To amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to require Federal political appointees to sign a binding ethics pledge, and for other purposes.
Bill: H.R.752 | Sponsor: Rep. Gallagher, Mike (R-WI)
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
This bill provides statutory authority for provisions of the executive order titled Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Appointees, which was issued on January 28, 2017, and was revoked on January 20, 2021, by President Donald J. Trump. The order required political appointees in the executive branch to sign an ethics pledge that restricted lobbying and related activities during and after government employment, including a prohibition on appointees lobbying their former agencies for five years post-employment.
On January 20, 2021, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. issued a new executive order titled Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel, which requires appointees to sign an ethics pledge with both similar and different provisions. Among other differences, the order's pledge restricts appointees from accepting cash payments or non-cash benefits from former employers that are contingent on government employment (also known as golden parachutes).

To amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to require Federal 
  political appointees to sign a binding ethics pledge, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. ETHICS PLEDGE REQUIREMENT FOR SENIOR EXECUTIVE BRANCH 
              EMPLOYEES.

    The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 101 et seq.) is 
amended by inserting after title I the following new title:

                       ``TITLE II--ETHICS PLEDGE

``SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS.

    ``For the purposes of this title, the following definitions apply:
            ``(1) The term `executive agency' has the meaning given 
        that term in section 105 of title 5, United States Code, and 
        includes the Executive Office of the President, the United 
        States Postal Service, and Postal Regulatory Commission, but 
        does not include the Government Accountability Office.
            ``(2) The term `appointee' means any full-time, noncareer 
        Presidential or Vice-Presidential appointee, noncareer 
        appointee in the Senior Executive Service (or other SES-type 
        system), or appointee to a position that has been excepted from 
        the competitive service by reason of being of a confidential or 
        policymaking character (Schedule C and other positions excepted 
        under comparable criteria) in an executive agency, but does not 
        include any individual appointed as a member of the Senior 
        Foreign Service or solely as a uniformed service commissioned 
        officer.
            ``(3) The term `gift'--
                    ``(A) has the meaning given that term in section 
                2635.203(b) of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations;
                    ``(B) includes gifts that are solicited or accepted 
                indirectly as defined at section 2635.203(f) of such 
                title; and
                    ``(C) does not include those items excluded by 
                sections 2635.204(b), (c), (e)(1)-(3) and (j)-(l) of 
                such title.
            ``(4) The term `covered executive branch official' and 
        `lobbyist' have the meanings given those terms in section 3 of 
        the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602).
            ``(5) The term `registered lobbyist or lobbying 
        organization' means a lobbyist or an organization filing a 
        registration pursuant to section 4(a) of the Lobbying 
        Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1603(a)), and in the case of 
        an organization filing such a registration, `registered 
        lobbyist' includes each of the lobbyists identified therein.
            ``(6) The term `lobby' and `lobbied' mean to act or have 
        acted as a registered lobbyist.
            ``(7) The term `particular matter' has the meaning given 
        that term in section 207 of title 18, United States Code, and 
        section 2635.402(b)(3) of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations.
            ``(8) The term `particular matter involving specific 
        parties' has the meaning set forth in section 2641.201(h) of 
        title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, except that it shall 
        include any meeting or other communication relating to the 
        performance of one's official duties with a former employer or 
        former client, unless the communication applies to a particular 
        matter of general applicability and participation in the 
        meeting or other event is open to all interested parties.
            ``(9) The term `former employer' is any person for whom the 
        appointee has within the 2 years prior to the date of his or 
        her appointment served as an employee, officer, director, 
        trustee, or general partner, except that `former employer' does 
        not include any executive agency or other entity of the Federal 
        Government, State or local government, the District of 
        Columbia, Native American tribe, or any United States territory 
        or possession.
            ``(10) The term `former client' is any person for whom the 
        appointee served personally as agent, attorney, or consultant 
        within the 2 years prior to the date of his or her appointment, 
        but excluding instances where the service provided was limited 
        to a speech or similar appearance. It does not include clients 
        of the appointee's former employer to whom the appointee did 
        not personally provide services.
            ``(11) The term `directly and substantially related to my 
        former employer or former clients' means matters in which the 
        appointee's former employer or a former client is a party or 
        represents a party.
            ``(12) The term `participate' means to participate 
        personally and substantially.
            ``(13) The term `post-employment restrictions' includes the 
        provisions and exceptions in section 207(c) of title 18, United 
        States Code, and the implementing regulations.
            ``(14) The term `Government official' means any employee of 
        the executive branch.
            ``(15) The term `Administration' means all terms of office 
        of the incumbent President serving at the time of the 
        appointment of an appointee covered by this title.
            ``(16) The term `pledge' means the ethics pledge set forth 
        in section 202 of this title.
            ``(17) All references to provisions of law and regulations 
        shall refer to such provisions as in effect on the date of 
        enactment of this title.

``SEC. 202. ETHICS PLEDGE.

    ``Each appointee in every executive agency appointed on or after 
the date of enactment of this section shall sign, and upon signing 
shall be contractually committed to, the following pledge upon becoming 
an appointee:
    ```As a condition, and in consideration, of my employment in the 
United States Government in an appointee position invested with the 
public trust, I commit myself to the following obligations, which I 
understand are binding on me and are enforceable under law:
            ```(1) I will not, within 5 years after the termination of 
        my employment as an appointee in any executive agency in which 
        I am appointed to serve, engage in lobbying activities with 
        respect to that agency.
            ```(2) If, upon my departure from the Government, I am 
        covered by the post-employment restrictions on communicating 
        with employees of my former executive agency set forth in 
        section 207(c) of title 18, United States Code, I agree that I 
        will abide by those restrictions.
            ```(3) In addition to abiding by the limitations of 
        paragraphs 1 and 2, I also agree, upon leaving Government 
        service, not to engage in lobbying activities with respect to 
        any covered executive branch official or noncareer Senior 
        Executive Service appointee for the remainder of the 
        Administration.
            ```(4) I will not, at any time after the termination of my 
        employment in the United States Government, engage in any 
        activity on behalf of any foreign government or foreign 
        political party which, were it undertaken on January 20, 2017, 
        would require me to register under the Foreign Agents 
        Registration Act of 1938, as amended.
            ```(5) I will not accept gifts from registered lobbyists or 
        lobbying organizations for the duration of my service as an 
        appointee.
            ```(6) I will not for a period of 2 years from the date of 
        my appointment participate in any particular matter involving 
        specific parties that is directly and substantially related to 
        my former employer or former clients, including regulations and 
        contracts.
            ```(7) If I was a registered lobbyist within the 2 years 
        before the date of my appointment, in addition to abiding by 
        the limitations of paragraph 6, I will not for a period of 2 
        years after the date of my appointment participate in any 
        particular matter on which I lobbied within the 2 years before 
        the date of my appointment or participate in any particular 
        matter on which I lobbied within the 2 years before the date of 
        my appointment or participate in the specific issue area in 
        which that particular matter falls.
            ```(8) I agree that any hiring or other employment 
        decisions I make will be based on the candidate's 
        qualifications, competence, and experience.
            ```(9) I understand that the obligations of this pledge are 
        in addition to any statutory or other legal restrictions 
        applicable to me by virtue of Government service.'.

``SEC. 203. WAIVER.

    ``(a) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget, in 
consultation with the Counsel to the President, may grant to any 
current or former appointee a written waiver of any restrictions 
contained in the pledge signed by such appointee if, and to the extent 
that, the Director certifies (in writing) that--
            ``(1) the literal application of the restriction is 
        inconsistent with the purposes of the restriction; or
            ``(2) it is in the public interest to grant the waiver.
    ``(b) Any waiver under this section shall take effect when the 
certification is signed by the Director.
    ``(c) For purposes of subsection (a)(2), the public interest shall 
include exigent circumstances relating to national security or to the 
economy. De minimis contact with an executive agency shall be cause for 
a waiver of the restrictions contained in paragraph 3 of the pledge.

``SEC. 204. ADMINISTRATION.

    ``(a) The head of each executive agency shall, in consultation with 
the Director of the Office of Government Ethics, establish such rules 
or procedures (conforming as nearly as practicable to the agency's 
general ethics rules and procedures, including those relating to 
designated agency ethics officers) as are necessary or appropriate to 
ensure--
            ``(1) that every appointee in the agency signs the pledge 
        upon assuming the appointed office or otherwise becoming an 
        appointee;
            ``(2) that compliance with paragraph 3 of the pledge is 
        addressed in a written ethics agreement with each appointee to 
        whom it applies, which agreement shall also be approved by the 
        Counsel to the President prior to the appointee commencing 
        work;
            ``(3) that spousal employment issues and other conflicts 
        not expressly addressed by the pledge are addressed in ethics 
        agreements with appointees or, where no such agreements are 
        required, through ethics counseling; and
            ``(4) compliance with this title within the agency.
    ``(b) With respect to the Executive Office of the President, the 
duties set forth in subsection (a) shall be the responsibility of the 
Counsel to the President.
    ``(c) The Director of the Office of Government Ethics shall--
            ``(1) ensure that the pledge and a copy of this title are 
        made available for use by agencies in fulfilling their duties 
        under subsection (a);
            ``(2) in consultation with the Attorney General or the 
        Counsel to the President, when appropriate, assist designated 
        agency ethics officers in providing advice to current or former 
        appointees regarding the application of the pledge;
            ``(3) in consultation with the Attorney General and the 
        Counsel to the President, adopt such rules or procedures as are 
        necessary or appropriate--
                    ``(A) to carry out the responsibilities assigned by 
                this subsection;
                    ``(B) to apply the lobbyist gift ban set forth in 
                paragraph 1 of the pledge to all executive branch 
                employees;
                    ``(C) to authorize limited exceptions to the 
                lobbyist gift ban for circumstances that do not 
                implicate the purposes of the ban;
                    ``(D) to make clear that no person shall have 
                violated the lobbyist gift ban if the person properly 
                disposes of a gift as provided by section 2635.205 of 
                title 5, Code of Federal Regulations;
                    ``(E) to ensure that existing rules and procedures 
                for Government employees engaged in negotiations for 
                future employment with private businesses that are 
                affected by their official actions do not affect the 
                integrity of the Government's programs and operations; 
                and
                    ``(F) to ensure, in consultation with the Director 
                of the Office of Personnel Management, that the 
                requirement set forth in paragraph 6 of the pledge is 
                honored by every employee of the executive branch;
            ``(4) in consultation with the Director of the Office of 
        Management and Budget, report to the President on whether full 
        compliance is being achieved with existing laws and regulations 
        governing executive branch procurement lobbying disclosure and 
        on steps the executive branch can take to expand to the fullest 
        extent practicable disclosure of such executive branch 
        procurement lobbying and of lobbying for presidential pardons, 
        and to include in the report both immediate action the 
        executive branch can take and, if necessary, recommendations 
        for legislation; and
            ``(5) provide an annual public report on the administration 
        of the pledge and this title.
    ``(d) The Director of the Office of Government Ethics shall, in 
consultation with the Attorney General, the Counsel to the President, 
and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, report to the 
President on steps the executive branch can take to expand to the 
fullest extent practicable the revolving door ban set forth in 
paragraph 5 of the pledge to all executive branch employees who are 
involved in the procurement process such that they may not for 2 years 
after leaving Government service lobby any Government official 
regarding a Government contract that was under their official 
responsibility in the last 2 years of their Government service, and to 
include in the report both immediate action the executive branch can 
take and, if necessary, recommendations for legislation.
    ``(e) All pledges signed by appointees, and all waiver 
certifications with respect thereto, shall be filed with the head of 
the appointee's agency for permanent retention in the appointee's 
official personnel folder or equivalent folder.

``SEC. 205. ENFORCEMENT.

    ``(a) The contractual, fiduciary, and ethical commitments in the 
pledge are solely enforceable by the United States pursuant to this 
section by any legally available means, including debarment proceedings 
within any affected executive agency or judicial civil proceedings for 
declaratory, injunctive, or monetary relief.
    ``(b) Any former appointee who is determined, after notice and 
hearing, by the duly designated authority within any agency, to have 
violated his or her pledge may be barred from lobbying any officer or 
employee of that agency for up to 5 years in addition to the time 
period covered by the pledge. The head of every executive agency shall, 
in consultation with the Director of the Office of Government Ethics, 
establish procedures to implement this subsection, which procedures 
shall include providing for fact-finding and investigation of possible 
violations of this title and for referrals to the Attorney General for 
consideration pursuant to subsection (c).
    ``(c) The Attorney General is authorized--
            ``(1) upon receiving information regarding the possible 
        breach of any commitment in a signed pledge, to request any 
        appropriate Federal investigative authority to conduct such 
        investigations as may be appropriate; and
            ``(2) upon determining that there is a reasonable basis to 
        believe that a breach of a commitment has occurred or will 
        occur or continue, if not enjoined, to commence a civil action 
        against the former employee in any United States District Court 
        with jurisdiction to consider the matter.
    ``(d) In any such civil action, the Attorney General is authorized 
to request any and all relief authorized by law, including--
            ``(1) such temporary restraining orders and preliminary and 
        permanent injunctions as may be appropriate to restrain future, 
        recurring, or continuing conduct by the former employee in 
        breach of the commitments in the pledge he or she signed under 
        this title; and
            ``(2) establishment of a constructive trust for the benefit 
        of the United States, requiring an accounting and payment to 
        the United States Treasury of all money and other things of 
        value received by, or payable to, the former employee arising 
        out of any breach or attempted breach of such pledge.''.
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