Executive Branch Comprehensive Ethics Enforcement Act of 2019

IB Union Calendar No. 325 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 745 [Report No. 116–403, Part I] To amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to provide for reform in the operations of the Office of Government Ethics, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 24, 2019 Mr. RASKIN (for himself, Mr. CUMMINGS, and Mr. NADLER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Re- form, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider- ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned FEBRUARY 21, 2020 Reported from the Committee on Oversight and Reform with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] FEBRUARY 21, 2020 Committee on the Judiciary discharged; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 24, 2019] VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:18 Feb 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H745.RH H745 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 745 RH A BILL To amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to provide for reform in the operations of the Office of Government Ethics, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:18 Feb 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H745.RH H745 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 745 RH 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 ‘‘Executive Branch Com- 4 prehensive Ethics Enforcement Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF THE OFFICE OF GOVERN- 6 MENT ETHICS. 7 Section 405 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 8 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by striking ‘‘fiscal year 2007’’ 9 and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 2019 through 2023.’’. 10 SEC. 3. TENURE OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF GOV- 11 ERNMENT ETHICS. 12 Section 401(b) of the Ethics in Government Act of 13 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by striking the period 14 at the end and inserting ‘‘, subject to removal only for inef- 15 ficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office. The Direc- 16 tor may continue to serve beyond the expiration of the term 17 until a successor is appointed and has qualified, except that 18 the Director may not continue to serve for more than one 19 year after the date on which the term would otherwise ex- 20 pire under this subsection.’’. 21 SEC. 4. DUTIES OF DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF GOVERN- 22 MENT ETHICS. 23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 402(a) of the Ethics in 24 Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:18 Feb 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H745.RH H745 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 745 RH striking ‘‘, in consultation with the Office of Personnel 1 Management,’’. 2 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DIRECTOR.—Section 3 402(b) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 4 App.) is amended— 5 (1) in paragraph (1)— 6 (A) by striking ‘‘developing, in consultation 7 with the Attorney General and the Office of Per- 8 sonnel Management, rules and regulations to be 9 promulgated by the President or the Director’’ 10 and inserting ‘‘developing and promulgating 11 rules and regulations’’; and 12 (B) by striking ‘‘title II’’ and inserting 13 ‘‘title I’’; 14 (2) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 15 following: 16 ‘‘(2) providing mandatory education and train- 17 ing programs for designated agency ethics officials, 18 which may be delegated to each agency or the White 19 House Counsel as deemed appropriate by the Direc- 20 tor;’’; 21 (3) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘title II’’ and 22 inserting ‘‘title I’’; 23 (4) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘problems’’ 24 and inserting ‘‘issues’’; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:18 Feb 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H745.RH H745 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 745 RH (5) in paragraph (6)— 1 (A) by striking ‘‘issued by the President or 2 the Director’’; and 3 (B) by striking ‘‘problems’’ and inserting 4 ‘‘issues’’; 5 (6) in paragraph (7)— 6 (A) by striking ‘‘, when requested,’’; and 7 (B) by striking ‘‘conflict of interest prob- 8 lems’’ and inserting ‘‘conflicts of interest, as well 9 as other ethics issues’’; 10 (7) in paragraph (9)— 11 (A) by striking ‘‘ordering’’ and inserting 12 ‘‘receiving allegations of violations of this Act or 13 regulations of the Office of Government Ethics 14 and, when necessary, investigating an allegation 15 to determine whether a violation occurred, and 16 ordering’’; and 17 (B) by inserting before the semi-colon the 18 following: ‘‘, and recommending appropriate dis- 19 ciplinary action’’; 20 (8) in paragraph (12)— 21 (A) by striking ‘‘evaluating, with the assist- 22 ance of’’ and inserting ‘‘promulgating, with 23 input from’’; 24 (B) by striking ‘‘the need for’’; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:18 Feb 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H745.RH H745 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 745 RH (C) by striking ‘‘conflict of interest and eth- 1 ical problems’’ and inserting ‘‘conflict of interest 2 and ethics issues’’; 3 (9) in paragraph (13)— 4 (A) by striking ‘‘with the Attorney General’’ 5 and inserting ‘‘with the Inspectors General and 6 the Attorney General’’; 7 (B) by striking ‘‘violations of the conflict of 8 interest laws’’ and inserting ‘‘conflict of interest 9 issues and allegations of violations of ethics laws 10 and regulations and this Act’’; and 11 (C) by striking ‘‘, as required by section 535 12 of title 28, United States Code’’; 13 (10) in paragraph (14), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 14 end; 15 (11) in paragraph (15)— 16 (A) by striking ‘‘, in consultation with the 17 Office of Personnel Management,’’; 18 (B) by striking ‘‘title II’’ and inserting 19 ‘‘title I’’; and 20 (C) by striking the period at the end and 21 inserting a semicolon; and 22 (12) by adding at the end the following: 23 ‘‘(16) directing and providing final approval, 24 when determined appropriate by the Director, for des- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:18 Feb 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H745.RH H745 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 745 RH ignated agency ethics officials regarding the resolu- 1 tion of conflicts of interest as well as any other ethics 2 issues under the purview of this Act in individual 3 cases; and 4 ‘‘(17) reviewing and approving, when deter- 5 mined appropriate by the Director, any recusals, ex- 6 emptions, or waivers from the conflicts of interest and 7 ethics laws, rules, and regulations and making ap- 8 proved recusals, exemptions, and waivers made pub- 9 licly available by the relevant agency available in a 10 central location on the official website of the Office of 11 Government Ethics.’’. 12 (c) WRITTEN PROCEDURES.—Paragraph (1) of section 13 402(d) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 14 App.) is amended— 15 (1) by striking ‘‘, by the exercise of any author- 16 ity otherwise available to the Director under this 17 title,’’; 18 (2) by striking ‘‘the agency is’’; and 19 (3) by inserting after ‘‘filed by’’ the following: ‘‘, 20 or written documentation of recusals, waivers, or eth- 21 ics authorizations relating to,’’. 22 (d) CORRECTIVE ACTIONS.—Section 402(f) of the Eth- 23 ics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amend- 24 ed— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:18 Feb 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H745.RH H745 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 745 RH (1) in paragraph (1)— 1 (A) in clause (i) of subparagraph (A), by 2 striking ‘‘of such agency’’; and 3 (B) in subparagraph (B), by inserting be- 4 fore the period at the end ‘‘and determine that 5 a violation of this Act has occurred and issue ap- 6 propriate administrative or legal remedies as 7 prescribed in paragraph (2)’’; 8 (2) in paragraph (2)— 9 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 10 (i) in clause (ii)— 11 (I) in subclause (I)— 12 (aa) by inserting ‘‘to the 13 President or the President’s des- 14 ignee if the matter involves em- 15 ployees of the Executive Office of 16 the President or’’ after ‘‘may rec- 17 ommend’’; 18 (bb) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 19 end; and 20 (II) in subclause (II)— 21 (aa) by inserting ‘‘President 22 or’’ after ‘‘determines that the’’; 23 and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:18 Feb 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H745.RH H745 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 745 RH (bb) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the 1 end; 2 (ii) in subclause (II) of clause (iii)— 3 (I) by striking ‘‘notify, in writ- 4 ing,’’ and inserting ‘‘advise the Presi- 5 dent or order’’; 6 (II) by inserting ‘‘to take appro- 7 priate disciplinary action including 8 reprimand, suspension, demotion, or 9 dismissal against the officer or em- 10 ployee (provided, however, that any 11 order issued by the Director shall not 12 affect an employee’s right to appeal a 13 disciplinary action under applicable 14 law, regulation, collective bargaining 15 agreement, or contractual provision).’’ 16 after ‘‘employee’s agency’’; and 17 (III) by striking ‘‘of the officer’s 18 or employee’s noncompliance, except 19 that, if the officer or employee involved 20 is the agency head, the notification 21 shall instead be submitted to the Presi- 22 dent; and’’; and 23 (iii) by striking clause (iv); 24 (B) in subparagraph (B)(i)— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:18 Feb 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H745.RH H745 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 745 RH (i) by striking ‘‘subparagraph (A)(iii) 1 or (iv)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (A)’’; 2 (ii) by inserting ‘‘(I)’’ before ‘‘In order 3 to’’; and 4 (iii) by adding at the end the fol- 5 lowing: 6 ‘‘(II)(aa) The Director may secure directly 7 from any agency information necessary to enable 8 the Director to carry out this Act. Upon request 9 of the Director, the head of such agency shall fur- 10 nish that information to the Director. 11 ‘‘(bb) The Director may require by sub- 12 poena the production of all information, docu- 13 ments, reports, answers, records, accounts, pa- 14 pers, and other data in any medium and docu- 15 mentary evidence necessary in the performance 16 of the functions assigned by this Act, which sub- 17 poena, in the case of refusal to obey, shall be en- 18 forceable by order of any appropriate United 19 States district court.’’; 20 (C) in subparagraph (B)(ii)(I)— 21 (i) by striking ‘‘Subject to clause (iv) 22 of this subparagraph, before’’ and inserting 23 ‘‘Before’’; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:18 Feb 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H745.RH H745 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 745 RH (ii) by striking ‘‘subparagraphs (A) 1 (iii) or (iv)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph 2 (A)(iii)’’; 3 (D) in subparagraph (B)(iii), by striking 4 ‘‘Subject to clause (iv) of this subparagraph, be- 5 fore’’ and inserting ‘‘Before’’; and 6 (E) in subparagraph (B)(iv)— 7 (i) by striking ‘‘title 2’’ and inserting 8 ‘‘title I’’; and 9 (ii) by striking ‘‘section 206’’ and in- 10 serting ‘‘section 106’’; and 11 (3) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘(iv),’’. 12 (e) DEFINITIONS.—Section 402 of the Ethics in Gov- 13 ernment Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by adding 14 at the end the following: 15 ‘‘(g) For purposes of this title— 16 ‘‘(1) the term ‘agency’ shall include the Executive 17 Office of the President; and 18 ‘‘(2) the term ‘officer or employee’ shall include 19 any individual occupying a position, providing any 20 official services, or acting in an advisory capacity, in 21 the White House or the Executive Office of the Presi- 22 dent. 23 ‘‘(h) In this title, a reference to the head of an agency 24 shall include the President or the President’s designee. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:18 Feb 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H745.RH H745 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 745 RH ‘‘(i) The Director shall not be required to obtain the 1 prior approval, comment, or review of any officer or agency 2 of the United States, including the Office of Management 3 and Budget, before submitting to Congress, or any com- 4 mittee or subcommittee thereof, any information, reports, 5 recommendations, testimony, or comments, if such submis- 6 sions include a statement indicating that the views ex- 7 pressed therein are those of the Director and do not nec- 8 essarily represent the views of the President.’’. 9 SEC. 5. AGENCY ETHICS OFFICIALS TRAINING AND DUTIES. 10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 403 of the Ethics in Gov- 11 ernment Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 12 (1) in subsection (a), by adding a period at the 13 end of the matter following paragraph (2); and 14 (2) by adding at the end the following: 15 ‘‘(c)(1) All designated agency ethics officials and alter- 16 nate designated agency ethics officials shall register with 17 the Director as well as with the appointing authority of 18 the official. 19 ‘‘(2) The Director shall provide ethics education and 20 training to all designated and alternate designated agency 21 ethics officials in a time and manner deemed appropriate 22 by the Director. 23 ‘‘(3) Each designated agency ethics official and each 24 alternate designated agency ethics official shall biannually 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:18 Feb 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H745.RH H745 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 745 RH attend ethics education and training, as provided by the 1 Director under paragraph (2). 2 ‘‘(d) Each Designated Agency Ethics Official, includ- 3 ing the Designated Agency Ethics Official for the Executive 4 Office of the President— 5 ‘‘(1) shall provide to the Director, in writing, in 6 a searchable, sortable, and downloadable format, all 7 approvals, authorizations, certifications, compliance 8 reviews, determinations, directed divestitures, public 9 financial disclosure reports, notices of deficiency in 10 compliance, records related to the approval or accept- 11 ance of gifts, recusals, regulatory or statutory advi- 12 sory opinions, waivers, including waivers under sec- 13 tion 207 or 208 of title 18, United States Code, and 14 any other records designated by the Director, unless 15 disclosure is prohibited by law; 16 ‘‘(2) shall, for all information described in para- 17 graph (1) that is permitted to be disclosed to the pub- 18 lic under law, make the information available to the 19 public by publishing the information [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]