Public Service Spending Integrity Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 231 To prevent the enrichment of certain Government officers and employees or their families through Federal funds or contracting, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 6, 2021 Mr. RUIZ introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform A BILL To prevent the enrichment of certain Government officers and employees or their families through Federal funds or contracting, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Public Service Spending Integrity Act’’. 5 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 6 (1) Americans’ trust in government is essential 7 to our democracy. 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:39 Feb 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H231.IH H231 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 231 IH (2) Allowing public service by an elected official 1 to seemingly converge with their own personal gain 2 is corrosive to Americans’ faith in government. 3 (3) Members of Congress and the executive 4 branch have substantial power and discretion over 5 the disbursement of public funds, and with that 6 comes the obligation to create a barrier between 7 public service and personal gain. 8 SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS AND CON- 9 TRACTING AT BUSINESSES OWNED BY CER- 10 TAIN GOVERNMENT OFFICERS AND EMPLOY- 11 EES. 12 (a) LIMITATION ON FEDERAL FUNDS.—Beginning in 13 fiscal year 2021 and in each fiscal year thereafter, no Fed- 14 eral funds may be obligated or expended for purposes of 15 procuring goods or services at any business owned or con- 16 trolled by a covered individual or any family member of 17 such an individual, unless such obligation or expenditure 18 of funds is authorized under the Presidential Protection 19 Assistance Act of 1976 (Public Law 94–524). 20 (b) PROHIBITION ON CONTRACTS.—No Executive 21 agency may enter into or hold a contract with a business 22 owned or controlled by a covered individual or any family 23 member of such an individual. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:39 Feb 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H231.IH H231 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 231 IH (c) DETERMINATION OF OWNERSHIP.—For purposes 1 of this section, a business shall be deemed to be owned 2 or controlled by a covered individual or any family member 3 of such an individual if the covered individual or member 4 of family (as the case may be)— 5 (1) is a member of the board of directors or 6 similar governing body of the business; 7 (2) directly or indirectly owns or controls more 8 than 50 percent of the voting shares of the business; 9 or 10 (3) is the beneficiary of a trust which owns or 11 controls more than 50 percent of the business and 12 can direct distributions under the terms of the trust. 13 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 14 (1) COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘covered 15 individual’’ means— 16 (A) the President; 17 (B) the Vice President; 18 (C) the head of any Executive department 19 (as that term is defined in section 101 of title 20 5, United States Code); and 21 (D) any individual occupying a position 22 designated by the President as a Cabinet-level 23 position. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:39 Feb 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H231.IH H231 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 231 IH (2) FAMILY MEMBER.—The term ‘‘family mem- 1 ber’’ means an individual with any of the following 2 relationships to a covered individual: 3 (A) Spouse, and parents thereof. 4 (B) Sons and daughters, and spouses 5 thereof. 6 (C) Parents, and spouses thereof. 7 (D) Brothers and sisters, and spouses 8 thereof. 9 (E) Grandparents and grandchildren, and 10 spouses thereof. 11 (F) Domestic partner and parents thereof, 12 including domestic partners of any individual in 13 paragraphs (2) through (5). 14 (3) EXECUTIVE AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Executive 15 agency’’ has the meaning given that term in section 16 105 of title 5, United States Code. 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:39 Feb 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H231.IH H231 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS