‘‘ ‘(4) 
Employment 
Qualification 
Commit-
ment.—I agree that any hiring or other employment 
decisions I make will be based on the candidate’s 
qualifications, competence, and experience. 
‘‘ ‘(5) Assent to Enforcement.—I acknowledge 
that title II of the Ethics in Government Act of 
1978, which I have read before signing this docu-
ment, defines certain of the terms applicable to the 
foregoing obligations and sets forth the methods for 
enforcing them. I expressly accept the provisions of 
that title as a part of this agreement and as binding 
on me. I understand that the terms of this pledge 
are in addition to any statutory or other legal re-
strictions applicable to me by virtue of Federal Gov-
ernment service.’ ’’. 
‘‘SEC. 203. WAIVER. 
‘‘(a) The President or the President’s designee may 
grant to any current or former appointee a written waiver 
of any restrictions contained in the pledge signed by such 
appointee if, and to the extent that, the President or the 
President’s designee certifies (in writing) that, in light of 
all the relevant circumstances, the interest of the Federal 
Government in the employee’s participation outweighs the 
concern that a reasonable person may question the integ-
rity of the agency’s programs or operations. 
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‘‘(b) Any waiver under this section shall take effect 
when the certification is signed by the President or the 
President’s designee. 
‘‘(c) For purposes of subsection (a)(2), the public in-
terest shall include exigent circumstances relating to na-
tional security or to the economy. De minimis contact with 
an executive agency shall be cause for a waiver of the re-
strictions contained in paragraph (2)(B) of the pledge. 
‘‘(d) For any waiver granted under this section, the 
individual who granted the waiver shall— 
‘‘(1) provide a copy of the waiver to the Direc-
tor not more than 48 hours after the waiver is 
granted; and 
‘‘(2) publish the waiver on the website of the 
applicable agency not later than 30 calendar days 
after granting such waiver. 
‘‘(e) Upon receiving a written waiver under sub-
section (d), the Director shall— 
‘‘(1) review the waiver to determine whether the 
Director has any objection to the issuance of the 
waiver; and 
‘‘(2) if the Director so objects— 
‘‘(A) provide reasons for the objection in 
writing to the head of the agency who granted 
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the waiver not more than 15 calendar days 
after the waiver was granted; and 
‘‘(B) publish the written objection on the 
website of the Office of Government Ethics not 
more than 30 calendar days after the waiver 
was granted. 
‘‘SEC. 204. ADMINISTRATION. 
‘‘(a) The head of each executive agency shall, in con-
sultation with the Director of the Office of Government 
Ethics, establish such rules or procedures (conforming as 
nearly as practicable to the agency’s general ethics rules 
and procedures, including those relating to designated 
agency ethics officers) as are necessary or appropriate to 
ensure— 
‘‘(1) that every appointee in the agency signs 
the pledge upon assuming the appointed office or 
otherwise becoming an appointee; 
‘‘(2) that compliance with paragraph (2)(B) of 
the pledge is addressed in a written ethics agree-
ment with each appointee to whom it applies; 
‘‘(3) that spousal employment issues and other 
conflicts not expressly addressed by the pledge are 
addressed in ethics agreements with appointees or, 
where no such agreements are required, through eth-
ics counseling; and 
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‘‘(4) compliance with this title within the agen-
cy. 
‘‘(b) With respect to the Executive Office of the 
President, the duties set forth in subsection (a) shall be 
the responsibility of the Counsel to the President. 
‘‘(c) The Director of the Office of Government Ethics 
shall— 
‘‘(1) ensure that the pledge and a copy of this 
title are made available for use by agencies in ful-
filling their duties under subsection (a); 
‘‘(2) in consultation with the Attorney General 
or the Counsel to the President, when appropriate, 
assist designated agency ethics officers in providing 
advice to current or former appointees regarding the 
application of the pledge; 
‘‘(3) adopt such rules or procedures as are nec-
essary or appropriate— 
‘‘(A) to carry out the responsibilities as-
signed by this subsection; 
‘‘(B) to apply the lobbyist gift ban set 
forth in paragraph 1 of the pledge to all execu-
tive branch employees; 
‘‘(C) to authorize limited exceptions to the 
lobbyist gift ban for circumstances that do not 
implicate the purposes of the ban; 
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‘‘(D) to make clear that no person shall 
have violated the lobbyist gift ban if the person 
properly disposes of a gift; 
‘‘(E) to ensure that existing rules and pro-
cedures for Government employees engaged in 
negotiations for future employment with private 
businesses that are affected by their official ac-
tions do not affect the integrity of the Govern-
ment’s programs and operations; and 
‘‘(F) to ensure, in consultation with the 
Director of the Office of Personnel Manage-
ment, that the requirement set forth in para-
graph (4) of the pledge is honored by every em-
ployee of the executive branch; 
‘‘(4) in consultation with the Director of the 
Office of Management and Budget, report to the 
President, the Committee on Oversight and Reform 
of the House of Representatives, and the Committee 
on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of 
the Senate on whether full compliance is being 
achieved with existing laws and regulations gov-
erning executive branch procurement lobbying disclo-
sure and on steps the executive branch can take to 
expand to the fullest extent practicable disclosure of 
such executive branch procurement lobbying and of 
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