I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 389 
To amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to restrict trading and 
ownership of covered investments by each Federal employee, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 17, 2023 
Mr. SCHWEIKERT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Oversight and Accountability, and in addition to the Com-
mittees on the Judiciary, House Administration, and Ways and Means, 
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to restrict 
trading and ownership of covered investments by each 
Federal employee, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Preventing Opportun-
istic Returns on Trades and Futures by Officials, Leader-
ship, and Individuals in Office Act’’ or the ‘‘PORTFOLIO 
Act’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
06:16 Jan 27, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H389.IH
H389
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
SEC. 2. RESTRICTING TRADING AND OWNERSHIP OF COV-
ERED 
INVESTMENTS 
BY 
FEDERAL 
PER-
SONNEL. 
(a) QUALIFIED BLIND TRUST AMENDMENTS.—Sec-
tion 102(f)(3) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 
(5 U.S.C. App 102(f)(3)) is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (C)(iii), by striking 
‘‘promptly notify’’ and inserting ‘‘promptly provide a 
written notice to’’; and 
(2) by adding after subparagraph (F) the fol-
lowing new subparagraph: 
‘‘(G) Any asset described as a covered invest-
ment under title II that is placed in a trust after the 
date of enactment of the PORTFOLIO Act shall be 
divested not later than 18 months after such asset 
was so placed. 
‘‘(H) 
Notwithstanding 
subparagraphs 
(A) 
through (G), a form of a trust approved by the Of-
fice of Government Ethics, Judicial Conference, 
House of Representatives, or Senate through rule-
making or by majority vote for its respective juris-
diction.’’. 
(b) TRADE AND OWNERSHIP RESTRICTIONS.—The 
Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is 
amended by inserting after title I the following: 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
06:16 Jan 27, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H389.IH
H389
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
‘‘TITLE 
II—RESTRICTIONS 
ON 
TRADE AND OWNERSHIP OF 
COVERED INVESTMENTS BY 
FEDERAL PERSONNEL 
‘‘SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 
‘‘In this title: 
‘‘(1) COMMODITY.—The term ‘commodity’ has 
the meaning given the term in section 1a of the 
Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1a). 
‘‘(2) COVERED INVESTMENT.—The term ‘cov-
ered investment’— 
‘‘(A) means an investment in a security, a 
commodity, a future, cryptocurrency or other 
digital asset, or any comparable economic inter-
est acquired through synthetic means, such as 
the use of a derivative, including an option, 
warrant, or other similar means; and 
‘‘(B) does not include— 
‘‘(i) a widely held investment fund de-
scribed in section 102(f)(8) that is diversi-
fied and publicly traded on a national or 
regional stock exchange; 
‘‘(ii) an asset held in a qualified blind 
trust; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
06:16 Jan 27, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H389.IH
H389
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
‘‘(iii) an asset held in a qualified di-
versified trust; 
‘‘(iv) a diversified mutual fund (in-
cluding any holdings of such a fund); 
‘‘(v) a diversified exchange-traded 
fund (including any holdings of such a 
fund); 
‘‘(vi) a United States Treasury bill, 
note, or bond; 
‘‘(vii) a State or municipal govern-
ment bill, note, or bond; 
‘‘(viii) the Thrift Savings Plan (in-
cluding any holdings in such plan); 
‘‘(ix) any compensation received by 
the spouse or dependent child of a covered 
official from their primary employer; 
‘‘(x) any investment fund held in a 
Federal, State, or local government em-
ployee retirement plan; or 
‘‘(xi) an interest in a small business 
concern or family-owned business that does 
not present a conflict of interest. 
‘‘(3) COVERED
PERSON.—The term ‘covered 
person’ means— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
06:16 Jan 27, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H389.IH
H389
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
‘‘(A) any employee (as that term is defined 
in section 2105 of title 5, United States Code), 
including— 
‘‘(i) an officer or employee of the 
United States Postal Service and the Post-
al Regulatory Commission; 
‘‘(ii) notwithstanding section 7425(b) 
of title 38, United States Code, employees 
appointed under chapter 73 or 74 of such 
title 38; and 
‘‘(iii) any other individual occupying a 
position in the civil service (as that term is 
defined in section 2101 of such title 5); 
‘‘(B) a Member of Congress as defined in 
section 109(12); 
‘‘(C) the President; and 
‘‘(D) the Vice President. 
‘‘(4) CRYPTOCURRENCY
OR
OTHER
DIGITAL 
ASSET.—The term ‘cryptocurrency or other digital 
asset’ means an asset that is issued or transferred 
using distributed ledger or blockchain technology, in-
cluding: virtual currencies, coins and tokens, or any 
other digital asset specified by regulations of a filer’s 
supervising ethics office. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
06:16 Jan 27, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H389.IH
H389
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
‘‘(5) DEPENDENT CHILD.—The term ‘depend-
ent child’ means an individual described in section 
109(2). 
‘‘(6) INTERESTED
PARTY.—The term ‘inter-
ested party’ has the meaning given the term in sec-
tion 102(f)(3)(E). 
‘‘(7) FUTURE.—The term ‘future’ means a fi-
nancial contract obligating the buyer to purchase an 
asset or the seller to sell an asset, such as a physical 
commodity or a financial investment, at a predeter-
mined future date and price. 
‘‘(8) QUALIFIED
BLIND
TRUST.—The term 
‘qualified blind trust’ has the meaning given the 
term in section 102(f)(3). 
‘‘(9) QUALIFIED
DIVERSIFIED
TRUST.—The 
term ‘qualified diversified trust’ means a trust de-
scribed in section 102(f)(4)(B). 
‘‘(10) SECURITY.—The term ‘security’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 3(a) of the Secu-
rities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)). 
‘‘(11) SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN.—The term 
‘small business concern’ has the meaning given that 
term under section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 
U.S.C. 632). 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
06:16 Jan 27, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H389.IH
H389
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
‘‘(12) SUPERVISING ETHICS OFFICE.—The term 
‘supervising ethics office’ has the meaning given the 
term in section 109(18). 
‘‘SEC. 202. OWNERSHIP OF COVERED INVESTMENTS. 
‘‘(a) CONDUCT DURING FEDERAL SERVICE.—Except 
as described in paragraph (2) of subsection (b) or sub-
sections (c) through (h), no covered person may own or 
trade any covered investment. 
‘‘(b) COMPLIANCE.—To comply with the require-
ments under paragraph (1)— 
‘‘(1) a covered person shall not purchase any 
covered investment beginning 60 days after the date 
of enactment of the PORTFOLIO Act or the date 
on which an individual becomes a covered person, 
whichever is later; and 
‘‘(2) a covered person shall divest of any cov-
ered investment within 180 days of the effective date 
established in subsection (k)(2) or the date on which 
an individual becomes a covered person, whichever is 
later— 
‘‘(A) through gift or charitable donation of 
a covered investment; 
‘‘(B) by converting a covered investment to 
cash; or 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
06:16 Jan 27, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H389.IH
H389
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
‘‘(C) by placing a covered investment in a 
qualified blind trust in accordance with sub-
section (c). 
‘‘(c) QUALIFIED BLIND TRUST.— 
‘‘(1) COVERED PERSONS AS OF DATE OF EN-
ACTMENT.—An individual who is a covered person 
as of the date of enactment of the PORTFOLIO Act 
may comply with subsection (b) by placing any cov-
ered investment owned by such person into a quali-
fied blind trust not later than 180 days after the ef-
fective date established in subsection (k)(2). 
‘‘(2) COVERED PERSONS AFTER DATE OF EN-
ACTMENT.—An individual who becomes a covered 
person after the date of enactment of the PORT-
FOLIO Act may comply with subsection (b) by plac-
ing any covered investment owned by such person 
into a qualified blind trust not later than 180 days 
after the effective date established in subsection 
(k)(2) or the date on which the individual becomes 
a covered person, whichever is later. 
‘‘(3) MINGLING OF ASSETS.—A spouse or de-
pendent child of a covered person may place a cov-
ered investment in a qualified blind trust established 
by a covered person. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
06:16 Jan 27, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H389.IH
H389
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
‘‘(d) PUBLIC NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 30 days 
after 
receiving 
any 
written 
notice 
under 
section 
102(f)(3)(C)(iii), the supervising ethics office shall make 
such notices publicly available in the manner provided 
under section 105(a). 
‘‘(e) EXCEPTION.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to 
an individual who ceases to be a covered person within 
180 days of the date of the enactment of the PORT-
FOLIO Act. 
‘‘(f) COMPLEX FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) TEMPORARY EXEMPTIONS.—A supervising 
ethics office may grant a temporary exemption to a 
covered person regarding their compliance with the 
requirements of subsection (a) for investments held 
in trusts or other complex financial arrangements in 
which— 
‘‘(A) the covered person entered into, or 
was made a beneficiary of or to, a complex fi-
nancial arrangement before the enactment of 
the PORTFOLIO Act; and 
‘‘(B) the covered person is contractually 
prohibited from— 
‘‘(i) having knowledge or control of 
the covered person’s investments; or 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
06:16 Jan 27, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H389.IH
H389
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
‘‘(ii) withdrawing the investment in 
certain circumstances. 
‘‘(2) PUBLICATION.—A supervising ethics office 
shall make publicly available in the manner provided 
under section 105(a)— 
‘‘(A) any requests from a covered person 
for a temporary exemption within 30 days of 
receipt; and 
‘‘(B) any decision by the supervising ethics 
office on the temporary exemption request of a 
covered person within 30 days of issuing it. 
‘‘(g) 
ASSETS
ACQUIRED
IN
SPECIAL
CIR-
CUMSTANCES.— 
‘‘(1) DIVESTMENT.—Except as described in 
paragraph (2), in the event that a covered person 
acquires a covered investment after the date of en-
actment of the PORTFOLIO Act other than by pur-
chase (such as by marriage, inheritance, divorce set-
tlement, or other circumstance), the covered person 
shall have 180 days of the effective date established 
in subsection (k)(2) to divest of such investment 
through any means provided under subsection 
(b)(2). 
‘‘(2) EXTENSION.—A supervising ethics office 
may grant a covered person an extension of time to 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
06:16 Jan 27, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H389.IH
H389
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
comply with the deadline specified in paragraph (1) 
in accordance with subsection (h). 
‘‘(h) EXTENSIONS.—With respect to subsections (a) 
and (g), in response to a written request for an extension, 
a supervising ethics office may grant a covered person one 
or more extensions to comply with such subsections in the 
following manner: 
‘‘(1) An extension of up to 30 days may be 
granted but the total of all extensions for each cov-
ered person in a calendar year may not exceed 90 
days. 
‘‘(2) A copy of each extension granted by the 
supervising ethics office shall be made publicly avail-
able in the manner provided under section 105(a). 
‘‘(i) RULES PROVIDING NONRECOGNITION OF GAIN 
ON SALES TO COMPLY WITH CONFLICT-OF-INTEREST 
REQUIREMENTS NOT APPLICABLE.—For purposes of sec-
tion 1043 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, this title 
(and any regulation or rule issued pursuant to this title) 
shall not be treated as a statute, regulation, or rule de-
scribed in subsection (b)(2)(A) of such section. 
‘‘(j) ASSETS UPON SEPARATION.—An individual who 
is a covered person under this section may not dissolve 
any qualified blind trust in which a covered investment 
has been placed pursuant to subsection (c), or otherwise 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
06:16 Jan 27, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H389.IH
H389
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
control such an investment, until the date that is 180 days 
after the date such individual ceases to be a covered per-
son. 
‘‘(k) ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The provisions of this sec-
tion shall be administered by the supervising ethics 
office for each branch. 
‘‘(2) REGULATIONS.—Within 180 days of en-
actment of the PORTFOLIO Act, the supervising 
ethics office for each branch shall issue regulations 
implementing the provisions of this section and 
specifying an effective date for the provisions of this 
section. 
‘‘(3) GUIDANCE.—The supervising ethics office 
for each branch is authorized to issue guidance on 
any matter contained in this section for its respec-
tive jurisdiction. 
‘‘SEC. 203. PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS OF RESTRICTIONS 
ON TRADING AND OWNERSHIP OF COVERED 
INVESTMENTS. 
‘‘(a) PENALTIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Any covered person who 
violates the restrictions on trading or ownership of 
covered investments in section 202 shall, at the di-
rection of the supervising ethics office, pay a fee of 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
06:16 Jan 27, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00012
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H389.IH
H389
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
$1,000 after being notified by the supervising ethics 
office of such violation. 
‘‘(2) 
ASSESSMENT
OF
ADDITIONAL
PEN-
ALTIES.—If the violation that is the subject of a no-
tice under paragraph (1) continues for more than 30 
days after the date of the notice (including a viola-
tion resulting from a covered person who continues 
to own a covered investment in violation of section 
202) for each subsequent 30-day period after the 
date of the notice during which the violation is ongo-
ing, such person shall be assessed an additional fee 
equal to— 
‘‘(A) the amount in paragraph (1); plus 
‘‘(B) an amount equal to 10 percent of the 
value of the covered investment that is the sub-
ject of the violation at the beginning of the ad-
ditional 30-day period of a continuing violation. 
‘‘(3) ANNUAL INDEXING OF PENALTY FOR IN-
FLATION.—By January 31 of the calendar year fol-
lowing the enactment of the PORTFOLIO Act and 
in each year thereafter, the supervising ethics office 
shall adjust the amount of the penalty in paragraph 
(1) in the same manner that civil monetary penalties 
are annually adjusted for inflation pursuant to sec-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
06:16 Jan 27, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00013
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H389.IH
H389
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
tion 4 of the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Ad-
justment Act of 1990 (28 U.S.C. 2461 note). 
‘‘(4) TREATMENT OF FEES.— 
‘‘(A) DEPOSIT.—All such fees collected 
under this section shall be deposited in the mis-
cellaneous receipts of the Treasury. 
‘‘(B) DELEGATION
OF
AUTHORITY.—The 
authority under this section to direct the pay-
ment of a fee may be delegated by the super-
vising ethics office in the executive branch to 
other agencies in the executive branch. 
‘‘(b) WAIVER OR REDUCTION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The supervising ethics of-
fice may waive or reduce the amount of a fee under 
subsection (a) in extraordinary circumstances in re-
sponse to a written request signed by the covered 
person to whom the fee would otherwise apply. 
‘‘(2) PUBLICATION.—In the event the super-
vising ethics office grants a request for a fee waiver 
or reduction, the response of the supervising office 
shall be made public in the same manner as under 
section 105(a). 
‘‘(c) CIVIL PENALTIES.—The Attorney General may 
bring a civil action in any appropriate United States dis-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
06:16 Jan 27, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00014
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H389.IH
H389
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
trict court in the same manner as authorized by section 
104(a)(1) against any individual who— 
‘‘(1) knowingly and willfully makes a trans-
action in a manner that is prohibited by section 202; 
or 
‘‘(2) knowingly and willfully holds a covered in-
vestment in a manner that is prohibited by section 
202. 
‘‘SEC. 204. ACCOUNTABILITY AND PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF 
ENFORCEMENT MEASURES. 
‘‘(a) REFERRAL TO ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The head 
of each agency, each Secretary concerned, the Director of 
the Office of Government Ethics, each congressional ethics 
committee, or the Judicial Conference, shall refer to the 
Attorney General the name of any individual whom such 
official or committee has reasonable cause to believe has 
willfully violated the requirements under section 202. 
‘‘(b) JUDICIAL OFFICERS.—Whenever the Judicial 
Conference refers a name to the Attorney General under 
this section, the Judicial Conference also shall notify the 
judicial council of the circuit in which the named indi-
vidual serves of the referral. 
‘‘(c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall 
annually submit to Congress a report on the crimi-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
06:16 Jan 27, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00015
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H389.IH
H389
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
nal and civil actions brought against any individual 
under titles I or II. 
‘‘(2) TIMING.—Such report shall be filed by 
January 31 of each year covering the prior calendar 
year. 
‘‘(d) REPORTS BY SUPERVISING ETHICS OFFICE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each supervising ethics of-
fice shall annually make a public report about com-
pliance by individuals within its jurisdiction with the 
requirements of titles I or II. 
‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Such public report shall in-
clude the following information: 
‘‘(A) The overall compliance by such indi-
viduals. 
‘‘(B) The measures taken by the super-
vising ethics office to ensure compliance. 
‘‘(C) The efforts taken to enforce such re-
quirements, including through the issuance of 
fees or other sanctions. 
‘‘(D) The rate of compliance with the en-
forcement measures described under subpara-
graph (C). 
‘‘(E) The issuance of waivers, reductions, 
temporary exemptions, and extensions for statu-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
06:16 Jan 27, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00016
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H389.IH
H389
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB