Title: Accountability for Government Officials Act of 2019
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Accountability for Government Officials Act of 2019
This bill establishes new criminal offenses for the use by a federal officer or employee of his or her public office for private gain. A violator is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term, or both.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 329 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 329

 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

                            January 8, 2019

  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 purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Accountability for Government 
Officials Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) During his time as Administrator of the Environmental 
        Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt faced more than 12 separate 
        ethics investigations including by the Environmental Protection 
        Agency Inspector General, the Committee on Oversight and 
        Government Reform of the House of Representatives, the 
        Executive Office of the President, the Government 
        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 investigating 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 largest 
        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 reported that Scott 
        Pruitt secured a sub-market lease for a Washington, DC, 
        condominium owned by the wife of a lobbyist who represented 
        clients with matters 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 reported 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 reported 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 reported 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 reported that 
        Scott Pruitt forced aides to help him secure a used ``Trump 
        Home Luxury Plush Euro Pillow Top''.
            (10) On June 8, 2018, the Washington Post reported 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 reported that 
        Scott Pruitt recruited a staff member to help his wife find a 
        job, the salary for which he stipulated 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 Wilbur 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 companies 
        whose investors included his wife.
            (14) On July 13, 2018, The New York Times reported that Tom 
        Price repeatedly violated government travel rules, wasting at 
        least $314,000 of taxpayer funds by using chartered jets and 
        military air travel instead of commercially available flights.

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 following:
``Sec. 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 employee is affiliated 
        in a nongovernmental capacity, including a nonprofit 
        organization of which the covered 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 Government position or title 
or any authority associated with his public office in a manner that is 
intended to coerce or induce another person, including a subordinate, 
to provide any benefit, financial or otherwise, to himself or to a 
friend, relative, or person with whom the covered Federal officer or 
employee is affiliated in a nongovernmental capacity, 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.
    ``(c) Covered Federal Officer or Employee.--For purposes of this 
section, the term `covered Federal officer or employee' means any of 
the following officers or employees of the Federal Government:
            ``(1) Assistant to the President for National Security 
        Affairs.
            ``(2) Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff.
            ``(3) Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff.
            ``(4) Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff 
        for Communications (or Director of Communications).
            ``(5) Assistant to the President and Press Secretary.
            ``(6) Senior Advisor to the President.
            ``(7) Assistant to the President and Staff Secretary.
            ``(8) Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and 
        Counterterrorism.
            ``(9) Assistant to the President and Counselor to the 
        President.
            ``(10) Director of the National Economic Council.
            ``(11) Director of the Domestic Policy Council.
            ``(12) Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff or 
        Deputy Chief of Staff to the Vice President.
            ``(13) Special Assistant to the President and Director of 
        Communications for the Vice President.
            ``(14) Press Secretary to the Vice President.
            ``(15) Senior Advisor to the Vice President.
            ``(16) Deputy Assistant to the President and National 
        Security Advisor or Deputy National Security Advisor to the 
        Vice President.
            ``(17) Deputy Assistant to the President and Counselor to 
        the Vice President.
            ``(18) Assistant to the President and White House Counsel.
            ``(19) Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
            ``(20) Any officer or employee whose appointment is made by 
        the President by and with the advice and consent of the 
        Senate.''.
    (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 following:

``1925. Use of public office for private gain.''.
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