What This Bill Does
This bill bans federal officials and their family members from owning stocks, commodities, futures, and similar investments while in office. It also bans Members of Congress from earning outside income and serving on corporate boards, and it creates a lifetime ban on Members of Congress lobbying after they leave office.
##
Who It Affects
Members of Congress and their spouses and dependent children; the President and Vice President; political appointees (officials appointed by the President with Senate approval); federal employees in certain high-level positions; judges and bankruptcy judges; employees of Members of Congress and congressional committees; and leadership staff in both chambers of Congress.
##
Key Provisions
* No covered official or family member of a Member of Congress may own or trade stocks, commodities, futures, or similar investments. Anyone who already owns these must sell them within 90 days of the law taking effect, or within 90 days of becoming a covered official. (Sec. 2(a))
* Anyone covered by the rule who violates it must pay a penalty set by federal ethics law. For Members of Congress, the President, Vice President, and certain appointees and judges, the monthly penalty equals that person's monthly salary if they violate the rule. (Sec. 2(b))
* Members of Congress cannot earn any outside income from jobs or work, except they can earn up to 15 percent of their salary from certain activities like practicing medicine or teaching if they notify their ethics office. (Sec. 3(a))
* Members of Congress cannot serve on corporate boards. They can only serve without pay on nonprofit boards. (Sec. 3(b))
* Any former Member of Congress is permanently banned from lobbying Congress or the executive branch after leaving office. (Sec. 4(a))
* The ethics office must publish the names and jobs of anyone who violates these rules on a public website. (Sec. 2(c))
##
What Changes
If this bill becomes law, federal officials currently holding individual stocks and similar investments would have 90 days to sell them. Members of Congress would lose the ability to earn any outside income beyond 15 percent of their congressional salary, would have to leave all corporate boards, and would face permanent restrictions on lobbying after leaving office. Current law allows up to 15 percent of outside income; this bill flips the rule to ban all outside income except what does not exceed 15 percent.
##
Important Definitions
* "Covered investment" means stocks, commodities, futures, or similar financial instruments, whether held directly or through investment funds, trusts, retirement plans, or compensation agreements tied to investment performance. It excludes diversified mutual funds, diversified exchange-traded funds, Treasury bonds, spouse compensation, and government retirement plans.
* "Covered official" means Members of Congress, congressional employees (except interns and fellows), congressional committee employees, leadership staff in both chambers, the President, Vice President, political appointees, and judges.
* "Family member" means a spouse or dependent child.
* "Outside earned income" is defined according to House rules and means money earned from jobs or work outside of official duties.
* "Supervising ethics office" means the Senate Ethics Committee, House Ethics Committee, Office of Government Ethics, or the Judicial Conference, depending on the person's position.
##
Effective Date
The lobbying ban applies to people who leave office or employment on or after January 3, 2024, or when the 119th Congress begins, whichever is earlier. (Sec. 4(c))
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 1463
To prohibit Federal officials from owning covered investments, and for other
purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 8, 2023
Mr. KIM of New Jersey introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on
Financial Services, Agriculture, Oversight and Accountability, House Ad-
ministration, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To prohibit Federal officials from owning covered
investments, 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 ‘‘Restoring Trust in
4
Public Servants Act’’.
5
SEC. 2. OWNERSHIP OF COVERED INVESTMENTS.
6
(a) OWNERSHIP OF COVERED INVESTMENTS.—
7
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•HR 1463 IH
(1) CONDUCT DURING FEDERAL SERVICE.—Ex-
1
cept as described in paragraph (2), no covered offi-
2
cial or family member of a Member of Congress may
3
own or trade any covered investment.
4
(2) COMPLIANCE.—
5
(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in
6
subparagraph (B), to comply with the require-
7
ments under paragraph (1), a covered official or
8
family member of a Member of Congress shall
9
divest of any covered investment prior to the
10
expiration of the applicable compliance period.
11
(B) APPLICABLE COMPLIANCE PERIOD.—
12
In this subsection, the term ‘‘applicable compli-
13
ance period’’ means—
14
(i) with respect to a covered invest-
15
ment held by a covered official or family
16
member of a Member of Congress on the
17
date of the enactment of this Act, the 90-
18
day period which begins on the date of the
19
enactment of this Act;
20
(ii) with respect to a covered invest-
21
ment held by an individual on the date on
22
which the individual becomes a covered of-
23
ficial or becomes a family member of a
24
Member of Congress after the date of the
25
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•HR 1463 IH
enactment of this Act, the 90-day period
1
which begins on the date on which the in-
2
dividual becomes a covered official or be-
3
comes a family member of a Member of
4
Congress; and
5
(iii) with respect to a covered invest-
6
ment which is first held by a covered offi-
7
cial or a family member of a Member of
8
Congress after the last day of either of the
9
periods described in clauses (i) or (ii), the
10
90-day period which begins on the date on
11
which such investment was first held by
12
such official or family member.
13
(b) PENALTIES.—
14
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
15
graph (2), a covered official in violation of this sec-
16
tion, as determined by the supervising ethics office,
17
shall pay a penalty in an amount equal to the fee
18
set forth under section 13106(d)(1) of title 5,
19
United States Code, for each such violation.
20
(2) EXCEPTION.—
21
(A) PENALTY.—An individual described in
22
subparagraph (C) who during any month is in
23
violation of this section with respect to a cov-
24
ered investment, as determined by the super-
25
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•HR 1463 IH
vising ethics office, shall pay a penalty in an
1
amount equal to—
2
(i) in the case of an individual who is
3
a covered official, the salary of such official
4
for that month; or
5
(ii) in the case of an individual who is
6
a family member of a Member of Congress,
7
the salary of the Member of Congress for
8
that month.
9
(B) AMOUNT DETERMINED WITHOUT RE-
10
GARD
TO
NUMBER
OF
VIOLATIONS.—The
11
amount of the penalty imposed under subpara-
12
graph (A) shall apply to an individual without
13
regard to the number of covered investments
14
with respect to which the individual is in viola-
15
tion during the month in which the penalty is
16
imposed.
17
(C) INDIVIDUALS DESCRIBED.—The indi-
18
viduals described in this paragraph are the fol-
19
lowing:
20
(i) A Member of Congress or a family
21
member of a Member of Congress.
22
(ii) The President.
23
(iii) The Vice President.
24
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•HR 1463 IH
(iv) A political appointee who was ap-
1
pointed to such position by the President,
2
by and with the advice and consent of the
3
Senate.
4
(v) A judicial officer.
5
(c) PUBLICATION.—For each individual in violation
6
of this section as determined by the supervising ethics of-
7
fice, such office shall make available a list, on a publicly
8
accessible website of such office, detailing the names, occu-
9
pation, and office of employment for each such individual,
10
or in the case of a family member of a Member of Con-
11
gress, the name of such family member and of such Mem-
12
ber of Congress.
13
(d) APPLICATION OF CERTIFICATE OF DIVESTITURE
14
PROGRAM.—For purposes of section 1043 of the Internal
15
Revenue Code of 1986—
16
(1) any person required to dispose of any prop-
17
erty by reason of this section shall be treated as an
18
eligible person;
19
(2) this section shall be treated as a Federal
20
conflict of interest statute; and
21
(3) in the case of an individual described in
22
subsection (e)(2)(A), the requirement of section
23
1043(b)(2)(B) of such Code shall be treated as sat-
24
isfied with respect to any written determination if
25
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•HR 1463 IH
such determination is issued by the supervising eth-
1
ics office.
2
(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
3
(1) COVERED INVESTMENT.—
4
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘covered in-
5
vestment’’ means—
6
(i) an investment in a security, a com-
7
modity, or a future; and
8
(ii) any economic interest comparable
9
to an interest described in clause (i) that
10
is acquired through synthetic means, such
11
as the use of a derivative, including an op-
12
tion, warrant, or other, similar means.
13
(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘covered in-
14
vestment’’ includes an investment or economic
15
interest described in subparagraph (A) that is
16
held directly, or in which an individual has an
17
indirect,
beneficial,
or
economic
interest,
18
through—
19
(i) an investment fund;
20
(ii) a trust;
21
(iii) an employee benefit plan; or
22
(iv) a deferred compensation plan, in-
23
cluding a carried interest or other agree-
24
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•HR 1463 IH
ment tied to the performance of an invest-
1
ment, other than a fixed cash payment.
2
(C) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘covered in-
3
vestment’’ does not include—
4
(i) a diversified mutual fund (includ-
5
ing any holdings of such a fund);
6
(ii) a diversified exchange-traded fund
7
(including any holdings of such a fund);
8
(iii) a United States Treasury bill,
9
note, or bond;
10
(iv) compensation from the primary
11
occupation of a spouse or dependent of a
12
Member of Congress; or
13
(v) any investment fund held in a
14
Federal, State, or local government em-
15
ployee retirement plan.
16
(D) CLARIFICATION.—An investment that
17
achieves compliance with applicable environ-
18
mental, social, and governance criteria shall not
19
be considered to be a covered investment solely
20
by reason of that compliance.
21
(2) COVERED
OFFICIAL.—The term ‘‘covered
22
official’’ means the following:
23
(A) In the legislative branch, a Member of
24
Congress and each of the following (other than
25
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•HR 1463 IH
an employee who is considered an intern or a
1
fellow for purposes of any law or regulation es-
2
tablishing a limit on the number of employees
3
of an office of the House of Representatives or
4
Senate):
5
(i) An employee of a Member of the
6
House of Representatives (as described in
7
section 207(e)(9)(E) of title 18, United
8
States Code).
9
(ii) An employee of a Senator (as de-
10
scribed in section 207(e)(9)(F) of title 18,
11
United States Code).
12
(iii) An employee of a committee of
13
Congress
(as
defined
in
section
14
207(e)(9)(A) of title 18, United States
15
Code).
16
(iv) An employee on the leadership
17
staff of the House of Representatives (as
18
defined in section 207(e)(9)(H) of title 18,
19
United States Code).
20
(v) An employee on the leadership
21
staff of the Senate (as defined in section
22
207(e)(9)(I) of title 18, United States
23
Code).
24
(B) In the executive branch—
25
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•HR 1463 IH
(i) the President;
1
(ii) the Vice President;
2
(iii) a political appointee; or
3
(iv) any officer or employee of the ex-
4
ecutive branch who is—
5
(I) not a political appointee; and
6
(II) occupies a position described
7
under paragraphs (3) through (8) of
8
section 13103(f) of title 5, United
9
States Code.
10
(C) A judicial officer.
11
(3) EXECUTIVE BRANCH.—The term ‘‘executive
12
branch’’ has the meaning given such term defined in
13
section 13101 of title 5, United States Code.
14
(4) FAMILY MEMBER.—The term ‘‘family mem-
15
ber’’ means a spouse or a dependent child as defined
16
in section 13101 of title 5, United States Code.
17
(5) JUDICIAL OFFICER.—The term ‘‘judicial of-
18
ficer’’—
19
(A) has the meaning given such term in
20
section 13101 of title 5, United States Code;
21
and
22
(B) includes bankruptcy judges and mag-
23
istrate judges.
24
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•HR 1463 IH
(6) MEMBER OF CONGRESS.—The term ‘‘Mem-
1
ber of Congress’’ has the meaning given such term
2
defined in section 13101 of title 5, United States
3
Code.
4
(7) POLITICAL APPOINTEE.—The term ‘‘polit-
5
ical appointee’’ means any individual occupying a
6
position in the executive branch of Government—
7
(A) who was appointed to such position by
8
the President, by and with the advice and con-
9
sent of the Senate;
10
(B) described under sections 5312 through
11
5316 of title 5, United States Code (relating to
12
the Executive Schedule);
13
(C) as a noncareer appointment in the
14
Senior Executive Service, as defined under
15
paragraph (7) of section 3132(a) of such title;
16
or
17
(D) that is of a confidential or policy-de-
18
termining character under schedule C of sub-
19
part C of part 213 of title 5, Code of Federal
20
Regulations, or any other position that is ex-
21
cepted from the competitive service because of
22
its confidential policy-determining, policy-mak-
23
ing or policy-advocating character.
24
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•HR 1463 IH
(8) SUPERVISING ETHICS OFFICE.—The term
1
‘‘supervising ethics office’’ means any of the fol-
2
lowing:
3
(A) In the case of an individual described
4
in paragraph (2)(A)—
5
(i) the Select Committee on Ethics of
6
the Senate; or
7
(ii) the Committee on Ethics of the
8
House of Representatives.
9
(B) In the case of an individual described
10
in paragraph (2)(B), the Office of Government
11
Ethics.
12
(C) In the case of a judicial officer, the Ju-
13
dicial Conference.
14
SEC. 3. BAN ON ALL OUTSIDE EARNED INCOME AND ALL
15
SERVICE ON BOARDS BY MEMBERS OF CON-
16
GRESS.
17
(a) OUTSIDE EARNED INCOME.—
18
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 13143(a)(1) of title
19
5, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘out-
20
side earned income attributable to such calendar
21
year which exceeds 15 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘any
22
outside earned income attributable to such calendar
23
year, except that such an officer or employee may
24
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•HR 1463 IH
have outside earned income attributable to such cal-
1
endar year which does not exceed 15 percent’’.
2
(2) INDIVIDUALS BECOMING MEMBERS DURING
3
CALENDAR YEAR.—Section 13143(a)(2) of such title
4
is amended—
5
(A) by striking ‘‘outside earned income at-
6
tributable to the portion of that calendar year
7
which occurs after such individual becomes a
8
Member or such an officer or employee which
9
exceeds 15 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘any outside
10
earned income attributable to the portion of
11
that calendar year which occurs after such indi-
12
vidual becomes a Member or such an officer or
13
employee, except that such an officer or em-
14
ployee may have outside earned income attrib-
15
utable to such portion of that calendar year
16
which does not exceed 15 percent’’; and
17
(B) by striking ‘‘such individual is a Mem-
18
ber or such officer or employee’’ and inserting
19
‘‘such individual is such an officer or em-
20
ployee’’.
21
(3) PRESERVING AUTHORITY OF OFFICERS AND
22
EMPLOYEES OF CONGRESS TO EARN COMPENSATION
23
FROM PRACTICING MEDICINE.—Section 13144(a) of
24
such title is amended by striking ‘‘fiduciary relation-
25
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•HR 1463 IH
ship’’ each place it appears in paragraphs (1) and
1
(3) and inserting ‘‘fiduciary relationship, except that
2
such an officer or employee of the House of Rep-
3
resentatives or Senate may receive such compensa-
4
tion if the fiduciary relationship involves the practice
5
of medicine’’.
6
(4) APPLICATION OF BAN TO INCOME EARNED
7
FROM TEACHING.—Section 13144(a)(5) of such title
8
is amended by striking ‘‘without the prior notifica-
9
tion’’ and inserting ‘‘except that such an officer or
10
employee may receive compensation for teaching
11
with the prior notification’’.
12
(5) DEFINITION.—Section 13141 of such title
13
is amended by adding at the end the following:
14
‘‘(6) The term ‘outside earned income’, with re-
15
spect to a Member of Congress, has the meaning
16
given such term in clause 4(d)
[Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]