IIB 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 1132 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
MARCH 7, 2018 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs 
AN ACT 
To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide for a 
2-year prohibition on employment in a career civil service 
position for any former political appointee, and for other 
purposes. 
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 ‘‘Political Appointee 
Burrowing Prevention Act’’. 
SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON EMPLOYMENT OF POLITICAL AP-
POINTEES IN CAREER CIVIL SERVICE POSI-
TIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 31 of title 
5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘§ 3115. Employment of political appointees 
‘‘(a) APPOINTMENT APPROVAL REQUIRED.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The head of an agency may 
not appoint any individual described in paragraph 
(5) to a career position within the agency without 
receiving prior written approval from the Associate 
Director of Merit Systems Accountability and Com-
pliance, consistent with the requirements of this sub-
section. 
‘‘(2) REQUEST.—The head of an agency shall 
submit a request to the Associate Director to ap-
prove the appointment of any individual described in 
paragraph (5) to a career position. Any such request 
shall include certification by the head of the agency 
to the Associate Director that the appointment is 
necessary for the agency to meet its mission. 
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‘‘(3) REVIEW AND DETERMINATION.—The As-
sociate Director shall review any request received 
pursuant to paragraph (2) and deny any such re-
quest unless the Associate Director determines that 
the appointment process with respect to the request 
was fair, open, and free from political influence. If 
the Associate Director makes that determination, 
the Associate Director may approve the request. 
‘‘(4) NOTIFICATION
TO
CONGRESS.—With re-
spect to any request approved under paragraph (3), 
the Associate Director shall, not less than five days 
before the date the Associate Director provides ap-
proval to the head of the requesting agency, provide 
to the Committee on Oversight and Government Re-
form of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af-
fairs of the Senate the agency certification under 
paragraph (2) and the agency head’s rationale for 
that certification. 
‘‘(5) COVERED
INDIVIDUALS.—An individual 
described in this paragraph is— 
‘‘(A) a political appointee; 
‘‘(B) a former political appointee who held 
any political position during the 5-year period 
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‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
‘‘(1) the term ‘agency’ has the meaning given 
the term ‘Executive agency’ in section 105; 
‘‘(2) the term ‘Associate Director’ means the 
Associate Director of Merit Systems Accountability 
and Compliance at the Office of Personnel Manage-
ment; 
‘‘(3) the term ‘political appointee’ means an in-
dividual serving in an appointment of any duration 
to a political position; 
‘‘(4) the term ‘political position’ means— 
‘‘(A) a position with respect to which ap-
pointment is made— 
‘‘(i) by the President; or 
‘‘(ii) by the President, by and with the 
advice and consent of the Senate; 
‘‘(B) a position which has been excepted 
from the competitive service by reason of its 
confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, 
or policy-advocating character; 
‘‘(C) a position described under sections 
5312 through 5316 (relating to the Executive 
Schedule); and 
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‘‘(D) a general position in the Senior Exec-
utive Service during such time as it is filled 
by— 
‘‘(i) a noncareer appointee, as defined 
in paragraph (7) of section 3132(a); or 
‘‘(ii) a limited term appointee or lim-
ited emergency appointee, as defined in 
paragraphs (5) and (6) of section 3132(a), 
who is serving under a political appoint-
ment. 
‘‘(5) the term ‘career position’ means— 
‘‘(A) a position in the competitive service 
filled by career or career-conditional appoint-
ment; 
‘‘(B) a position in the excepted service 
filled by an appointment of equivalent tenure as 
a position described in subparagraph (A); 
‘‘(C) a career reserved position, as defined 
in paragraph (8) of section 3132(a), in the Sen-
ior Executive Service; or 
‘‘(D) a general position in the Senior Exec-
utive Service when filled by a career appointee, 
as defined in section 3132(a)(4); 
‘‘(6) the term ‘participated’ means an action 
taken as an officer or employee through decision, ap-
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proval, disapproval, recommendation, the rendering 
of advice, investigation, or other such action; and 
‘‘(7) the term ‘particular matter’ includes any 
investigation, application, request for a ruling or de-
termination, 
rulemaking, 
contract, 
controversy, 
claim, charge, accusation, arrest, or judicial or other 
proceeding.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
of chapter 31 of title 5, United States Code, is amended 
by adding after the item relating to section 3114 the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘3115. Employment of political appointees.’’. 
(c) APPLICATION.— 
(1) 
APPOINTMENT
REQUESTS.—Section 
3115(a) of title 5, United States Code, as added by 
subsection (a), shall apply to any appointment or re-
quest for appointment described in such section sub-
mitted to the Associate Director of Merit Systems 
Accountability and Compliance after the date of en-
actment of this Act. 
(2) LIMITATION
ON
APPOINTMENTS.—Section 
3115(b) of title 5, United States Code, as added by 
subsection (a), shall apply to any individual who 
leaves or departs from a political position (as that 
term is defined in section 3115(c)(2) of such title, 
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as added by such subsection) after the date of enact-
ment of this Act. 
(d) REGULATIONS REQUIRED.—The Director of the 
Office of Personnel Management shall issue regulations 
necessary to carry out this Act. Such regulations shall in-
clude guidance on the definition of the term ‘‘personally 
and substantially participated in a particular matter’’ in 
section 3115(b)(2) of title 5, United States Code, as added 
by subsection (a), consistent with section 2641.201 of title 
5, Code of Federal Regulations. 
Passed the House of Representatives March 6, 
2018. 
Attest: 
KAREN L. HAAS, 
Clerk. 
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