CORE Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7076 To ensure ethical and accountable use of COVID–19 relief funds, to prevent corruption and bias in the disbursement and supervision of those funds, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 1, 2020 Ms. JAYAPAL (for herself, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. NORTON, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. ROSE of New York, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. WILD, and Mr. PAPPAS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, Financial Services, Edu- cation and Labor, Small Business, House Administration, Intelligence (Permanent Select), Armed Services, Foreign Affairs, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic- tion of the committee concerned A BILL To ensure ethical and accountable use of COVID–19 relief funds, to prevent corruption and bias in the disburse- ment and supervision of those funds, and for other pur- poses. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:20 Jul 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7076.IH H7076 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7076 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Coronavirus Oversight 2 and Recovery Ethics Act of 2020’’ or the ‘‘CORE Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 4 In this Act— 5 (1) the term ‘‘abuse of authority’’ means an ar- 6 bitrary and capricious exercise of authority by a con- 7 tracting officer or employee that adversely affects 8 the rights of any individual, or that results in per- 9 sonal gain or advantage to the officer or employee 10 or to preferred other individuals; 11 (2) the term ‘‘CARES Act’’ means the CARES 12 Act (Public Law 116–136); 13 (3) the term ‘‘Coronavirus pandemic-related 14 program, project, or activity’’— 15 (A) means a program, project, or activity 16 of the executive branch of the Federal Govern- 17 ment authorized under or carried out using 18 amounts made available under an Act to re- 19 spond to or to provide aid or assistance to ad- 20 dress, relief from, or funding to address the 21 outbreak of COVID–19 that is enacted before, 22 on, or after the date of enactment of this Act; 23 and 24 (B) includes any program, project, or ac- 25 tivity of the executive branch of the Federal 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:20 Jul 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7076.IH H7076 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7076 IH Government authorized under or carried out 1 using amounts made available under— 2 (i) the Paycheck Protection Program 3 and Health Care Enhancement Act (Public 4 Law 116–139), or an amendment made by 5 that Act; 6 (ii) the CARES Act, or an amend- 7 ment made by that Act; 8 (iii) the Families First Coronavirus 9 Response Act (Public Law 116–127), or an 10 amendment made by that Act; or 11 (iv) the Coronavirus Preparedness and 12 Response Supplemental Appropriations 13 Act, 2020 (Public Law 116–123), or an 14 amendment made by that Act; 15 (4) the term ‘‘covered contract’’ means a con- 16 tract that— 17 (A) has a value of more than $150,000; 18 and 19 (B) relates to the administration or execu- 20 tion of authorities under a Coronavirus pan- 21 demic-related program, project, or activity; 22 (5) the term ‘‘covered contractor’’ means a pri- 23 vate sector contractor (at any tier) or advisor pro- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:20 Jul 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7076.IH H7076 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7076 IH viding goods, property, or services under a covered 1 contract; 2 (6) the term ‘‘covered funds’’ means any con- 3 tract, subcontract, grant, subgrant, loan, loan guar- 4 antee, or other payment for which— 5 (A) the Federal Government provides any 6 portion of the funds or property that is pro- 7 vided, requested, or demanded; and 8 (B) any portion of the funds are appro- 9 priated or otherwise made available under or to 10 carry out a Coronavirus pandemic-related pro- 11 gram, project, or activity; 12 (7) the term ‘‘designated agency ethics official’’ 13 has the meaning given that term under section 109 14 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 15 App.); 16 (8) the term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of 17 the Office of Government Ethics; 18 (9) the term ‘‘employee’’— 19 (A) except as provided under subparagraph 20 (B), means an individual performing services on 21 behalf of an employer, including any individual 22 working for an employer under a contract with 23 such employer (including a contractor, subcon- 24 tractor, or agent of an employer); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:20 Jul 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7076.IH H7076 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7076 IH (B) does not include any Federal employee 1 or member of the uniformed services (as that 2 term is defined in section 101(a)(5) of title 10, 3 United States Code); 4 (10) the term ‘‘ethics and conflicts of interest 5 regulations’’ means the regulations issued by the Di- 6 rector under subsection (b) of section 3, in accord- 7 ance with the requirements under section 3; 8 (11) the term ‘‘non-Federal employer’’— 9 (A) means any employer— 10 (i) with respect to covered funds— 11 (I) the contractor, subcontractor, 12 grantee, subgrantee, or recipient, as 13 the case may be, if the contractor, 14 subcontractor, grantee, subgrantee, or 15 recipient is an employer; and 16 (II) any professional membership 17 organization, certification or other 18 professional body, any agent or li- 19 censee of the Federal Government, or 20 any person acting directly or indi- 21 rectly in the interest of an employer 22 receiving covered funds; or 23 (ii) with respect to covered funds re- 24 ceived by a State or local government, the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:20 Jul 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7076.IH H7076 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7076 IH State or local government receiving the 1 funds and any contractor or subcontractor 2 of the State or local government; and 3 (B) does not mean any department, agen- 4 cy, or other entity of the Federal Government; 5 (12) the term ‘‘reprisal’’, for purposes of sec- 6 tion 11, means an action (or, as applicable, inaction) 7 that is discharging, demoting, blacklisting, or acting 8 or failing to take an action in a manner prejudicial 9 against, or otherwise discriminating against in any 10 way (including in the hiring process and including 11 by the threat of any such action or inaction) an em- 12 ployee, former employee, or individual seeking em- 13 ployment as described in section 11(a)(1) for engag- 14 ing in, being perceived as engaging in, or preparing 15 to engage in the disclosure of information as de- 16 scribed in such section; 17 (13) the term ‘‘senior executive’’ means an indi- 18 vidual— 19 (A) employed by a private employer; and 20 (B) who— 21 (i) receives annual compensation from 22 the private employer in an amount that is 23 more that $1,000,000; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:20 Jul 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7076.IH H7076 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7076 IH (ii) has direct authority over more 1 than 1 percent of the funds provided under 2 a Coronavirus pandemic-related program, 3 project, or activity; or 4 (iii) for an employee of a private em- 5 ployer for which the annual average rev- 6 enue for the period of 2017, 2018, and 7 2019 is not less than $1,000,000,000, is 1 8 of the 100 most highly compensated execu- 9 tives of the private employer; and 10 (14) the term ‘‘State or local government’’ 11 means— 12 (A) the government of each of the several 13 States, the District of Columbia, the Common- 14 wealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, 15 the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the 16 Northern Mariana Islands, or any other terri- 17 tory or possession of the United States; or 18 (B) the government of any political sub- 19 division of a government listed in subparagraph 20 (A). 21 SEC. 3. ETHICS AND CONFLICTS OF INTEREST. 22 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to set 23 forth standards to address and prevent conflicts of interest 24 or abuses of authority that may arise in connection with 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:20 Jul 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7076.IH H7076 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7076 IH the administration and execution of the authorities under 1 a Coronavirus pandemic-related program, project, or activ- 2 ity, including under the CARES Act. 3 (b) STANDARDS REQUIRED.—The Director shall 4 issue regulations necessary to address and prevent con- 5 flicts of interest or abuses of authority that may arise in 6 connection with the administration or execution of the au- 7 thorities under a Coronavirus pandemic-related program, 8 project, or activity, including— 9 (1) conflicts arising in the selection or hiring of 10 covered contractors or advisors, including contrac- 11 tors, banks, and other private sector entities involved 12 in the administration of programs or services au- 13 thorized under paragraph (36) of section 7(a) of the 14 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)) or under 15 section 4003 of the CARES Act; 16 (2) the management, administration, or dis- 17 tribution of funds, grants, loans, loan guarantees, or 18 other investments under a Coronavirus pandemic-re- 19 lated program, project, or activity; 20 (3) post-employment restrictions on Federal of- 21 ficers and employees; 22 (4) any exercise of authority by Federal officers 23 and employees that adversely affects the rights of 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:20 Jul 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7076.IH H7076 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 7076 IH any person, or that results in personal gain or ad- 1 vantage to the officer or employee; and 2 (5) any other potential conflict of interest or 3 abuse of authority, as the Director determines nec- 4 essary or appropriate in the public interest. 5 (c) TIMING.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after 7 the date of enactment of this Act, but in any event 8 not later than 60 days after such date of enactment, 9 the Director shall issue the ethics and conflicts of in- 10 terest regulations. 11 (2) WAIVER TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH 12 TIMING.—To the extent compliance with the require- 13 ments under subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5, 14 United States Code, would prevent the Director 15 from complying with the timeframe specified under 16 paragraph (1) for issuance of the ethics and con- 17 flicts of interest regulations, such subchapter shall 18 not apply to the issuance of the ethics and conflicts 19 of interest regulations. 20 (d) SCOPE.—The ethics and conflicts of interest regu- 21 lations shall address actual and potential conflicts of inter- 22 est, or circumstances that give rise to the appearance of 23 a conflict of interest to a reasonable person, including— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:20 Jul 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7076.IH H7076 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 7076 IH (1) any actual or potential personal conflict of 1 interest, including any personal, business, or finan- 2 cial interest of any individual involved in the admin- 3 istration or execution of the authorities under a 4 Coronavirus pandemic-related program, project, or 5 activity or such an interest of a spouse, child, par- 6 ent, sibling, son-in-law, or daughter-in-law of such 7 an individual; and 8 (2) any actual or potential conflict of interest of 9 a covered contractor, including any political activity 10 that creates the appearance of a conflict of interest 11 to a reasonable person, or any situation in which a 12 covered contractor has an interest or relationship 13 that could cause a reasonable person with knowledge 14 of the relevant facts to question the objectivity, im- 15 partiality, or judgment of the covered contractor to 16 perform under a covered contract or to represent the 17 Federal Government. 18 (e) CONTRACTORS AND ADVISORS.— 19 (1) COMPLIANCE PROGRAM.—The ethics and 20 conflicts of interest regulations shall require— 21 (A) a covered contractor to maintain a 22 compliance program reasonably designed to de- 23 tect and prevent violations of Federal law, in- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:20 Jul 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7076.IH H7076 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 7076 IH cluding Federal securities laws, and conflicts of 1 interest; and 2 (B) that such a compliance program— 3 (i) include plans to mitigate any con- 4 flict of interest, including any personal 5 conflict of interest of any individual per- 6 forming duties under a covered contract; 7 (ii) allow for the Director or the des- 8 ignated agency ethics official for the appli- 9 cable Federal agency to disapprove any 10 plan described in clause (i) that is insuffi- 11 cient; 12 (iii) be posted by the covered con- 13 tractor on the public website of the covered 14 contractor; and 15 (iv) be provided to the Director or to 16 the designated agency ethics official for the 17 applicable Federal agency. 18 (2) INFORMATION REQUIRED.—The ethics and 19 conflicts of interest regulations shall require a cov- 20 ered contractor to provide to the Director or the des- 21 ignated agency ethics official for the applicable Fed- 22 eral agency, upon request or through a process spec- 23 ified in the ethics and conflicts of interest regula- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:20 Jul 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7076.IH H7076 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 7076 IH tions, sufficient information to evaluate any conflict 1 of interest, which may include— 2 (A) the relationship of the covered con- 3 tractor to any other involved contractors or ad- 4 visors; 5 (B) information concerning all other busi- 6 ness or financial interests of the covered con- 7 tractor, the proposed subcontractors of the cov- 8 ered contractor, or entities related to the cov- 9 ered contractor (including any parent company 10 or subsidiary of a covered contractor, any entity 11 holding more than a 5 percent equity interest in 12 the covered contractor, and any entity in which 13 the covered contractor holds more than a 5 per- 14 cent equity interest); 15 (C) a description of all of the conflicts of 16 interest and potential conflicts of interest of the 17 covered contractor; 18 (D) a detailed [Text truncated for display. 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