Duties of Director of the Office of Government Ethics

(a)

In general

Section 402(b) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— (1)in paragraph (1)— (A)by striking developing, in consultation and inserting consulting; (B)by striking Management, rules, and regulations to be promulgated by the President or the Director, and inserting Management for input on the promulgation of rules and regulations to be promulgated by the Director; and (C)by striking title II and inserting title I; (2)by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:

(2)providing mandatory education and training programs for designated agency ethics officials, which may be delegated to each agency or the White House Counsel as deemed appropriate by the Director;

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(3)in paragraph (3), by striking title II and inserting title I; (4)in paragraph (4), by striking problems and inserting issues; (5)in paragraph (6), by striking problems and inserting issues; (6)in paragraph (7)— (A)by striking , when requested,; and (B)by striking conflict of interest problems and inserting conflicts of interest, as well as other ethics issues; (7)in paragraph (9)— (A)by striking ordering and inserting receiving allegations of violations of this Act and, when necessary, investigating an allegation to determine whether a violation occurred, and ordering; and (B)by inserting before the semi-colon the following: , and recommending appropriate disciplinary action; (8)in paragraph (12)— (A)by striking evaluating, with the assistance of and inserting promulgating, with input from; (B)by striking the need for; and (C)by striking conflict of interest and ethical problems and inserting conflict of interest and ethics issues; (9)in paragraph (13)— (A)by striking with the Attorney General and inserting with the Inspectors General and the Attorney General; (B)by striking violations of the conflict of interest laws and inserting conflict of interest issues and allegations of violations of ethics laws and regulations and this Act; and (C)by striking , as required by section 535 of title 28, United States Code; (10)in paragraph (14), by striking and at the end; (11)in paragraph (15)— (A)by striking title II and inserting title I; and (B)by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and (12)by adding at the end the following:

(16)directing and providing final approval, when determined appropriate by the Director, for designated agency ethics officials regarding the resolution of conflicts of interest as well as any other ethics issues under the purview of this Act in individual cases; and (17)reviewing and approving, when determined appropriate by the Director, any recusals, exemptions, or waivers from the conflicts of interest and ethics laws, rules, and regulations and making approved recusals, exemptions, and waivers made publicly available by the relevant agency available in a central location on the official website of the Office of Government Ethics.

(b)

Written procedures

Section 402(d) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended in paragraph (1)— (1)by striking , by the exercise of any authority otherwise available to the Director under this title,; and (2)by striking the agency is. (c)

Corrective actions

Section 402(f) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— (1)in paragraph (1)— (A)in clause (i) of subparagraph (A), by striking of such agency; and (B)in subparagraph (B), by inserting at the end before the period the following: and determine that a violation of this Act has occurred and issue appropriate administrative or legal remedies as prescribed in paragraph (2); (2)in paragraph (2)— (A)in subparagraph (A)— (i)in clause (ii)— (I)in subclause (I), by inserting to the President or the President’s designee if the matter involves employees of the Executive Office of the President or after may recommend; and (II)in subclause (II)— (aa)by inserting President or after determines that the; and (bb)by adding and at the end; (ii)in subclause (II) of clause (iii)— (I)by striking notify in writing, and inserting advise the President in writing or order; (II)by inserting take appropriate disciplinary action including reprimand, suspension, demotion, or dismissal against the officer or employee after employee’s agency; (III)by striking of the officer’s or employee’s noncompliance, except that, if the officer or employee involved is the agency head, the notification shall instead be submitted to the President and Congress and; and (IV)by striking ; and at the end and inserting a period; and (iii)by striking clause (iv); (B)in subparagraph (B)(i)— (i)by striking subparagraph (A)(iii) or (iv) and inserting subparagraph (A); (ii)by inserting (I) before In order to; and (iii)by adding at the end the following:

(II) (aa)The Director may secure directly from any agency information necessary to enable the Director to carry out this Act. Upon request of the Director, the head of such agency shall furnish that information to the Director. (bb)The Director may require by subpoena the production of all information, documents, reports, answers, records, accounts, papers, and other data in any medium and documentary evidence necessary in the performance of the functions assigned by this Act, which subpoena, in the case of refusal to obey, shall be enforceable by order of any appropriate United States district court.

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(C)in subparagraph (B)(ii)(I)— (i)by striking Subject to clause (iv) of this subparagraph, before and inserting Before; and (ii)by striking subparagraphs (A) (iii) or (iv) and inserting subparagraph (A)(iii); (D)in subparagraph (B)(iii), by striking Subject to clause (iv) of this subparagraph, before and inserting Before; and (E)in subparagraph (B)(iv)— (i)by striking title 2 and inserting title I; and (ii)by striking section 206 and inserting section 104; (3)in paragraph (4), by striking (iv),; and (4)by striking paragraph (5) and inserting the following:

(5) (A)The Office of Government Ethics shall provide, on the official website of the Office, public access to records made available by agencies of all conflicts of interest and ethics laws, rules and regulations, recusals, waivers and exemptions, ethics advisory opinions, ethics agreements of senior executive branch personnel and employee certificates of divestiture, financial disclosure reports, compliance reviews, enforcement actions, and any other public records concerning conflicts of interest and ethics records for the executive branch required by law. (B)All financial disclosure reports and records related to conflict of interest waivers and other records of ethics determinations deemed public information by the Director or by law shall be made available to the public either by internet link to such information if publicly available, or at no charge on the website of the Office of Government Ethics in a searchable, sortable, and downloadable format, and at reasonable fees for reproduction of paper documents at the Office of Government Ethics.

(d)

Definitions

Section 402 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

(g)For purposes of this title— (1)the term agency shall include the Executive Office of the President; and (2)the term officer or employee shall include any individual occupying a position, providing any official services, or acting in an advisory capacity, in the White House or the Executive Office of the President. (h)In this title, a reference to the head of an agency shall include the President or the President’s designee. (i)The Director shall not be required to obtain the prior approval, comment, or review of any officer or agency of the United States, including the Office of Management and Budget, before submitting to Congress, or any committee or subcommittee thereof, any information, reports, recommendations, testimony, or comments, if such submissions include a statement indicating that the views expressed therein are those of the Director and do not necessarily represent the views of the President.