No Foreign Emoluments Without Congressional Consent Act

Bill: 118-s-4390
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT]
Introduced: 2024-05-22
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Latest action: action_date: 2024-05-22
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Summaries:

tv_txt: II 118th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 4390 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES May 22, 2024 Mr. Blumenthal introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs A BILL To amend title 5, United States Code, to prohibit the President, Vice President, Members of Congress, and other senior Executive branch personnel from accepting any foreign emoluments, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the No Foreign Emoluments Without Congressional Consent Act . 2. Prohibiting senior Federal officials from accepting foreign payments (a) In general Subchapter IV of chapter 73 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding after section 7342 the following: 7343. Prohibiting senior Federal officials from accepting foreign payments (a) Prohibition (1) In general It shall be unlawful for any senior Federal official to receive, accept, or retain a foreign payment, including through a business entity controlled by a senior Federal official, without first obtaining the consent of Congress pursuant to this section and section 7344. (2) Two-year post employment During the 2-year period beginning on the date that an individual leaves the position of a senior Federal official, it shall be unlawful for such individual to receive, accept, or retain a foreign payment, including through a business entity controlled by a senior Federal official, without first obtaining the consent of Congress pursuant to this section and section 7344. Such individual shall make the requisite disclosures required under subsection (b) of this section. (3) Candidate reports An individual other than an incumbent President or Vice President who becomes a candidate (as defined in section 301 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 ( 52 U.S.C. 30101 )) for the office of President or Vice President shall submit a report to Congress at the end of each 30-day period such individual is such a candidate listing any foreign payments such individual received during such period. (b) Disclosure (1) Notice Any senior Federal official that wishes to receive, accept, or retain a foreign payment shall submit (in writing) notice to the Director prior to receiving, accepting, or retaining any foreign payment. Such request shall include, at a minimum— (A) the name of, and position occupied by, the senior Federal official; (B) details regarding the foreign payment the senior Federal official wishes to receive, accept, and retain, including the foreign government that would provide the foreign payment, the type of payment and the financial instrument to be used to provide the payment, the value of the foreign payment, and whether the foreign payment would be provided through a business entity, and, if so, the business entity and the specific transaction through which it would be provided; and (C) a statement confirming that the senior Federal official has not requested or otherwise encouraged the tender of the foreign payment. (2) Notification to Congress Not later than 10 days after receiving notice under paragraph (1), the Director shall submit such notice to Congress. (3) Members of Congress For purposes of carrying out this subsection with respect to Members of Congress— (A) with respect to any such Member who is a Senator, the term the Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate shall be substituted for Director ; and (B) with respect to any such Member who is a Member of the House of Representatives, the term Committee on Ethics of the House of Representatives shall be substituted for Director . (c) Definitions For purposes of this section and sections 7344 and 7345— (1) the term business entity — (A) means a for-profit corporation, association, partnership, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, other legal entity, or sole proprietorship in which a senior Federal official has an ownership stake; and (B) does not include an entity in which more than 100 people have an ownership stake and the senior Federal official holds no more than 5 percent in a beneficial ownership stake and that— (i) issues securities registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ( 15 U.S.C. 78l ); (ii) is an investment company registered pursuant to section 8 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 ( 15 U.S.C. 80a–8 ) that does not have a stated policy of concentrating the investments of the investment company in any industry, business, single country other than the United States, or bonds of a single State within the United States; or (iii) is a unit investment trust, as defined in section 4 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 ( 15 U.S.C. 80a–4 ) that— (I) is a regulated investment company, as defined in section 851 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and (II) does not have a stated policy of concentrating the investments of the investment company in any industry, business, single country other than the United States, or bonds of a single State within the United States; (2) the term Director means the Director of the Office of Government Ethics; (3) the term foreign payment — (A) means any direct or indirect payment in any form, including any tangible item, arising from commercial transactions of any kind, including any payment involving a business entity, whether or not at fair market value from— (i) any foreign government (as that term is defined in section 7342(a)); (ii) any corporate enterprise engaged in commercial endeavors owned 50 percent or more or controlled by a foreign government; or (iii) any member of the family of a sovereign in a monarchical government; (B) does not include any gift or decoration covered under section 7342; and (4) the term senior Federal official means— (A) the President and the Vice President; (B) a Member of Congress (as that term is defined in section 2106); (C) the head of any Executive department; (D) any individual employed on the staff of the President in a position with the title of Assistant to the President, Deputy Assistant to the President, Special Assistant to the President, Advisor to the President, or Counselor to the President; and (E) any other senior United States Government employee designated by the Director. 7344. Congressional review of request to receive, accept, and retain foreign payment (a) In general A senior Federal official may not receive, accept, or retain a foreign payment unless Congress has, prior to such receipt, acceptance, or retention, consented through enactment of a concurrent resolution of approval as provided under this section. (b) Review (1) In general In this section, the term concurrent resolution means only a concurrent resolution— (A) introduced during the period beginning on the date Congress receives notice from the Director under section 7343(b)(2) and ending on the date that is 90 days thereafter; and (B) consisting only of the following text in the matter following the resolving clause: That Congress hereby consents to the acceptance by ______ of the foreign payment described as follows: _____. , with the first blank space filled in with the name of the senior Federal official and the second blank space filled in with a detailed description of the foreign payment. (2) Committee consideration A concurrent resolution under this section shall be referred to the appropriate committee of the House of Representatives and the Senate. One such concurrent resolution shall be reported out by such committee together with its recommendations within fifteen legislative days after the day on which such resolution is referred to such committee, unless such House shall otherwise determine by the yeas and nays. (3) Consideration Any concurrent resolution so reported shall become the pending business of the House in question (in the case of the Senate the time for debate shall be equally divided between the proponents and the opponents) and shall be voted on within three legislative days after the day on which such resolution is reported, unless such House shall otherwise determine by yeas and nays. (4) Coordination Such a concurrent resolution passed by one House shall be referred to the appropriate committee of the other House and shall be reported out by such committee together with its recommendations within fifteen legislative days after the day on which such resolution is referred to such committee and shall thereupon become the pending business of such House and shall be voted upon within three legislative days after the day on which such resolution is reported, unless such House shall otherwise determine by yeas and nays. (5) Conference In the case of any disagreement between the two Houses of Congress with respect to a joint resolution passed by both Houses, conferees shall be promptly appointed and the committee of conference shall make and file a report with respect to such joint resolution within six legislative days after the day on which managers on the part of the Senate and the House have been appointed. Notwithstanding any rule in either House concerning the printing of conference reports or concerning any delay in the consideration of such reports, such report shall be acted on by both Houses not later than six legislative days after the conference report is filed in the House in which such report is filed first. In the event the conferees are unable to agree within forty-eight hours, they shall report back to their respective Houses in disagreement. (c) Exercise of rulemaking powers This section is enacted by the Congress— (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the House of Representatives and the Senate, respectively, and as such they shall be considered as part of the rules of each House, respectively, or of that House to which they specifically apply, and such rules shall supersede other rules only to the extent that they are inconsistent therewith; and (2) with full recognition of the constitutional right of either House to change such rules (so far as relating to such House) at any time, in the same manner, and to the same extent as in the case of any other rule of such House. 7345. Penalties (a) Civil Action by the Attorney General The Attorney General may bring a civil action against a senior Federal official in an appropriate United States district court for a violation of section 7343 or 7344 for— (1) a civil monetary penalty in an amount not to exceed $5,000 more than the retail value of the foreign payment; and (2) such injunctive relief as may be appropriate. (b) Criminal penalty Whoever, being a senior Federal official, knowingly violates section 7343 or 7344 shall be imprisoned for not more than one year, fined in the amount of $50,000 or the total value of the foreign payments accepted, whichever is greater, or both. (c) Forfeiture Any payment received, accepted, or retained in violation of section 7343 or 7344 shall be seized and forfeited to the United States in accordance with chapter 46 of title 18. (d) Actions by Private Persons A person may bring a civil action for a violation of section 7343 or 7344 for the person and for the United States Government in the same manner as an action under section 3730(b) of title 31, except that— (1) any extension of time under section 3730(b)(3) of title 31 shall not exceed 120 days; (2) section 3730(e)(2) of title 31 shall not apply; and (3) section 3730(e)(4) of title 31 shall not apply with regard to a civil action brought against the President, the Vice President, or the Attorney General. (e) Safe harbor The penalties under this section shall not apply with respect to a foreign payment made to a senior Federal official if the official— (1) did not solicit the payment; and (2) not later than 72 hours after becoming aware of the receipt of such a payment, and in no case later than 90 days after its receipt— (A) notifies the Director (or, in the case of a Member of Congress, the Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate or the Committee on Ethics of the House of Representatives, as the case may be) of the payment; and (B) returns the payment in full to the entity that made the payment or remits such payment to the Treasury. . (b) Designation by OGE Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Government Ethics shall publish, on the Office’s public website, an initial list of any individual designated by the Director under section 7343(c)(4)(E) of title 5, United States Code (as added by subsection (a) of this Act). The Director shall update such list as appropriate. (c) Clerical The table of sections for subchapter IV of chapter 73 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding after the item relating to section 7342 the following: 7343. Prohibiting senior Federal officials from accepting foreign payments. 7344. Congressional review of foreign payments. 7345. Penalties. . 3. Enforcement authority for Office of Government Ethics and financial disclosures (a) Enforcement (1) In general Section 13122(a) of title 5, United States Code, is amended— (A) by striking The Director and inserting (1) In general .—The Director ; and (B) by adding at the end the following: (2) Foreign payments (A) In general The Director shall provide overall direction of executive branch policies related to compliance with sections 7343 through 7345, and shall have authority to— (i) order individuals to take corrective action; and (ii) pursuant to section 7345, require disgorgement and divestiture of any foreign payment received, accepted, or retained by a senior Federal official without the consent of Congress to ensure compliance by a senior Federal official with the No Foreign Emoluments Without Congressional Consent Act. (B) Definitions In this paragraph and for purposes of subsection (b)(16), the terms foreign payment and senior Federal official have the meaning given those terms in section 7343(c). . (2) Specific authority Section 13122(b) of title 5, United States Code, is amended— (A) in paragraph (14), by striking and at the end; (B) in paragraph (15), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and ; and (C) by adding after paragraph (15) the following: (16) developing and promulgating rules and regulations to ensure compliance with the requirements of sections 7343 through 7345, including establishing— (A) a process for making required reports and notifications to Congress; (B) a process for ensuring the surrender or requiring the disgorgement and divestiture of a foreign payment when Congress does not consent to retention of the foreign payment; (C) a process for notifying Congress of non-compliance with the requirements of section 7343 and 7344 or with any disapproval of retention of any foreign payment by a senior Federal official; and (D) such other matters as are necessary to ensure compliance with the requirements of section 7343 and 7344. . (b) Disclosures Section 13104(a) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: (9) Foreign payments Any foreign payment received by a senior Federal official on or before the date of filing during the preceding calendar year, including the source, date, type, amount or value, date of surrender, or the date of adoption by Congress of a concurrent resolution approving the retention of the foreign payment under section 7344. In this paragraph, the terms foreign payment and senior Federal official have the meaning given those terms in section 7343(c). (10) Payments to business interest Each business interest of a senior Federal official that is reasonably expected to result in the receipt of any foreign payment during the current calendar year. In this paragraph, the terms foreign payment and senior Federal official have the meaning given those terms in section 7343(c). . 4. Severability If any provision of this Act or amendment made by this Act, or the application of a provision or amendment to any person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act and amendments made by this Act, and the application of the provisions and amendment to any person or circumstance, shall not be affected by the holding.