I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 984 
To provide for reform in the operations of the executive branch. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 12, 2007 
Mr. WAXMAN (for himself and Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Gov-
ernment Reform 
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, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Executive Branch Re-
form Act of 2007’’. 
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: 
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‘‘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— 
‘‘(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; 
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‘‘(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-
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— 
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‘‘(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 
‘‘(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). 
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‘‘SEC. 603. PENALTIES. 
‘‘(a) VIOLATION.—Whoever violates this title shall be 
subject to administrative sanctions, up to and including 
termination of employment. 
‘‘(b) DELIBERATE ATTEMPT TO CONCEAL.—Who-
ever deliberately attempts to conceal a significant contact 
in violation of this title shall upon proof of such deliberate 
violation by a preponderance 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-
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 
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described in section 7511(b)(2)(B) of title 5, 
United States Code; 
‘‘(D) any noncareer appointee, as defined 
by section 3132(a)(7) of title 5, United States 
Code; and 
‘‘(E) 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.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subparagraph (B), the term ‘significant contact’ 
means oral or written communication (including 
electronic communication) that is made by a 
private party to a covered executive branch offi-
cial in which such private party seeks to influ-
ence official action by any officer or employee 
of the executive branch of the United States. 
‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—The term ‘significant 
contact’ does not include any communication 
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that is an exception to the definition of ‘lob-
bying contact’— 
‘‘(i) under clauses (i) through (vii) or 
clauses (ix) through (xix) of subparagraph 
(B) of paragraph (8) of section 3 of the 
Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 
1602(8)(i)–(vii) or (ix)–(xix)); or 
‘‘(ii) with respect to publically avail-
able information only, under clause (viii) of 
subparagraph (B) of paragraph (8) of sec-
tion 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 
1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602(8)(viii)). 
‘‘(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— 
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(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: 
‘‘TITLE VII—STOPPING THE 
REVOLVING DOOR 
‘‘SEC. 701. TWO-YEAR COOLING-OFF PERIOD FOR PERSONS 
LEAVING GOVERNMENT SERVICE. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For a period of two years after 
the termination of his employment, a covered executive 
branch official— 
‘‘(1) shall not engage in any conduct that would 
be prohibited under subsection (c) of section 207 of 
title 18, United States Code, if it occurred within 
one year after the termination of his employment; 
and 
‘‘(2) shall not, if his position is described in 
subsection (d)(1) of section 207 of title 18, United 
States Code, engage in any conduct that would be 
prohibited under subsection (d) of section 207 of 
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