IB 
Union Calendar No. 249 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5112 
[Report No. 109–445] 
To provide for reform in the operations of the executive branch. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 6, 2006 
Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia (for himself, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. LAN-
TOS, Mr. GUTKNECHT, Mr. OWENS, Mr. PLATTS, Mr. TOWNS, Mrs. MIL-
LER of Michigan, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. ISSA, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. DENT, 
Mr. KUCINICH, Ms. FOXX, Mr. CLAY, Ms. WATSON, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. 
VAN HOLLEN, Mr. HIGGINS, Ms. NORTON, Mr. KANJORSKI, and Mr. 
DAVIS of Illinois) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Government Reform 
APRIL 27, 2006 
Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union 
and ordered to be printed 
A BILL 
To provide for reform in the operations of the executive 
branch. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Executive Branch Re-
form Act of 2006’’. 
SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO SIGNIFICANT CON-
TACTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Ethics in Government Act of 
1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 4) is amended by adding at the end 
the following new title: 
‘‘TITLE VI—EXECUTIVE BRANCH 
DISCLOSURE OF SIGNIFICANT 
CONTACTS 
‘‘SEC. 601. RECORDING AND REPORTING BY CERTAIN EXEC-
UTIVE BRANCH OFFICIALS OF SIGNIFICANT 
CONTACTS MADE TO THOSE OFFICIALS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 
end of a calendar quarter, each covered executive branch 
official shall make a record of, and file with the Office 
of Government Ethics a report on, any significant contacts 
during the quarter between the covered executive branch 
official and any private party relating to an official govern-
ment action. If no such contacts occurred, each such offi-
cial shall make a record of, and file with the Office a re-
port on, this fact, at the same time. 
‘‘(b) CONTENTS OF RECORD AND REPORT.—Each 
record made, and each report filed, under subsection (a) 
shall contain— 
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‘‘(1) the name of the covered executive branch 
official; 
‘‘(2) the name of each private party who had a 
significant contact with that official; and 
‘‘(3) for each private party so named, a sum-
mary of the nature of the contact, including— 
‘‘(A) the date of the contact; 
‘‘(B) the subject matter of the contact and 
the specific executive branch action to which the 
contact relates; and 
‘‘(C) if the contact was made on behalf of 
a client, the name of the client. 
‘‘(c) WITHHOLDING FOIA-EXEMPT INFORMATION.— 
This section does not require the filing with the Office of 
Government Ethics of information that is exempt from 
public disclosure under section 552(b) of title 5, United 
States Code (popularly referred to at the ‘‘Freedom of In-
formation Act’’). 
‘‘SEC. 602. AUTHORITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF OF-
FICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of 
Government Ethics shall— 
‘‘(1) promulgate regulations to implement this 
title, provide guidance and assistance on the record-
ing and reporting requirements of this title, and de-
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velop common standards, rules, and procedures for 
compliance with this title; 
‘‘(2) review, and, where necessary, verify the ac-
curacy, completeness, and timeliness of reports; 
‘‘(3) develop filing, coding, and cross-indexing 
systems to carry out the purpose of this title, includ-
ing— 
‘‘(A) a publicly available list of all private 
parties who made a significant contact; and 
‘‘(B) computerized systems designed to 
minimize the burden of filing and maximize 
public access to reports filed under this title; 
‘‘(4) make available for public inspection and 
copying at reasonable times the reports filed under 
this title; 
‘‘(5) retain reports for a period of at least 6 
years after they are filed; 
‘‘(6) compile and summarize, with respect to 
each reporting period, the information contained in 
reports filed with respect to such period in a clear 
and complete manner; 
‘‘(7) notify any covered executive branch official 
in writing that may be in noncompliance with this 
title; and 
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‘‘(8) notify the United States Attorney for the 
District of Columbia that a covered executive branch 
official may be in noncompliance with this title, if 
the covered executive branch official has been noti-
fied in writing and has failed to provide an appro-
priate response within 60 days after notice was 
given under paragraph (7). 
‘‘SEC. 603. PENALTIES. 
‘‘Whoever knowingly fails to— 
‘‘(1) remedy a defective filing within 60 days 
after notice was given under paragraph (7); or 
‘‘(2) comply with any other provision of this 
title; 
shall, upon proof of such knowing violation by a prepon-
derance of the evidence, be subject to a civil fine of not 
more than $50,000, depending on the extent and gravity 
of the violation. 
‘‘SEC. 604. DEFINITIONS. 
‘‘In this title: 
‘‘(1) COVERED
EXECUTIVE
BRANCH
OFFI-
CIAL.—The term ‘covered executive branch official’ 
means— 
‘‘(A) any officer or employee serving in a 
position in level I, II, III, IV, or V of the Exec-
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utive Schedule, as designated by statute or Ex-
ecutive order; 
‘‘(B) any member of the uniformed serv-
ices whose pay grade is at or above O–7 under 
section 201 of title 37, United States Code; 
‘‘(C) any officer or employee serving in a 
position of a confidential, policy-determining, 
policy-making, or policy-advocating character 
described in section 7511(b)(2)(B) of title 5, 
United States Code; and 
‘‘(D) any officer or employee serving in a 
position of a confidential, policy-determining, 
policy-making, or policy advocating character, 
or any other individual functioning in the ca-
pacity of such an officer or employee, in the Ex-
ecutive Office of the President or the Office of 
the Vice President, but does not include the 
President or Vice President or the chief of staff 
of the President or Vice President. 
‘‘(2) SIGNIFICANT
CONTACT.—The term ‘sig-
nificant contact’ means oral or written communica-
tion (including electronic communication) that is 
made by a private party to a covered executive 
branch official in which such private party seeks to 
influence, or obtain nonpublic information about, of-
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ficial action by any officer or employee of the execu-
tive branch of the United States. 
‘‘(3) PRIVATE PARTY.—The term ‘private party’ 
means any person or entity, but does not include a 
Federal, State, or local government official or a per-
son representing such an official.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Title VI of the Ethics in 
Government Act of 1978, as added by this section, 
takes effect 1 year after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, except as provided in paragraph (2). 
(2) INITIAL REGULATIONS.—The initial regula-
tions required by section 602 of that Act shall be 
promulgated— 
(A) in draft form, not later than 270 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act; and 
(B) in final form, not later than 1 year 
after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 3. REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO STOPPING THE RE-
VOLVING DOOR. 
The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 
App. 4) is amended by adding at the end the following 
new title: 
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‘‘TITLE VII—STOPPING THE 
REVOLVING DOOR 
‘‘SEC. 701. TWO-YEAR COOLING-OFF PERIOD FOR PERSONS 
LEAVING GOVERNMENT SERVICE. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A covered executive branch offi-
cial shall not, for a period of two years after the termi-
nation of his employment, engage in any conduct that 
would be prohibited under subsections (c) or (d) of section 
207 of title 18, United States Code, if it occurred within 
one year after the termination of his employment. 
‘‘(b) NO EFFECT ON SECTION 207.—This section 
does not expand, contract, or otherwise affect the applica-
tion of any waiver or criminal penalties under section 207 
of title 18, United States Code. 
‘‘SEC. 702. PROHIBITION ON NEGOTIATION OF FUTURE EM-
PLOYMENT. 
‘‘(a) PROHIBITION.—A covered executive branch offi-
cial shall not participate in any official matter in which, 
to the official’s knowledge, a person or organization with 
whom the official is negotiating or has any arrangement 
concerning prospective employment has a financial inter-
est, unless a waiver has been granted under subsection (b). 
‘‘(b) WAIVERS ONLY WHEN EXCEPTIONAL CIR-
CUMSTANCES EXIST.—A waiver to subsection (a) is not 
available, and shall not be granted, to any individual ex-
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cept in a case which the Government official responsible 
for the individual’s appointment as a covered executive 
branch official determines that exceptional circumstances 
exist. Whenever such a determination is made, the Direc-
tor of the Office of Government Ethics shall independently 
investigate and review the circumstances relating to the 
determination, and the waiver shall not take effect until 
the date on which the Director certifies in writing that 
exceptional circumstances exist. 
‘‘SEC. 703. COOLING-OFF PERIOD FOR CERTAIN PERSONS 
ENTERING GOVERNMENT SERVICE. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A covered executive branch offi-
cial shall not engage in conduct relating to a covered entity 
that would be prohibited under section 208 of title 18, 
United States Code, if the official had a financial interest 
in the covered entity, unless a waiver has been granted 
under subsection (b). 
‘‘(b) WAIVER.—An agency’s designated ethics officer 
may, if the Director of the Office of Government Ethics 
approves, waive the prohibition in subsection (a) with re-
spect to a covered executive branch official of that agency 
upon a determination that the relationship between the 
covered executive branch official and the covered entity is 
not so substantial as to be deemed likely to affect the in-
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tegrity of the services that the Government may expect 
from the official. 
‘‘(c) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘covered 
entity’ means an entity— 
‘‘(1) in which the official, within the previous 2 
years, served as an officer, director, trustee, general 
partner, or employee; or 
‘‘(2) for which the official, within the previous 
2 years, worked as a lobbyist, lawyer, or other rep-
resentative. 
‘‘(d) NO EFFECT ON SECTION 208.—This section 
does not expand, contract, or otherwise affect the applica-
tion of any criminal penalties under section 208 of title 
18, United States Code. 
‘‘SEC. 704. PENALTIES. 
‘‘Whoever violates section 701, 702, or 703 of this 
title shall, upon proof of such knowing violation by a pre-
ponderance of the evidence, be subject to a civil fine of 
not more than $100,000, depending on the extent and 
gravity of the violation. 
‘‘SEC. 705. DEFINITION. 
‘‘In this title, the term ‘covered executive branch offi-
cial’ means— 
‘‘(1) any officer or employee serving in a posi-
tion in level I, II, III, IV, or V of the Executive 
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Schedule, as designated by statute or Executive 
order; 
‘‘(2) any member of the uniformed services 
whose pay grade is at or above O–7 under section 
201 of title 37, United States Code; 
‘‘(3) any officer or employee serving in a posi-
tion of a confidential, policy-determining, policy- 
making, or policy-advocating character described in 
section 7511(b)(2)(B) of title 5, United States Code; 
‘‘(4) any officer or employee serving in a posi-
tion of a confidential, policy-determining, policy- 
making, or policy advocating character, or any other 
individual functioning in the capacity of such an of-
ficer or employee, in the Executive Office of the 
President or the Office of the Vice President; and 
‘‘(5) the Vice President.’’. 
SEC. 4. ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO PROCURE-
MENT OFFICIALS. 
(a) ELIMINATION
OF LOOPHOLES THAT ALLOW 
FORMER FEDERAL OFFICIALS TO ACCEPT COMPENSA-
TION FROM CONTRACTORS OR RELATED ENTITIES.—Sec-
tion 27(d) of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy 
Act (41 U.S.C. 423(d)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1)— 
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