I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6788 
To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide a criminal penalty for 
certain Federal officers and employees using their public office for private 
gain, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 12, 2018 
Mr. TED LIEU of California introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide a criminal 
penalty for certain Federal officers and employees using 
their public office for private gain, and for other pur-
poses. 
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 ‘‘E. Scott Pruitt Ac-
countability for Government Officials Act of 2018’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) During his time as Administrator of the 
Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt faced 
more than 12 separate ethics investigations includ-
ing by the Environmental Protection Agency Inspec-
tor General, the Committee on Oversight and Gov-
ernment Reform of the House of Representatives, 
the Executive Office of the President, the Govern-
ment Accountability Office, and the U.S. Office of 
Special Counsel. 
(2) On October 2, 2017, the Department of the 
Interior’s Inspector General confirmed they were in-
vestigating Secretary Ryan Zinke’s taxpayer-funded 
flights, including $12,375 on a chartered flight from 
Las Vegas to Montana where he spoke to a hockey 
team that is owned by one of Secretary Zinke’s larg-
est political donors. 
(3) On March 14, 2018, CNN reported that 
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben 
Carson knew about a dining set worth $31,000 that 
was ordered for Carson’s office, knowledge of which 
he had previously denied. 
(4) On March 20, 2018, it was publicly re-
ported that Scott Pruitt secured a sub-market lease 
for a Washington, DC, condominium owned by the 
wife of a lobbyist who represented clients with mat-
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ters pending before the Environmental Protection 
Agency, and told the Washington Examiner that he 
was ‘‘dumbfounded that that’s controversial’’. 
(5) On April 4, 2018, the New York Times re-
ported that Scott Pruitt used a loophole in the Safe 
Water Drinking Act to give raises to his aides that 
had been explicitly denied by the White House. 
(6) On April 16, 2018, the Washington Post re-
ported 
that 
Scott 
Pruitt 
had 
spent 
nearly 
$3,000,000 of taxpayer funds on security and travel 
since taking office in February 2017. 
(7) On April 26, 2018, Politico reported that 
Scott Pruitt spent over $105,000 of taxpayer funds 
on first-class flights, citing since-debunked threats to 
his personal security. 
(8) On June 5, 2018, the Washington Post re-
ported that Scott Pruitt used official channels to 
pressure Chick-fil-A Chief Executive Officer Dan 
Cathy into securing a restaurant franchise for his 
wife. 
(9) On June 6, 2018, the Washington Post re-
ported that Scott Pruitt forced aides to help him se-
cure a used ‘‘Trump Home Luxury Plush Euro Pil-
low Top’’. 
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(10) On June 8, 2018, the Washington Post re-
ported that Scott Pruitt forced his security detail to 
help him acquire high-end hand lotion and to pick 
up his dry cleaning. 
(11) On July 2, 2018, the Washington Post re-
ported that Scott Pruitt recruited a staff member to 
help his wife find a job, the salary for which he stip-
ulated should be no less than $200,000. 
(12) On July 5, 2018, Scott Pruitt resigned 
amid myriad scandals and massive public pressure. 
(13) On July 13, 2018, Forbes reported on Wil-
bur Ross’ massive conflicts of interest, including 
having taken meetings with a trade association 
whose members included a car manufacturer whose 
investors included Ross himself. The same report 
noted that Wilbur Ross took meetings with compa-
nies whose investors included his wife. 
(14) On July 13, 2018, The New York Times 
reported that Tom Price repeatedly violated govern-
ment travel rules, wasting at least $314,000 of tax-
payer funds by using chartered jets and military air 
travel instead of commercially available flights. 
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SEC. 3. USE OF PUBLIC OFFICE FOR PRIVATE GAIN. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 93 of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘§ 1925. Use of public office for private gain 
‘‘(a) USE FOR PRIVATE GAIN.—Whoever, being a 
covered Federal officer or employee, uses his public office 
for— 
‘‘(1) his own private gain; 
‘‘(2) the endorsement of any product, service or 
enterprise; or 
‘‘(3) the private gain of a friend, relative, or a 
person with whom the covered Federal officer or em-
ployee is affiliated in a nongovernmental capacity, 
including a nonprofit organization of which the cov-
ered Federal officer or employee is an officer or 
member, and a person with whom the employee has 
or seeks employment or business relations, 
shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 
one year, or in the case of a willful violation, not more 
than 5 years, or both. 
‘‘(b) COERCION.—Whoever, being a covered Federal 
officer or employee, uses or permits the use of his Govern-
ment position or title or any authority associated with his 
public office in a manner that is intended to coerce or in-
duce another person, including a subordinate, to provide 
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(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
for chapter 93 of title 18, United States Code, is amended 
by inserting after the item related to section 1924 the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘1925. Use of public office for private gain.’’. 
Æ 
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