SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Office of Government
Ethics Authorization Act of 1996’’.
SEC. 2. GIFT ACCEPTANCE AUTHORITY.
Section 403 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978
(5 U.S.C. App. 5) is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘(a)’’ before ‘‘Upon the re-
quest’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(b)(1) The Director is authorized to accept and uti-
lize on behalf of the United States, any gift, donation, be-
quest, or devise of money, use of facilities, personal prop-
erty, or services for the purpose of aiding or facilitating
the work of the Office of Government Ethics.
‘‘(2) No gift may be accepted—
‘‘(A) that attaches conditions inconsistent with
applicable laws or regulations; or
‘‘(B) that is conditioned upon or will require
the expenditure of appropriated funds that are not
available to the Office of Government Ethics.
‘‘(3) The Director shall establish written rules setting
forth the criteria to be used in determining whether the
acceptance of contributions of money, services, use of fa-
cilities, or personal property under this subsection would
reflect unfavorably upon the ability of the Office of Gov-
ernment Ethics, or any employee of such Office, to carry
out its responsibilities or official duties in a fair and objec-
tive manner, or would compromise the integrity or the ap-
pearance of the integrity of its programs or any official
involved in those programs.’’.
SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA-
TIONS.
The text of section 405 of the Ethics in Government
Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 5) is amended to read as fol-
lows: ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry
out this title such sums as may be necessary for each of
fiscal years 1997 through 1999.’’.
SEC. 4. REPEAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.
(a) REPEAL OF DISPLAY REQUIREMENT.—The Act
entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the display of the Code
of Ethics for Government Service,’’ approved July 3, 1980
(5 U.S.C. 7301 note), is repealed.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
(1) FDIA.—Section 12(f)(3) of the Federal De-
posit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1822(f)(3)) is
amended by striking ‘‘, with the concurrence of the
Office of Government Ethics,’’.
(2) ETHICS IN GOVERNMENT ACT OF 1978.—(A)
The heading for section 401 of the Ethics in Gov-
ernment Act of 1978 is amended to read as follows:
‘‘ESTABLISHMENT; APPOINTMENT OF DIRECTOR’’.
(B) Section 408 of such Act is amended by
striking ‘‘March 31’’ and inserting ‘‘April 30’’.
SEC. 5. LIMITATION ON POSTEMPLOYMENT RESTRICTIONS.
Section 207(j) of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following new para-
graph:
‘‘(7) POLITICAL PARTIES AND CAMPAIGN COM-
MITTEES.—(A) Except as provided in subparagraph
(B), the restrictions contained in subsections (c),
(d), and (e) shall not apply to a communication or
appearance made solely on behalf of a candidate in
his or her capacity as a candidate, an authorized
committee, a national committee, a national Federal
campaign committee, a State committee, or a politi-
cal party.
‘‘(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to—
‘‘(i) any communication to, or appearance
before, the Federal Election Commission by a
former officer or employee of the Federal Elec-
tion Commission; or
‘‘(ii) a communication or appearance made
by a person who is subject to the restrictions
contained in subsections (c), (d), or (e) if, at
the time of the communication or appearance,
the person is employed by a person or entity
other than—
‘‘(I) a candidate, an authorized com-
mittee, a national committee, a national
Federal campaign committee, a State com-
mittee, or a political party; or
‘‘(II) a person or entity who rep-
resents, aids, or advises only persons or en-
tities described in subclause (I).
‘‘(C) For purposes of this paragraph—
‘‘(i) the term ‘candidate’ means any person
who seeks nomination for election, or election,
to Federal or State office or who has authorized
others to explore on his or her behalf the possi-
bility of seeking nomination for election, or elec-
tion, to Federal or State office;
‘‘(ii) the term ‘authorized committee’
means any political committee designated in
writing by a candidate as authorized to receive
contributions or make expenditures to promote
the nomination for election, or the election, of
such candidate, or to explore the possibility of
seeking nomination for election, or the election,
of such candidate, except that a political com-
mittee that receives contributions or makes ex-
penditures to promote more than 1 candidate
may not be designated as an authorized com-
mittee for purposes of subparagraph (A);
‘‘(iii) the term ‘national committee’ means
the organization which, by virtue of the bylaws
of a political party, is responsible for the day-
to-day operation of such political party at the
national level;
‘‘(iv) the term ‘national Federal campaign
committee’ means an organization that, by vir-
tue of the bylaws of a political party, is estab-
lished primarily for the purpose of providing as-
sistance, at the national level, to candidates
nominated by that party for election to the of-
fice of Senator or Representative in, or Dele-
gate or Resident Commissioner to, the Con-
gress;
‘‘(v) the term ‘State committee’ means the
organization which, by virtue of the bylaws of
a political party, is responsible for the day-to-
day operation of such political party at the
State level;
‘‘(vi) the term ‘political party’ means an
association, committee, or organization that
nominates a candidate for election to any Fed-
eral or State elected office whose name appears
on the election ballot as the candidate of such
association, committee, or organization; and
‘‘(vii) the term ‘State’ means a State of
the United States, the District of Columbia, the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any terri-
tory or possession of the United States.’’.
SEC. 6. PAY LEVEL.
Section 207(c)(2)(A)(ii) of title 18, United States
Code, is amended by striking ‘‘level V of the Executive
Schedule,’’ and inserting ‘‘level 5 of the Senior Executive
Service,’’.
Passed the House of Representatives June 4, 1996.
Attest:
Clerk.