I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 812 
To amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to require individuals 
nominated or appointed to Senate-confirmed positions or to positions 
of a confidential or policymaking character to disclose certain types 
of contributions made or solicited by, or at the request of, the individuals. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 28, 2019 
Mr. DEUTCH (for himself, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. JOHNSON 
of Georgia, Mr. COHEN, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, and Ms. NORTON) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Over-
sight and Reform 
A BILL 
To amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to require 
individuals nominated or appointed to Senate-confirmed 
positions or to positions of a confidential or policymaking 
character to disclose certain types of contributions made 
or solicited by, or at the request of, the individuals. 
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 ‘‘Conflicts from Political 
Fundraising Act of 2019’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Public confidence in the Federal Govern-
ment is based on the expectation that officers and 
employees will discharge their duties impartially, and 
avoid either actual conflicts of interest or the ap-
pearance thereof. 
(2) The risk of an actual conflict of interest, or 
the appearance thereof, arises when a nominee or 
appointee to a Senate-confirmed position or an indi-
vidual in a position of a confidential or policymaking 
character has previously donated to, solicited for, or 
received funds from a political action committee or 
entity organized under section 501(c)(4) or section 
501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 
(3) Since the 2010 decision by the Supreme 
Court of the United States in Citizens United v. 
Federal Election Commission, spending by corpora-
tions subject to Federal laws and regulations has in-
creased dramatically. 
(4) While some corporate political spending is 
done publicly, contributions to entities organized 
under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 need not be disclosed, making this 
spending effectively anonymous. The risk of an ac-
tual conflict of interest, or the appearance thereof, 
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arises whether political spending is public or anony-
mous. 
(5) Current financial disclosure requirements do 
not require filers to report funds they have donated 
to, solicited for, or received from political action 
committees or entities organized under section 
501(c)(4) or section 501(c)(6) of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986. 
(6) Apparent or actual conflicts of interest are 
best ameliorated through public disclosure of this ac-
tivity to the Office of Government Ethics so the ap-
parent or actual conflicts can be addressed in ethics 
agreements negotiated between the filer and the 
agency in which the filer will serve. 
SEC. 3. DISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN TYPES OF CONTRIBU-
TIONS. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 109 of the Ethics in Gov-
ernment Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through 
(19) as paragraphs (5) through (22), respectively; 
and 
(2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol-
lowing: 
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‘‘(2) ‘covered contribution’ means a payment, 
advance, forbearance, rendering, or deposit of 
money, or any thing of value— 
‘‘(A)(i) that— 
‘‘(I) is— 
‘‘(aa) made by or at the request 
of a covered individual; or 
‘‘(bb) solicited in writing by or at 
the request of a covered individual; 
and 
‘‘(II) is made— 
‘‘(aa) to a political organization, 
as defined in section 527 of the Inter-
nal Revenue Code of 1986; or 
‘‘(bb) to an organization— 
‘‘(AA) that is described in 
paragraph (4) or (6) of section 
501(c) of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 and exempt from 
tax under section 501(a) of such 
Code; and 
‘‘(BB) that promotes or op-
poses changes in Federal laws or 
regulations that are (or would 
be) administered by the agency in 
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which the covered individual has 
been nominated for appointment 
to a covered position or is serving 
in a covered position; or 
‘‘(ii) that is— 
‘‘(I) solicited in writing by or at the 
request of a covered individual; and 
‘‘(II) made— 
‘‘(aa) by an individual or entity 
the activities of which are subject to 
Federal laws or regulations that are 
(or would be) administered by the 
agency in which the covered individual 
has been nominated for appointment 
to a covered position or is serving in 
a covered position; and 
‘‘(bb) to— 
‘‘(AA) a political organiza-
tion, as defined in section 527 of 
the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986; or 
‘‘(BB) an organization that 
is described in paragraph (4) or 
(6) of section 501(c) of the Inter-
nal Revenue Code of 1986 and 
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exempt from tax under section 
501(a) of such Code; and 
‘‘(B) that is made to an organization de-
scribed in item (aa) or (bb) of clause (i)(II) or 
clause (ii)(II)(bb) of subparagraph (A) for 
which the total amount of such payments, ad-
vances, forbearances, renderings, or deposits of 
money, or any thing of value, during the cal-
endar year in which it is made is not less than 
the contribution limitation in effect under sec-
tion 315(a)(1)(A) of the Federal Election Cam-
paign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30116(a)(1)(A)) 
for elections occurring during such calendar 
year; 
‘‘(3) ‘covered individual’ means an individual 
who has been nominated or appointed to a covered 
position; and 
‘‘(4) ‘covered position’— 
‘‘(A) means— 
‘‘(i) a position described under sec-
tions 5312 through 5316 of title 5, United 
States Code; 
‘‘(ii) a position placed in level IV or V 
of the Executive Schedule under section 
5317 of title 5, United States Code; 
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‘‘(iii) a position as a limited term ap-
pointee, limited emergency appointee, or 
noncareer appointee in the Senior Execu-
tive Service, as defined under paragraphs 
(5), (6), and (7), respectively, of section 
3132(a) of title 5, United States Code; or 
‘‘(iv) a position in the executive 
branch of the Government of a confidential 
or 
policy-determining 
character 
under 
schedule C of subpart C of part 213 of 
title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations; 
and 
‘‘(B) does not include a position if the in-
dividual serving in the position has been ex-
cluded 
from 
the 
application 
of 
section 
101(f)(5);’’. 
(b) DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS.—The Ethics in 
Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 
(1) in section 101— 
(A) in subsection (a)— 
(i) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘With-
in’’; 
(ii) by striking ‘‘unless’’ and inserting 
‘‘and, if the individual is assuming a cov-
ered position, the information described in 
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section 102(j), except that, subject to para-
graph (2), the individual shall not be re-
quired to file a report if’’; and 
(iii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(2) If an individual has left a position de-
scribed in subsection (f) that is not a covered posi-
tion and, within 30 days, assumes a position that is 
a covered position, the individual shall, within 30 
days of assuming the covered position, file a report 
containing the information described in section 
102(j)(2)(A).’’; 
(B) in subsection (b)(1), in the first sen-
tence, by inserting ‘‘and the information re-
quired by section 102(j)’’ after ‘‘described in 
section 102(b)’’; 
(C) in subsection (d), by inserting ‘‘and, if 
the individual is serving in a covered position, 
the 
information 
required 
by 
section 
102(j)(2)(A)’’ 
after 
‘‘described 
in 
section 
102(a)’’; and 
(D) in subsection (e), by inserting ‘‘and, if 
the individual was serving in a covered position, 
the 
information 
required 
by 
section 
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102(j)(2)(A)’’ 
after 
‘‘described 
in 
section 
102(a)’’; and 
(2) in section 102— 
(A) in subsection (g), by striking ‘‘Political 
campaign funds’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as pro-
vided in subsection (j), political campaign 
funds’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(j)(1) In this subsection— 
‘‘(A) the term ‘applicable period’ means— 
‘‘(i) with respect to a report filed pursuant 
to subsection (a) or (b) of section 101, the year 
of filing and the 4 calendar years preceding the 
year of the filing; and 
‘‘(ii) with respect to a report filed pursuant 
to subsection (d) or (e) of section 101, the pre-
ceding calendar year; and 
‘‘(B) the term ‘covered gift’ means a gift that— 
‘‘(i) is made to a covered individual, the 
spouse of a covered individual, or the dependent 
child of a covered individual; 
‘‘(ii) is made by an entity described in item 
(aa) or (bb) of section 109(2)(A)(i)(II); and 
‘‘(iii) would have been required to be re-
ported under subsection (a)(2) if the covered in-
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dividual had been required to file a report 
under section 101(d) with respect to the cal-
endar year during which the gift was made. 
‘‘(2)(A) A report filed pursuant to subsection (a), (b), 
(d), or (e) of section 101 by a covered individual shall in-
clude, for each covered contribution made by or at the re-
quest of, or that was solicited in writing by or at the re-
quest of, that covered individual during the applicable pe-
riod— 
‘‘(i) the date on which the covered contribution 
was made; 
‘‘(ii) if applicable, the date or dates on which 
the covered contribution was solicited; 
‘‘(iii) the value of the covered contribution; 
‘‘(iv) the name of the person making the cov-
ered contribution; and 
‘‘(v) the name of the person receiving the cov-
ered contribution. 
‘‘(B)(i) Subject to clause (ii), a covered contribution 
made by or at the request of, or that was solicited in writ-
ing by or at the request of, a covered individual shall con-
stitute a conflict of interest, or an appearance thereof, 
with respect to the official duties of the covered individual. 
‘‘(ii) The Director of the Office of Government Ethics 
may exempt a covered contribution from the application 
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of clause (i) if the Director determines the circumstances 
of the solicitation and making of the covered contribution 
do not present a risk of a conflict of interest and the ex-
emption of the covered contribution would not affect ad-
versely the integrity of the Government or the public’s con-
fidence in the integrity of the Government. 
‘‘(3) A report filed pursuant to subsection (a) or (b) 
of section 101 by a covered individual shall include the 
information described in subsection (a)(2) with respect to 
each covered gift received during the applicable period.’’. 
(c) PROVISION OF REPORTS AND ETHICS AGREE-
MENTS TO CONGRESS.—Section 105 of the Ethics in Gov-
ernment Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following: 
‘‘(e) Not later than 30 days after receiving a written 
request from the Chairman or Ranking Member of a com-
mittee or subcommittee of either House of Congress, the 
Director of the Office of Government Ethics shall provide 
to the Chairman and Ranking Member each report filed 
under this title by a covered individual and any ethics 
agreement entered into between the agency and the cov-
ered individual.’’. 
(d) RULES ON ETHICS AGREEMENTS.—The Director 
of the Office of Government Ethics shall promptly issue 
rules regarding how an agency in the executive branch 
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shall address information required to be disclosed under 
the amendments made by this Act in drafting ethics agree-
ments between the agency and individuals appointed to po-
sitions in the agency. 
(e) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 
U.S.C. App.) is amended— 
(A) in section 101(f)— 
(i) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘sec-
tion 109(12)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 
109(15)’’; 
(ii) in paragraph (10), by striking 
‘‘section 109(13)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 
109(16)’’; 
(iii) in paragraph (11), by striking 
‘‘section 109(10)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 
109(13)’’; and 
(iv) in paragraph (12), by striking 
‘‘section 109(8)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 
109(11)’’; 
(B) in section 103(l)— 
(i) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘sec-
tion 109(12)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 
109(15)’’; and 
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(ii) in paragraph (10), by striking 
‘‘section 109(13)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 
109(16)’’; and 
(C) in section 105(b)(3)(A), by striking 
‘‘section 109(8) or 109(10)’’ and inserting ‘‘sec-
tion 109(11) or 109(13)’’. 
(2) Section 3(4)(D) of the Lobbying Disclosure 
Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602(4)(D)) is amended by 
striking ‘‘section 109(13)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 
109(16)’’. 
(3) Section 21A of the Securities Exchange Act 
of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78u–1) is amended— 
(A) in subsection (g)(2)(B)(ii), by striking 
‘‘section 109(11) of the Ethics in Government 
Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 109(11)))’’ and in-
serting ‘‘section 109 of the Ethics in Govern-
ment Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.))’’; and 
(B) in subsection (h)(2)— 
(i) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
‘‘section 109(8) of the Ethics in Govern-
ment Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 109(8))’’ 
and inserting ‘‘section 109 of the Ethics in 
Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.)’’; 
and 
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(ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 
‘‘section 109(10) of the Ethics in Govern-
ment Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 
109(10))’’ and inserting ‘‘section 109 of 
the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 
U.S.C. App.)’’. 
(4) Section 499(j)(2) of the Public Health Serv-
ice Act (42 U.S.C. 290b(j)(2)) is amended by strik-
ing ‘‘section 109(16) of the Ethics in Government 
Act of 1978’’ and inserting ‘‘section 109 of the Eth-
ics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.)’’. 
Æ 
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