Title: IPO Act
Policy area: Congress

Summary:
Integrity for Public Officials Act or the IPO Act
This bill prohibits certain senior government officials, including Members of Congress, from engaging in specified transactions.
Specifically, the bill prohibits these individuals from (1) purchasing or selling certain investments in securities, commodities, or futures; (2) entering into a transaction that creates a net short position in a security; or (3) serving as an officer or board member of a for-profit association, corporation, or other entity.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6461 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6461

To prohibit senior Government officials, including Members of Congress, 
from purchasing or selling certain investments, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 7, 2020

 Ms. Gabbard introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committees on 
   Agriculture, Oversight and Reform, House Administration, and the 
 Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To prohibit senior Government officials, including Members of Congress, 
from purchasing or selling certain investments, 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 ``Integrity for Public Officials Act'' 
or the ``IPO Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act--
            (1) the term ``commodity'' has the meaning given the term 
        in section 1a of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1a);
            (2) the term ``covered investment''--
                    (A) means investment in a security, a commodity, or 
                a future, or any comparable economic interest acquired 
                through synthetic means such as the use of a 
                derivative; and
                    (B) does not include--
                            (i) a widely held investment fund described 
                        in section 102(f)(8) of the Ethics in 
                        Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.); or
                            (ii) a United States Treasury bill, note, 
                        or bond;
            (3) the term ``covered person'' means--
                    (A) any individual described in section 101(f) of 
                the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.), 
                including--
                            (i) any individual in a position on any 
                        level of the Executive Schedule under 
                        subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 5, United 
                        States Code;
                            (ii) a political appointee in the Executive 
                        Office of President or in the Office of the 
                        Vice President; and
                            (iii) an individual employed in a position 
                        in the executive branch of the Government of a 
                        confidential or policy-determining character 
                        under schedule C of subpart C of part 213 of 
                        title 5, Code of Federal Regulations;
                    (B) an individual employed in a position in the 
                Senior Executive Service;
                    (C) an individual employed in a position at the GS-
                14 level or higher;
                    (D) an individual employed in a position not under 
                the General Schedule for which the rate of basic pay is 
                equal to or greater than the minimum rate of basic pay 
                payable for GS-14 of the General Schedule; and
                    (E) the spouse of any Member of Congress (as that 
                term is defined in section 109(12) of the Ethics in 
                Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.));
            (4) the term ``future'' means a financial contract 
        obligating the buyer to purchase an asset or the seller to sell 
        an asset, such as a physical commodity or a financial 
        instrument, at a predetermined future date and price; and
            (5) the term ``security'' has the meaning given the term in 
        section 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 
        78c(a)).

SEC. 3. PROHIBITIONS.

    (a) Transactions.--Except as provided in sections 4 and 5, no 
covered person may--
            (1) purchase or sell any covered investment; or
            (2) enter into a transaction that creates a net short 
        position in any security.
    (b) Positions.--A covered person may not serve as an officer or 
member of any board of any for-profit association, corporation, or 
other entity.

SEC. 4. EXCEPTIONS.

    (a) Investments Held Before Taking Office.--
            (1) In general.--A covered person may have control over or 
        knowledge of the management of any covered investment held by 
        the covered person as of the day before the date on which the 
        covered person took office (or in the case of a spouse 
        described in section 2(3)(E), the date the applicable Member of 
        Congress took office).
            (2) Prohibition on purchasing or selling.--A covered person 
        may not buy or sell any investment described in paragraph (1) 
        except in the case of--
                    (A) placing the investment in a qualified blind 
                trust described in section 5; or
                    (B) divesting themselves of any investment under 
                subsection (b).
    (b) Divestiture.--A covered person may sell a covered investment 
during the 6-month period beginning on--
            (1) the date on which the covered person takes office (or 
        in the case of a spouse described in section 2(3)(E), the date 
        the applicable Member of Congress took office); or
            (2) the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 5. TRUSTS FOR LEGISLATIVE BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT.

    (a) In General.--Consistent with section 7, on a case-by-case 
basis, the Select Committee on Ethics may authorize a covered person to 
place their securities holdings in a qualified blind trust approved by 
the committee under section 102(f) of the Ethics in Government Act of 
1978 (5 U.S.C. App.).
    (b) Blind Trust.--Consistent with section 7, a blind trust 
permitted under this section shall meet the criteria in section 
102(f)(4)(B) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.), 
unless an alternative arrangement is approved by the Select Committee 
on Ethics.

SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATION FOR LEGISLATIVE BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT.

    (a) In General.--Consistent with section 7, the provisions of this 
Act shall be administered by the Select Committee on Ethics of the 
Senate and the Committee on Ethics of the House of Representatives.
    (b) Guidance.--Consistent with section 7, the Select Committee on 
Ethics of the Senate and the Committee on Ethics of the House of 
Representatives are authorized to issue guidance on any matter 
contained in this Act, including--
            (1) whether a covered person or spouse of a covered person 
        may hold an employee stock option, or similar instrument, that 
        had not vested before the date on which the covered person was 
        elected; and
            (2) the process and timeline for when a covered person or 
        spouse of a covered person shall no longer serve as an officer 
        or member of any board of any for-profit association, 
        corporation, or other entity.

SEC. 7. ADMINISTRATION FOR EXECUTIVE AND JUDICIAL BRANCHES OF 
              GOVERNMENT.

    With respect to--
            (1) a covered person who is an officer or employee of the 
        executive branch of the Government, the Director of the Office 
        of Government Ethics shall carry out sections 5 and 6; and
            (2) a covered person who is an officer or employee of the 
        judicial branch of the Government, the Judicial Conference 
        shall carry out such sections.

SEC. 8. ENFORCEMENT.

    Whoever knowingly fails to comply with this Act shall be subject to 
a civil penalty of not less than 10 percent of the value of the covered 
investment that was purchased or sold or the security in which a net 
short position was created in violation of this Act, as applicable.
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