I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1623
To amend title 44, United States Code, to direct the Archivist of the United 
States to maintain an inventory of all gifts received from domestic 
sources for the President, the Executive Residence at the White House, 
or a Presidential archival depository. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 3, 2003
Mr. OSE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Government Reform 
A BILL 
To amend title 44, United States Code, to direct the Archi-
vist of the United States to maintain an inventory of 
all gifts received from domestic sources for the President, 
the Executive Residence at the White House, or a Presi-
dential archival depository.
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 ‘‘Presidential Gifts Ac-
countability Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following:
(1) There is no clear accountability for Presi-
dential gifts, since multiple lists of such gifts are 
separately maintained by different Federal agencies, 
including by the White House Gifts Unit, the Na-
tional Park Service, and the National Archives and 
Records Administration. 
(2) House Report 107–768, ‘‘Problems with the 
Presidential Gifts System’’, presents additional in-
formation about the complexity of and problems with 
the current system. 
(3) The lack of a consolidated record of the re-
ceipt, administration, and disposition of Presidential 
gifts creates confusion about the status of some of 
those gifts. 
(4) Requiring the National Archives and 
Records Administration to maintain an inventory of 
Presidential gifts would eliminate such confusion 
and ensure accountability. 
SEC. 3. INVENTORY OF PRESIDENTIAL GIFTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 22 of title 44, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘§ 2208. Inventory of Presidential gifts 
‘‘(a) The Archivist shall maintain a current inventory 
of all Presidential gifts.
year having a cumulative value of $100 or more, the Ar-
chivist shall disclose to the public by not later than May 
15 of the succeeding year the following information: 
‘‘(i) The date of receipt by the Federal Govern-
ment. 
‘‘(ii) A description. 
‘‘(iii) The estimated cost or appraised value. 
‘‘(iv) The donor and the donor’s employer. 
‘‘(v) The circumstance under which the gift was 
made. 
‘‘(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply with respect 
to any gift from a foreign government (as that term is 
defined in section 7342(a) of title 5). 
‘‘(e) The Archivist shall report to the Committee on 
Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee 
on Government Reform of the House of Representatives 
each disposition of a Presidential gift other than a gift 
having a value of less than $100.
‘‘(f)(1) The Archivist shall issue regulations imple-
menting this section. 
‘‘(2) The Archivist may not issue any nonbinding 
guidance for purposes of this section. 
‘‘(g) In this section:
‘‘(1) The term ‘gift’ has the meaning that term 
has under section 109 of the Ethics in Government 
Act of 1978. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘Presidential gift’—
‘‘(A) subject to subparagraph (B), means 
any gift to or for the benefit of—
‘‘(i) the President personally, the 
spouse of the President, or any dependent 
child of the President; 
‘‘(ii) the President in his or her offi-
cial capacity; 
‘‘(iii) the Executive Residence at the 
White House; or 
‘‘(iv) a Presidential archival deposi-
tory (as that term is used in chapter 21); 
and 
‘‘(B) does not include a gift from a relative 
of an individual to whom the gift is made. 
‘‘(3) The term ‘relative’, with respect to an in-
dividual—
‘‘(A) means another individual—
‘‘(i) who is related to the individual 
concerned, as father, mother, son, daugh-
ter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, great aunt, 
great uncle, first cousin, nephew, niece,
husband, wife, grandfather, grandmother, 
grandson, 
granddaughter, 
father-in-law, 
mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, 
brother-in-law, 
sister-in-law, 
stepfather, 
stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, step-
brother, stepsister, half brother, half sister, 
or 
‘‘(ii) who is the grandfather or grand-
mother of the spouse of the individual con-
cerned; and 
‘‘(B) includes the fiance or fiancee of the 
individual concerned.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
for chapter 22 of title 44, United States Code, is amended 
by adding at the end the following:
‘‘2208. Inventory of Presidential gifts.’’.
SEC. 4. RESTRICTIONS RELATING TO GIFTS TO THE PRESI-
DENT OR SPOUSE OF THE PRESIDENT. 
Title I of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 
App. U.S.C.) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘RESTRICTIONS RELATING TO GIFTS TO THE PRESIDENT 
OR SPOUSE OF THE PRESIDENT. 
‘‘SEC. 112. (a) The President, and the spouse of the 
President, may not—
‘‘(1) accept any gift of stock in a corporation or 
any gift certificate; 
‘‘(2) accept gifts from a single source in a year 
having a cumulative value greater than $1,000, ex-
cept a personalized, honorific award; 
‘‘(3) accept any gift in the period beginning on 
the date of any presidential election occurring in the 
President’s term of office and ending on the date of 
the beginning of the next presidential term of office, 
unless the President is reelected to serve as Presi-
dent for that next term; 
‘‘(4) solicit or coordinate the making of any gift 
to the President or the spouse of the President; or 
‘‘(5) seek to have any other person solicit or co-
ordinate the making of any gift to the President or 
the spouse of the President. 
‘‘(b) An individual elected as President, and the 
spouse of the individual, may not accept any gift in the 
period beginning on the date of the election of the indi-
vidual as President and ending on the date of the begin-
ning of the next presidential term of office. 
‘‘(c) Any gift that a President, individual elected as 
President, or spouse is prohibited from accepting under 
this section—
‘‘(1) shall be returned to the person making the 
gift, by not later than 90 days after the date the gift 
is made; or 
‘‘(2) if not returned within that period—
‘‘(A) shall be the property of the United 
States; and 
‘‘(B) shall not be deposited in a Presi-
dential archival depository, as that term is used 
in chapter 21 of title 44, United States Code. 
‘‘(d) This section does not apply with respect to any 
gift from a foreign government (as that term is defined 
in section 7342(a) of title 5) or from a relative of an indi-
vidual to whom the gift is made.’’.
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