Retired Officers Conflict of Interest Act of 2023

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2056 To amend title 37, United States Code, to strengthen and expand restrictions on retired members and members of reserve components of the uniformed services accepting employment and compensation from foreign govern- ments, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 20, 2023 Ms. WARREN (for herself and Mr. GRASSLEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To amend title 37, United States Code, to strengthen and expand restrictions on retired members and members of reserve components of the uniformed services accept- ing employment and compensation from foreign govern- ments, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Retired Officers Conflict of Interest Act of 2023’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:06 Jul 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2056.IS S2056 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 2056 IS Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Approval process for employment and compensation. Sec. 3. Prohibition on members of the Armed Forces negotiating employment with foreign governments while on active duty. Sec. 4. 30-month prohibition on retired members of the Armed Forces eligible for access to classified information seeking approval for em- ployment by foreign governments. Sec. 5. Notification of obligations. Sec. 6. Post-retirement employment reporting. Sec. 7. Penalties. Sec. 8. Guidance. Sec. 9. Public reporting. Sec. 10. Database of employment approvals. Sec. 11. Definitions. Sec. 12. Comptroller General of the United States review. Sec. 13. Effective date; applicability. SEC. 2. APPROVAL PROCESS FOR EMPLOYMENT AND COM- 1 PENSATION. 2 Section 908 of title 37, United States Code, is 3 amended— 4 (1) in subsection (a)— 5 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), 6 and (3) as subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), re- 7 spectively, and by moving such subparagraphs, 8 as so redesignated, 2 ems to the right; 9 (B) by striking ‘‘Subject to’’ and inserting 10 the following: 11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to’’; 12 (C) in subparagraph (C), as redesignated, 13 by striking ‘‘Commissioned Reserve Corps’’ and 14 inserting ‘‘Ready Reserve Corps’’; and 15 (D) by adding at the end the following new 16 paragraph: 17 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:06 Jul 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2056.IS S2056 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 2056 IS ‘‘(2) APPLICATION TO PRIVATE ENTITIES.—The 1 acceptance by a person described in paragraph (1) 2 of employment (and compensation related to that 3 employment) or payments or awards indirectly from 4 a foreign government through a private entity shall 5 be subject to the provisions of this section to the 6 same extent and in the same manner as such provi- 7 sions apply to employment (and compensation re- 8 lated to that employment) and payments and awards 9 described in paragraph (1).’’; 10 (2) in subsection (b)— 11 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘A person’’; 12 and 13 (B) by adding at the end the following new 14 paragraph: 15 ‘‘(2) Before approving under paragraph (1) the em- 16 ployment of a person described in subsection (a), the Sec- 17 retary concerned and the Secretary of State shall— 18 ‘‘(A) review the offer of employment, including 19 the full text of the contract or other agreement and 20 any annexes or statements of work; and 21 ‘‘(B) determine that the employment will not 22 harm the national security of the United States, in- 23 cluding with respect to complying with requirements 24 under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:06 Jul 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2056.IS S2056 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 2056 IS under subchapter M of chapter I of title 22, Code 1 of Federal Regulations.’’; 2 (3) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as 3 subsections (k) and (m), respectively; and 4 (4) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol- 5 lowing new subsection (d): 6 ‘‘(d) TERMS OF APPROVAL.—An approval provided to 7 a person described in subsection (a) for employment or 8 compensation under subsection (b) or for a payment or 9 award under subsection (c) shall cease to be effective if 10 the person— 11 ‘‘(1) fails to notify the Secretary concerned in 12 writing of any material change in the nature of the 13 employment or payment or award not later than 30 14 days after the change is made; or 15 ‘‘(2) provides inaccurate or incomplete informa- 16 tion in a written notification submitted under para- 17 graph (1).’’. 18 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON MEMBERS OF THE ARMED 19 FORCES NEGOTIATING EMPLOYMENT WITH 20 FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS WHILE ON ACTIVE 21 DUTY. 22 Section 908 of title 37, United States Code, as 23 amended by section 2, is further amended by inserting 24 after subsection (d) the following new subsection: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:06 Jul 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2056.IS S2056 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 2056 IS ‘‘(e) PROHIBITION ON NEGOTIATION OF EMPLOY- 1 MENT BY FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS WHILE ON ACTIVE 2 DUTY.—A member of the armed forces is prohibited from 3 negotiating or having in effect an agreement for future 4 employment or compensation, or payment or award, de- 5 scribed in subsection (a) while serving on active duty.’’. 6 SEC. 4. 30-MONTH PROHIBITION ON RETIRED MEMBERS OF 7 THE ARMED FORCES ELIGIBLE FOR ACCESS 8 TO CLASSIFIED INFORMATION SEEKING AP- 9 PROVAL FOR EMPLOYMENT BY FOREIGN 10 GOVERNMENTS. 11 Section 908 of title 37, United States Code, as 12 amended by section 3, is further amended by inserting 13 after subsection (e) the following new subsection: 14 ‘‘(f) PROHIBITION FOR RETIRED MEMBERS OF 15 ARMED FORCES ELIGIBLE FOR ACCESS TO CLASSIFIED 16 INFORMATION.— 17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided by 18 paragraph (2), a retired member of the armed forces 19 who is eligible for access to classified information is 20 prohibited from seeking approval under subsection 21 (b) for employment or compensation described in 22 subsection (a) during the 30-month period beginning 23 on the date on which the person retires from the 24 armed forces. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:02 Jul 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2056.IS S2056 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 2056 IS ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR ALLIED GOVERN- 1 MENTS.—A person described in paragraph (1) may 2 accept employment or compensation from the Gov- 3 ernment of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, 4 or New Zealand if the Secretary concerned and Sec- 5 retary of State approve the employment as provided 6 by subsection (b).’’. 7 SEC. 5. NOTIFICATION OF OBLIGATIONS. 8 Section 908 of title 37, United States Code, as 9 amended by section 4, is further amended by inserting 10 after subsection (f) the following new subsection: 11 ‘‘(g) NOTIFICATION OF OBLIGATIONS.—The Sec- 12 retary concerned shall ensure that each person described 13 in subsection (a)— 14 ‘‘(1) is notified of the obligations of the person 15 under this section; and 16 ‘‘(2) certifies to the Secretary that the person 17 understands such obligations.’’. 18 SEC. 6. POST-RETIREMENT EMPLOYMENT REPORTING. 19 Section 908 of title 37, United States Code, as 20 amended by section 5, is further amended by inserting 21 after subsection (g) the following new subsection: 22 ‘‘(h) POST-RETIREMENT EMPLOYMENT REPORT- 23 ING.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:06 Jul 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2056.IS S2056 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 2056 IS ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—During the 5-year period 1 beginning on the date on which a member of the 2 armed forces retires, that member shall— 3 ‘‘(A) report employment described in sub- 4 section (a) to the Secretary concerned upon ac- 5 cepting such employment; and 6 ‘‘(B) annually (or more frequently if the 7 Secretary concerned considers it appropriate) 8 report such employment to the Secretary con- 9 cerned. 10 ‘‘(2) REGULATIONS.—The Under Secretary of 11 Defense for Personnel and Readiness, in consulta- 12 tion with the Department of Defense Standards of 13 Conduct Office and the Secretaries of the military 14 departments, shall issue regulations requiring, as a 15 condition of service, each member of the armed 16 forces to sign a written agreement requiring the reg- 17 ular reporting of employment described in subsection 18 (a) to the Secretary concerned under paragraph 19 (1).’’. 20 SEC. 7. PENALTIES. 21 Section 908 of title 37, United States Code, as 22 amended by section 6, is further amended by inserting 23 after subsection (h) the following new subsection: 24 ‘‘(i) CIVIL PENALTIES.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:02 Jul 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2056.IS S2056 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 2056 IS ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person who violates sub- 1 section (b), (c), (e), (f), or (h) shall be liable to the 2 United States for a civil penalty in an amount that 3 is not more than the greater of— 4 ‘‘(A) $100,000; or 5 ‘‘(B) the amount of compensation that the 6 person received or was offered for the conduct 7 in violation of subsection (b), (c), (e), or (f), or 8 the employment described in subsection (h), as 9 the case may be. 10 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL PENALTIES.—In addition to 11 the penalty provided for under paragraph (1), a per- 12 son who violates subsection (b), (c), (e), or (f) shall, 13 for a period of not longer than five years— 14 ‘‘(A) be prohibited from accepting employ- 15 ment or compensation or a payment or award 16 from any foreign government; 17 ‘‘(B) be prohibited from— 18 ‘‘(i) accepting employment with the 19 Federal Government; 20 ‘‘(ii) providing services under a con- 21 tract awarded by the Federal Government; 22 or 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:06 Jul 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2056.IS S2056 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •S 2056 IS ‘‘(iii) serving on a Federal advisory 1 committee or in any other advisory capac- 2 ity to the Federal Government; and 3 ‘‘(C) not be eligible for access to classified 4 information. 5 ‘‘(3) APPEAL.— 6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A person assessed a 7 penalty under paragraph (1) for a violation of 8 subsection (b), (c), (e), (f), or (h) may appeal 9 the penalty to the President. 10 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATIONS ON APPEAL.—A 11 determination by the President to rescind or 12 waive part or all of a penalty for a violation of 13 subsection (b), (c), (e), (f), or (h) shall be made 14 in writing, submitted to Congress, and made 15 publicly available by the President through pub- 16 lication in the Federal Register. 17 ‘‘(4) SAVINGS PROVISION.—The imposition of a 18 penalty under this subsection does not preclude the 19 application of any other criminal or civil statutory, 20 common law, or administrative remedy that is avail- 21 able by law to the United States or any other per- 22 son.’’. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:06 Jul 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2056.IS S2056 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •S 2056 IS SEC. 8. GUIDANCE. 1 Section 908 of title 37, United States Code, as 2 amended by section 7, is further amended by inserting 3 after subsection (i) the following new subsection: 4 ‘‘(j) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 120 days after the 5 enactment of the Retired Officers Conflict of Interest Act 6 of 2023, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of 7 State shall issue and make available to the public guidance 8 with respect to complying with this section.’’. 9 SEC. 9. PUBLIC REPORTING. 10 Subsection (k) of section 908 of title 37, United 11 States Code, as redesignated by section 2(2), is further 12 amended— 13 (1) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end the 14 following new subparagraph: 15 ‘‘(D) The value of any travel, meals, lodging, or 16 registration fees provided by the foreign government 17 in connection with the employment or compensation 18 or payment or award.’’; and 19 (2) by adding at the end the following new 20 paragraph: 21 ‘‘(3) Each report required by paragraph (1), and all 22 of the contents of the report, without redaction, shall be 23 made available by the Secretary of Defense on a publicly 24 accessible internet website not later than 60 days after 25 the report is submitted under paragraph (1).’’. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:06 Jul 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2056.IS S2056 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •S 2056 IS SEC. 10. DATABASE OF EMPLOYMENT APPROVALS. 1 Section 908 of title 37, United States Code, is 2 amended by inserting after subsection (k), as redesignated 3 by section 2(2), the following new subsection: 4 ‘‘(l) DATABASE OF EMPLOYMENT APPROVALS.— 5 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 1 year 6 after the date of the enactment of the Retired Offi- 7 cers Conflict of Interest Act of 2023, the Secretary 8 of Defense shall establish and maintain an online 9 portal accessible by the public that allows a member 10 of the public, at no cost to the member, to search, 11 sort, and download information on approvals of em- 12 ployment provided under subsection (b). 13 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS.—The portal required by para- 14 graph (1) shall be designed to provide a member of 15 the public with the ability to retrieve information on 16 an approval of employment provided under sub- 17 section (b) to a person described in subsection (a) 18 through searches based on each, and any combina- 19 tion, of the following: 20 ‘‘(A) The name of the person. 21 ‘‘(B) The armed force of the person. 22 ‘‘(C) The position the person held or holds 23 in the armed forces, including rank, and in any 24 other former employing Federal office. 25 ‘‘(D) The foreign government involved. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:02 Jul 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2056.IS S2056 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •S 2056 IS ‘‘(E) The amount of compensation ex- 1 pected or provided for the employment. 2 ‘‘(F) The details of the person’s applica- 3 tion for approval of the employment. 4 ‘‘(G) In the case of a retired member of 5 the armed forces, the nature of the activities of 6 the member since retirement. 7 ‘‘(H) Other information relating to the em- 8 ployment. 9 ‘‘(I) Except as provided by paragraph (3), 10 any other information the Director considers 11 relevant. 12 ‘‘(3) INFORMATI [Text truncated for display. 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