BARR Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3851 To prohibit high-level appointees in the Department of Justice from partici- pating in particular matters in which the President, a relative of the President, or an individual associated with the campaign of the President is a party. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 1, 2020 Ms. WARREN (for herself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. MARKEY, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. SANDERS, and Ms. HIRONO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To prohibit high-level appointees in the Department of Jus- tice from participating in particular matters in which the President, a relative of the President, or an indi- vidual associated with the campaign of the President is a party. 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 ‘‘Blocking Appointees 4 from Refusing Recusal Act’’ or the ‘‘BARR Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:11 Jun 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3851.IS S3851 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3851 IS SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON HIGH-LEVEL APPOINTEES IN THE 1 DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE PARTICIPATING 2 IN PARTICULAR MATTERS IN WHICH THE 3 PRESIDENT, A RELATIVE OF THE PRESIDENT, 4 OR AN INDIVIDUAL ASSOCIATED WITH THE 5 CAMPAIGN OF THE PRESIDENT IS A PARTY. 6 No funds, resources, or fees made available to the De- 7 partment of Justice by any Act of Congress for any fiscal 8 year, may be used for any participation by an officer or 9 employee of the Department of Justice appointed by the 10 President, by and with the advice and consent of the Sen- 11 ate, or by a United States attorney appointed by the At- 12 torney General under section 546 of title 28, United 13 States Code, in any particular matter (as defined in sec- 14 tion 207(i) of title 18, United States Code) involving a 15 specific party who is— 16 (1) the President who appointed the officer or 17 employee; 18 (2) a relative (as defined in section 3110 of title 19 5, United States Code) of the President who ap- 20 pointed the officer or employee; or 21 (3) a current or former agent or official of a 22 campaign for elected office of the President who ap- 23 pointed the officer or employee. 24 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:11 Jun 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S3851.IS S3851 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS