘(2) If an agency is unable to maintain a website de8 scribed in paragraph (1) due to resource constraints, the 

9 agency shall submit the information required to be made 

10 available under paragraph (1) to the Director of the Office 

11 of Public Integrity, who shall make the information avail12 able on a website managed by the Office of Public Integ13 rity, such as the website described in subsection (m).’’. 

14 SEC. 625. APPLICABILITY. 

15 This subtitle and the amendments made by this sub16 title shall apply on and after the date of enactment of this 

17 Act. 

18 Subtitle D—Federal Contractor 

19 Transparency 

20 SEC. 631. EXPANDING APPLICABILITY OF THE FREEDOM OF 

21 INFORMATION ACT TO FEDERAL CONTRAC22 TORS. 

23 (a) DEFINITION OF AGENCY.—In this section, the 

24 term ‘‘agency’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

25 552(f) of title 5, United States Code. 


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1 (b) APPLICABILITY OF FOIA.—A record relating to 

2 a Federal contractor, including a record relating to a non3 Federal prison, correctional, or detention facility, pro4 duced during fulfillment of the Federal contract with an 

5 agency with funds provided under the contract shall be— 

6 (1) considered a record for purposes of section 

7 552(f)(2) of title 5, United States Code, whether in 

8 the possession of the Federal contractor or an agen9 cy; and 

10 (2) subject to section 552 of title 5, United 

11 States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Freedom of 

12 Information Act’’), to the same extent as if the 

13 record was maintained by an agency. 

14 (c) WITHHOLDING OF INFORMATION.—An agency 

15 may not withhold information that would otherwise be re16 quired to be disclosed under subsection (b) unless— 

17 (1) the agency, based on the independent as18 sessment of the agency, reasonably foresees that dis19 closure of the information would cause specific iden20 tifiable harm to an interest protected by an exemp21 tion from disclosure under section 552(b) of title 5, 

22 United States Code; or 

23 (2) disclosure of the information is prohibited 

24 by law. 

25 (d) REGULATIONS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—An agency may promulgate 

2 regulations or guidance to ensure compliance with 

3 this section by the agency and Federal contractors. 

4 (2) COMPLIANCE BY FEDERAL CONTRAC5 TORS.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—Compliance with this 

7 section by an applicable entity shall be included 

8 as a material term in any contract, agreement, 

9 or renewal of a contract or agreement between 

10 the agency and the Federal contractor. 

11 (B) MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT OR

12 AGREEMENT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

13 date of enactment of this Act, an agency shall 

14 secure a modification to include compliance 

15 with this section by a Federal contractor as a 

16 material term in any contract or agreement de17 scribed under subparagraph (A) that will not 

18 otherwise be renegotiated, renewed, or modified 

19 before the date that is 1 year after the date of 

20 enactment of this Act. 

21 (e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec22 tion shall be construed to limit or reduce the scope of 

23 State or local open records laws. 


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1 SEC. 632. PUBLIC DISCLOSURE BY LARGE CONTRACTORS. 

2 (a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘covered 

3 contractor’’ means an entity that earns more than— 

4 (1) $10,000,000 during a 1-year period under 

5 a Federal contract or license; or 

6 (2) 20 percent of the total revenue of the entity 

7 from Federal sources. 

8 (b) REQUIREMENT.—Each covered contractor shall, 

9 on an annual basis, submit to the Director of the Office 

10 of Public Integrity and the Administrator of the Office 

11 of Federal Procurement Policy— 

12 (1) any audited financial statements of the cov13 ered contractor; 

14 (2) a listing of the salaries of employees of the 

15 covered contractor providing services on Federal 

16 contracts that are compensated over $100,000 per 

17 year; 

18 (3) a detailed list of all Federal political spend19 ing by the covered contractor; and 

20 (4) the identity of each beneficial owner of the 

21 covered contractor, including— 

22 (A) name; 

23 (B) current residential or business street 

24 address; and 

25 (C) whether the beneficial owner is a for26 eign person. 


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1 (c) PENALTY.—The Director of the Office of Man2 agement and Budget may— 

3 (1) in consultation with the Administrator of 

4 the Office of Federal Procurement Policy and the 

5 Director of the Office of Public Integrity, tempo6 rarily or indefinitely disqualify a covered contractor 

7 from receiving a Federal contract if the Director of 

8 the Office of Management and Budget determines 

9 that the covered contractor failed to comply with the 

10 requirement under subsection (b); and 

11 (2) reinstate the ability of a covered contractor 

12 described in paragraph (1) to receive a Federal con13 tract. 

14 Subtitle E—Congressional 

15 Transparency 

16 SEC. 641. INCREASED TRANSPARENCY OF COMMITTEE 

17 WORK. 

18 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

19 (1) the term ‘‘Committee’’ means— 

20 (A) a committee of the House of Rep21 resentatives; 

22 (B) a committee of the Senate; and 

23 (C) a subcommittee of a committee de24 scribed in paragraph (1) or (2); 


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1 (2) the term ‘‘covered hearing’’ means a public 

2 hearing held by a Committee; and 

3 (3) the term ‘‘covered markup’’ means a public 

4 markup held by a Committee. 

5 (b) SCHEDULE.—At the same time as the schedule 

6 is made available to members of a Committee, but not 

7 later than 7 days before the date of a covered hearing or 

8 covered markup (unless the Chairman and Ranking Mi9 nority Member of the Committee agree to waive the 7- 

10 day requirement), each Committee shall make available on 

11 the website of the Committee the schedule of covered hear12 ings and covered markups of the Committee. 

13 (c) INFORMATION REQUIRED FOR MARKUPS.—At the 

14 same time as the materials are made available to members 

15 of a Committee, but not later than 24 hours before the 

16 time of a covered markup (unless the Chairman and Rank17 ing Minority Member of the Committee agree to waive the 

18 24-hour requirement), the Committee shall make available 

19 on the website of the Committee any bill or resolution to 

20 be considered at the covered markup and any amendments 

21 to such a bill or resolution filed with the Committee. 

22 (d) ADDITIONAL REQUIRED INFORMATION.—Not 

23 later than 24 hours after holding a covered hearing or a 

24 covered markup, a Committee shall make available on the 

25 website of the Committee— 


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1 (1) a description of the topic of the covered 

2 hearing or covered markup; 

3 (2) any legislation related to the covered hear4 ing or covered markup; 

5 (3) the written testimony of any witness; 

6 (4) any documents or materials entered into the 

7 record; 

8 (5) any written opening statements of the 

9 Chairman or Ranking Minority Member of the Com10 mittee; and 

11 (6) audio and video recordings of the covered 

12 hearing or covered markup. 

13 (e) TRANSCRIPTS.—Not later than 45 days after 

14 holding a covered hearing or covered markup, a Com15 mittee shall make available on the website of the Com16 mittee transcripts of the covered hearing or covered mark17 up. 

18 (f) REPORTED MEASURES.—Not later than 24 hours 

19 after a covered markup during which a Committee orders 

20 a bill or resolution to be reported, the Committee shall 

21 post on the website of the Committee— 

22 (1) each amendment to the bill or resolution 

23 that was agreed to, except for technical and con24 forming changes authorized by the Committee; and 


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1 (2) a record of each vote taken on the bill or 

2 resolution or an amendment thereto. 

3 (g) COMPARATIVE PRINT.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 45 days after 

5 a Committee reports a bill or joint resolution pro6 posing to repeal or amend a statute or part thereof, 

7 the Committee shall include in its report or in an ac8 companying document and make available on the 

9 website of the Committee— 

10 (A) the entire text of each section of a 

11 statute that is proposed to be repealed or 

12 amended; and 

13 (B) a comparative print of each amend14 ment to a section of a statute that the bill or 

15 joint resolution proposes to make, showing by 

16 appropriate typographical devices the omissions 

17 and insertions proposed. 

18 (2) COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS.—If a Com19 mittee reports a bill or joint resolution proposing to 

20 repeal or amend a statute or part thereof with a rec21 ommendation that the bill or joint resolution be 

22 amended, the comparative print required by para23 graph (1) shall reflect the changes in existing law 

24 proposed to be made by the bill or joint resolution 

25 as proposed to be amended. 


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1 (3) AVAILABILITY.—Each Committee shall 

2 make reasonable efforts to make a comparative print 

3 required by paragraph (1) available to the members 

4 of the Committee and to the public as early as prac5 ticable, and before a covered markup, if practical. 

6 (h) QUESTIONS FOR THE RECORD.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para8 graph (2), for each covered hearing or covered mark9 up, a Committee shall make available on the website 

10 of the Committee any response to questions for the 

11 record of the covered hearing or covered markup 

12 that the Committee receives from a testifying wit13 ness. 

14 (2) PROTECTION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION.— 

15 Upon agreement by the Chairman and Ranking Mi16 nority Member of a Committee, a response described 

17 in paragraph (1) may be withheld from the website 

18 of the Committee if it includes individual casework 

19 or constituent information or information that the 

20 Chairman and Ranking Minority Member determine 

21 is confidential information. 


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1 SEC. 642. INCREASED TRANSPARENCY OF RECORDED 

2 VOTES. 

3 (a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘Member 

4 of Congress’’ means a member of the House of Represent5 atives and a member of the Senate. 

6 (b) ADDITIONAL DUTIES OF THE CLERK OF THE

7 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND THE SECRETARY OF

8 THE SENATE.—The Clerk of the House of Representatives 

9 and the Secretary of the Senate shall make available on 

10 the website of the Office of the Clerk or of the Secretary, 

11 respectively, a record of the recorded votes of each Mem12 ber of Congress who is a member of their House of Con13 gress, organized by the name of the Member of Congress, 

14 in a structured data format, which shall include the roll, 

15 date, issue, question, result, and title or description of the 

16 vote. 

17 (c) WEB LINK.—Each Member of Congress shall pro18 vide a link on the website of the Member of Congress to 

19 the record of recorded votes of the Member of Congress 

20 made available by the Clerk of the House of Representa21 tives or the Secretary of the Senate, as applicable. 

22 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply to 

23 recorded votes by Members of Congress occurring after 

24 the date of enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 643. INCREASED TRANSPARENCY OF APPROPRIA2 TIONS BILLS. 

3 (a) INCLUSION.—The Clerk of the House of Rep4 resentatives and the Secretary of the Senate shall ensure 

5 that each report accompanying any appropriations bill re6 ported by the Committees on Appropriations of the House 

7 of Representatives or the Committee on Appropriations of 

8 the Senate, respectively, includes a formatted spreadsheet 

9 showing the amounts made available by the bill, in a tab10 ular, digital format that shows separate entries for each 

11 fiscal year covered by the bill. 

12 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (a) shall apply 

13 with respect to any appropriations bill making funds avail14 able for fiscal year 2019 or any fiscal year thereafter. 

Æ 


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