Title: Transparency in Executive Branch Official Finances Act
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Transparency in Executive Branch Official Finances Act
This bill establishes disclosure requirements for the President, Vice President, and senior government officials, and it establishes penalties for political appointees who engage in certain conduct.
Specifically, the bill requires the President and Vice President, and any candidate for such offices, to disclose their federal income tax returns for the previous five years. The Office of Government Ethics must publish such tax returns after making redactions to prevent identity theft or physical danger.
In addition, the bill requires senior government officials to make certain disclosures with respect to (1) any foreign business relationship, and (2) any ownership interest of at least 10% of the outstanding shares in a private enterprise or corporation or any intellectual property protected or enforced by a foreign country.
Further, the bill establishes penalties for any political appointee who solicits or receives a payment from a foreign-owned business, organization affiliated with a foreign-owned business or foreign government, or a foreign national.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5433 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5433

   To require the disclosure of foreign business interests of senior 
 Government officials and their spouses and family members, to require 
  the President and Vice President to disclose their tax returns, to 
   prevent political appointees from receiving payments from foreign 
                   entities, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 13, 2019

   Ms. Porter (for herself and Mr. Rose of New York) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and 
 Reform, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, 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 require the disclosure of foreign business interests of senior 
 Government officials and their spouses and family members, to require 
  the President and Vice President to disclose their tax returns, to 
   prevent political appointees from receiving payments from foreign 
                   entities, 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 ``Transparency in Executive Branch 
Official Finances Act''.

SEC. 2. DISCLOSURE OF FOREIGN FINANCIAL INTERESTS.

    (a) In General.--Section 102 of the Ethics in Government Act of 
1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 102) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(j)(1) Any report filed pursuant to section 101(d) by a senior 
Government official shall include--
            ``(A) a description of any foreign business relationship of 
        the official or spouse or member of family of the official;
            ``(B) with respect to any member of family of the official, 
        the information required to be disclosed with respect to a 
        spouse of the official under this title, including those under 
        section 102(e); and
            ``(C) a disclosure on whether the official or spouse or 
        member of family of the official owns--
                    ``(i) either directly or in combination with the 
                holdings of any trust controlled by the member, ten 
                percent or more of the outstanding shares in a private 
                enterprise or corporation; or
                    ``(ii) any intellectual property (including any 
                trademark, copyright, or patent) protected or enforced 
                by a foreign country.
    ``(2) With respect to any affirmative disclosure made under 
paragraph (1)(C)(i), the disclosure shall include--
            ``(A) the name of any applicable private enterprise or 
        corporation;
            ``(B) whether the private enterprise or corporation has 
        engaged in, during the previous 5 years, any business dealing 
        (including any sale, purchase, rental, disposition or exchange 
        of any goods, services, or property, any license, permit, grant 
        or benefit transaction) equal to or greater than $25,000 with a 
        publicly traded company with foreign majority shareholders, a 
        foreign-owned business, an organization associated with a 
        foreign-owned business, or a foreign national; and
            ``(C) with respect to any affirmative disclosure under 
        subparagraph (B), a list of any applicable publicly traded 
        company with foreign majority shareholders, foreign-owned 
        business, organization associated with a foreign-owned 
        business, or foreign national.
    ``(3) With respect to any affirmative disclosure made under 
paragraph (1)(C)(ii), a description of the applicable intellectual 
property.
    ``(4) In this subsection--
            ``(A) the term `foreign business relationship', when used 
        in connection with a senior Government official or their spouse 
        or member of family, means any instance where the official, 
        spouse, or member of family (as the case may be) holds any 
        position with--
                    ``(i) a publicly traded company with foreign 
                majority shareholders; or
                    ``(ii) a foreign-owned business or an organization 
                associated with a foreign-owned business;
            ``(B) the term `foreign-owned business' means a 
        partnership, association, corporation, organization, or other 
        combination of persons organized under the laws of or having 
        its principal place of business in a foreign country;
            ``(C) the term `member of family', when used in connection 
        with a senior Government official, means a parent, sibling, 
        child (including an adopted child or a step-child), aunt, 
        uncle, or first cousin of the official; and
            ``(D) the term `senior Government official' means--
                    ``(i) the President;
                    ``(ii) the Vice President; and
                    ``(iii) any political appointee (as that term is 
                defined in section 221(c)(2) of title 18, United States 
                Code).''.
    (b) Application.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall apply 
to any report filed pursuant to section 101(d) of the Ethics in 
Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 101(d)) after the date of 
enactment of this Act.

SEC. 3. DISCLOSURE OF TAX RETURNS OF PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT AND 
              CANDIDATES.

    (a) In General.--Section 102 of the Ethics in Government Act of 
1978 (5 U.S.C. App.), as amended by section 1, is further amended by 
adding at the end the following:
    ``(k)(1) Any report filed pursuant to section 101(d) by the 
President or the Vice President shall include the President's or Vice 
President's (as the case may be) return of Federal income tax for the 
previous 5 taxable years.
    ``(2) Any report filed pursuant to section 101(c) by an individual 
who is a candidate for the office of President or Vice President shall 
include the individual's return of Federal income tax for the previous 
5 taxable years.
    ``(3) The Director of the Office of Government Ethics may issue 
regulations authorizing the redaction of personal information as the 
Director deems necessary to prevent identity theft or physical danger 
from disclosure of tax returns required under paragraphs (1) and (2).
    ``(4) Not later than 30 days after the date that any tax returns 
are submitted by the President or Vice President pursuant to paragraph 
(1) or an individual who is a candidate for the office of President or 
Vice President pursuant to paragraph (2), the Director shall publish 
such tax returns on the public Internet website of the Office.''.
    (b) Disclosure Permitted.--Section 6103(i) of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(9) Disclosure of tax returns under the ethics in 
        government act of 1978.--The Director of the Office of 
        Government Ethics may publicly disclose returns described in 
        section 102(k) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 
        U.S.C. App. 102(k)) to the extent such returns are required to 
        be made available pursuant to such section.''.
    (c) Application.--The amendments made by subsections (a) and (b) 
shall apply to any report filed pursuant to section 101(c) or 101(d) of 
the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 and any disclosure made under 
section 6103(i) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, respectively, 
after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON RECEIPT OF PAYMENTS FROM FOREIGN ENTITIES.

    (a) In General.--Title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
inserting after section 220 the following:
``Sec. 221. Prohibition on receipt of payments from foreign entities
    ``(a) In General.--Whoever, being a political appointee, solicits 
or receives any payment (in cash or in kind) from any foreign-owned 
business, any organization affiliated with a foreign-owned business, 
any organization affiliated with a foreign government, or a foreign 
national, shall be subject to the penalties set forth in section 216.
    ``(b) Exceptions.--This section does not apply to--
            ``(1) any payment (including interest, dividends, or 
        capital gains) resulting from an investment in any stock, 
        mutual fund, or trust described in section 401(a) of the 
        Internal Revenue Code of 1986 which is exempt from taxation 
        under section 501(a) of such Code (including the Thrift Savings 
        Plan under subchapter III of chapter 84 of title 5); or
            ``(2) any discounts, rebates, or promotional offerings 
        associated with a bona-fide transaction with a foreign-owned 
        business or an organization associated with a foreign-owned 
        business.
    ``(c) Definitions.--In this section--
            ``(1) the term `foreign-owned business' has the meaning 
        given that term in section 102(j)(3)(B) of the Ethics in 
        Government Act of 1978; and
            ``(2) the term `political appointee' means any individual 
        within the executive branch of Government--
                    ``(A) appointed by the President, by and with the 
                advice and consent of the Senate;
                    ``(B) occupying a position in the Senior Executive 
                Service as a noncareer appointee (as such term is 
                defined in section 3132(a) of title 5);
                    ``(C) occupying a senior position of a confidential 
                or policy-determining character under schedule C of 
                subpart C of part 213 of title 5, Code of Federal 
                Regulations; or
                    ``(D) occupying any other position which has been 
                excepted from the competitive service by reason of its 
                confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or 
                policy-advocating character.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 11 of 
such title is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 
220 the following new item:

``221. Prohibition on receipt of payments from foreign entities.''.
    (c) Application.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall apply 
to any payment described under section 221 of title 18, United States 
Code, as added by subsection (a), received by a political appointee 
after the date of enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>