TRUST in Congress Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 336 To require Members of Congress and their spouses and dependent children to place certain assets into blind trusts, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 15, 2021 Ms. SPANBERGER (for herself, Mr. ROY, Ms. NORTON, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. JONES, Ms. HOULAHAN, Mr. PERRY, Mr. KELLER, and Mr. WRIGHT) in- troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration A BILL To require Members of Congress and their spouses and de- pendent children to place certain assets into blind trusts, 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. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Transparent Represen- 4 tation Upholding Service and Trust in Congress Act’’ or 5 the ‘‘TRUST in Congress Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Feb 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H336.IH H336 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 336 IH SEC. 2. PLACEMENT OF CERTAIN ASSETS OF MEMBERS OF 1 CONGRESS AND THEIR SPOUSES AND DE- 2 PENDENT CHILDREN IN BLIND TRUST. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.— 4 (1) MEMBERS OCCUPYING OFFICE ON DATE OF 5 ENACTMENT.—Not later than 90 days after the date 6 of enactment of this Act, a Member of Congress and 7 any spouse or dependent child of such Member shall 8 place any covered investment owned by such Mem- 9 ber, spouse, or dependent child into a qualified blind 10 trust. 11 (2) MEMBERS ASSUMING OFFICE AFTER DATE 12 OF ENACTMENT.—Not later than 90 days after the 13 date an individual becomes a Member of Congress 14 after the date of enactment of this Act, such indi- 15 vidual and any spouse or dependent child of such in- 16 dividual shall place any covered investment owned by 17 such individual, spouse, or dependent child into a 18 qualified blind trust. 19 (3) MINGLING OF ASSETS.—A spouse or de- 20 pendent child of a Member of Congress may place 21 a covered investment in a qualified blind trust estab- 22 lished by such Member under paragraph (1) or (2). 23 (4) ASSETS UPON SEPARATION.—A Member of 24 Congress and any spouse or dependent child of such 25 Member may not dissolve any qualified blind trust in 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Feb 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H336.IH H336 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 336 IH which a covered investment has been placed pursu- 1 ant to paragraph (1) or (2), or otherwise control 2 such an investment, until the date that is 180 days 3 after the date such Member ceases to be a Member 4 of Congress. 5 (b) ACCOUNTABILITY.— 6 (1) MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE.—A Member of 7 Congress who is a Member of the House of Rep- 8 resentatives shall— 9 (A) not later than 15 days after the date 10 a qualified blind trust is established under sub- 11 section (a), certify to the Clerk of the House of 12 Representatives that such trust has been estab- 13 lished and that any covered investment owned 14 by such Member or a spouse or dependent child 15 of such Member has been placed in such trust; 16 or 17 (B) certify to the Clerk that such Member 18 or a spouse or dependent child of such Member 19 does not own any covered investment. 20 (2) MEMBERS OF THE SENATE.—A Member of 21 Congress who is a Senator shall— 22 (A) not later than 15 days after the date 23 a qualified blind trust is established under sub- 24 section (a), certify to the Secretary of the Sen- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Feb 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H336.IH H336 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 336 IH ate that such trust has been established and 1 that any covered investment owned by such 2 Member or a spouse or dependent child of such 3 Member has been placed in such trust; or 4 (B) certify to the Secretary that such 5 Member or a spouse or dependent child of such 6 Member does not own any covered investment. 7 (3) REPORT.—The Clerk of the House of Rep- 8 resentatives and the Secretary of the Senate shall 9 make available on the public internet website of the 10 Clerk and the Secretary, respectively, any certifi- 11 cation made under paragraph (1) or (2). 12 (c) EXCEPTION.—A spouse or dependent child who 13 receives compensation from their primary occupation 14 through any covered investment shall not be required to 15 place such covered investment in a qualified blind trust 16 under this Act. 17 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 18 (1) COMMODITY.—The term ‘‘commodity’’ has 19 the meaning given the term in section 1a of the 20 Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1a). 21 (2) COVERED INVESTMENT.—The term ‘‘cov- 22 ered investment’’— 23 (A) means investment in a security, a com- 24 modity, or a future, or any comparable eco- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Feb 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H336.IH H336 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 336 IH nomic interest acquired through synthetic 1 means such as the use of a derivative; and 2 (B) does not include— 3 (i) a widely held investment fund de- 4 scribed in section 102(f)(8) of the Ethics 5 in Government Act of 1978; or 6 (ii) a United States Treasury bill, 7 note, or bond. 8 (3) DEPENDENT CHILD.—The term ‘‘dependent 9 child’’ has the meaning given that term in section 10 109(2) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978. 11 (4) MEMBER OF CONGRESS.—The term ‘‘Mem- 12 ber of Congress’’ has the meaning given that term 13 in section 109(12) of such Act. 14 (5) QUALIFIED BLIND TRUST.—The term 15 ‘‘qualified blind trust’’ has the meaning given that 16 term in section 102(f)(3) of such Act. 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Feb 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H336.IH H336 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS