[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1395 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1395

   To amend section 207 of title 18, United States Code, to tighten 
 restrictions on former executive and legislative branch officials and 
                               employees.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 18, 1993

  Mr. Bacchus of Florida (for himself, Mr. Zimmer, Mr. Kreidler, Mr. 
Barrett of Wisconsin, Mr. Paxon, Mr. Camp, Mr. Greenwood, Mr. Klug, Mr. 
 Lewis of Florida, Mr. Thomas of Wyoming, Mr. Petri, Mr. Gene Green of 
  Texas, and Mr. Gutierrez) introduced the following bill; which was 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend section 207 of title 18, United States Code, to tighten 
 restrictions on former executive and legislative branch officials and 
                               employees.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Ethics in Government Reform Act of 
1993''.

SEC. 2. SPECIAL RULES FOR HIGHLY PAID EXECUTIVE APPOINTEES AND MEMBERS 
              OF CONGRESS AND HIGHLY PAID CONGRESSIONAL EMPLOYEES.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Appearances before agency.--(A) Section 207(d) of title 
        18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end thereof 
        the following:
            ``(3) Restrictions on political appointees.--(A) In 
        addition to the restrictions set forth in subsection (a), (b), 
        and (c) and paragraph (1) of this subsection, any person who--
                    ``(i) serves in the position of President or Vice 
                President of the United States; or
                    ``(ii) is a full-time, noncareer Presidential, Vice 
                Presidential, or agency head appointee in an executive 
                agency whose rate of basic pay is not less than $70,000 
                (adjusted for any COLA after the date of enactment of 
                the Ethics in Government Reform Act of 1993) and is not 
                an appointee of the senior foreign service or solely an 
                appointee as a uniformed service commissioned officer, 
                and who, after termination of his or her service or 
                employment as such officer or employee, knowingly 
                makes, with the intent to influence, any communication 
                to or appearance before any officer or employee of a 
                department or agency in which such person served within 
                5 years before such termination, during the period 
                beginning on the termination of service or employment 
                as such officer or employee and ending 5 years after 
                the termination of service in the department or agency, 
                on behalf of any other person (except the United 
                States), in connection with any matter on which such 
                person seeks official action by any officer or employee 
                of such department or agency, shall be punished as 
                provided in section 216 of this title.
            ``(B) In addition to the restrictions set forth in 
        subsections (a), (b), and (c) and paragraph (1) of this 
        subsection, any person whose position is listed under section 
        5312 of title 5, or is employed in a full-time, noncareer 
        position in the Executive Office of the President and whose 
        rate of basic pay is not less than $70,000 (adjusted for any 
        COLA after the date of enactment of the Ethics in Government 
        Reform Act of 1993) and is not an appointee of the senior 
        foreign service or solely an appointee as a uniformed service 
        commissioned officer or is a full-time, noncareer Presidential, 
        Vice Presidential, or agency head appointee in an executive 
        agency whose rate of basic pay is not less than $70,000 
        (adjusted for any COLA after the date of enactment of the 
        Ethics in Government Reform Act of 1993) and is not an 
        appointee of the senior foreign service or solely an appointee 
        as a uniformed service commissioned officer, and who, within 2 
        years after the termination of his or her service or employment 
        as such officer or employee, knowingly makes, with the intent 
        to influence, any communication to or appearance before any 
        person described in paragraph (2)(B) on behalf of any other 
        person (except the United States), in connection with any 
        matter on which such person seeks official action by the person 
        described in paragraph (2)(B), shall be punished as provided in 
        section 216 of this title.
            ``(C) In addition to the restrictions set forth in 
        subsections (a), (b), and (c) and paragraph (1) of this 
        subsection, any person whose position is listed under section 
        5312 of title 5, or is employed in the Executive Office of the 
        President and whose basic rate of pay is not less than $70,000 
        (adjusted for any COLA after the date of enactment of the 
        Ethics in Government Reform Act of 1993) and is not an 
        appointee of the senior foreign service or solely an appointee 
        as a uniformed service commissioned officer, and who, after the 
        termination of his or her service or employment as such officer 
        or employee, knowingly makes, with the intent to influence, any 
        communication to or appearance before any officer or employee 
        of a department or agency with respect to which the person had 
        personal and substantial responsibility within 5 years before 
        such termination, during the period beginning on the 
        termination of service or employment as such officer or 
        employee and ending 5 years after the termination of personal 
        and substantial responsibility with respect to the department 
        or agency, on behalf of any other person (except the United 
        States), in connection with any matter on which such person 
        seeks official action by any officer or employee of such 
        department or agency, shall be punished as provided in section 
        216 of this title.
            ``(D) For purposes of this paragraph, the term ``personal 
        and substantial responsibility'' means, with respect to a 
        department or agency, ongoing decision-making involvement in 
        the budget, major programs, or personnel actions of the 
        department or agency, when acting both personally and 
        substantially.
            ``(E) This paragraph shall not apply to an officer or 
        employee who has served less than 90 days before his or her 
        service or employment as such officer or employee 
        terminates.''.
            (B) The first sentence of section 207(h)(1) of title 18, 
        United States Code, is amended by inserting after ``subsection 
        (c)'' the following: ``and subsection (d)(3)''.
            (C) Section 207(d)(1)(A) of title 18, United States Code, 
        is amended to read as follows:
                    ``(A) serves in the position of President or Vice 
                President of the United States,''.
            (2) Foreign agents.--Section 207(f) of title 18, United 
        States Code, is amended--
                    (A) by striking ``foreign entity'' each place it 
                appears and inserting ``foreign national''; and
                    (B) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 
                following:
            ``(2) Special restrictions.--Any person who--
                    ``(A)(i) serves in the position of President or 
                Vice President of the United States,
                    ``(ii) is a full-time, noncareer Presidential, Vice 
                Presidential, or agency head appointee in an executive 
                agency whose rate of basic pay is not less than $70,000 
                (adjusted for any COLA after the date of enactment of 
                the Ethics in Government Reform Act of 1993) and is not 
                an appointee of the senior foreign service or solely an 
                appointee as a uniformed service commissioned officer,
                    ``(iii) is employed in a full-time, noncareer 
                position in the Executive Office of the President whose 
                rate of basic pay is not less than $70,000 (adjusted 
                for any COLA after the date of enactment of the Ethics 
                in Government Reform Act of 1993) and is not an 
                appointee of the senior foreign service or solely an 
                appointee as a uniformed service commissioned officer, 
                or
                    ``(iv) is a Member of Congress or employed in a 
                position by the Congress at a rate of pay equal to or 
                greater the $70,000 (adjusted for any COLA after the 
                date of enactment of the Ethics in Government Reform 
                Act of 1993), and
                    ``(B) knowingly, after such service or employment 
                terminates--
                            ``(i) represents, directly or indirectly, a 
                        foreign national before any officer or employee 
                        of any department or agency of the United 
                        States with the intent to influence a decision 
                        of such officer or employee in carrying out his 
                        or her official duties and receives 
                        compensation for such representation, or
                            ``(ii) aids or advises, directly or 
                        indirectly, a foreign national with the intent 
                        to influence a decision of any officer or 
                        employee of any department or agency of the 
                        United States in carrying out his or her 
                        official duties and receives compensation for 
                        such aid or advice,
                shall be punished as provided in section 216 of this 
                title.
            ``(3) Gifts from a foreign government or foreign political 
        party.--Any person who--
                    ``(A)(i) serves in the position of President or 
                Vice President of the United States,
                    ``(ii) is a full-time, noncareer Presidential, Vice 
                Presidential, or agency head appointee in an executive 
                agency whose rate of basic pay is not less than $70,000 
                (adjusted for any COLA after the date of enactment of 
                the Ethics in Government Reform Act of 1993) and is not 
                an appointee of the senior foreign service or solely an 
                appointee as a uniformed service commissioned officer,
                    ``(iii) is a full-time, noncareer Presidential, 
                Vice Presidential, or agency head appointee in an 
                executive agency whose rate of basic pay is not less 
                than $70,000 (adjusted for any COLA after the date of 
                enactment of the Ethics in Government Reform Act of 
                1993) and is not an appointee of the senior foreign 
                service or solely an appointee as a uniformed service 
                commissioned officer,
                    ``(iv) is employed in a full-time, noncareer 
                position in the Executive Office of the President whose 
                rate of basic pay is not less than $70,000 (adjusted 
                for any COLA after the date of enactment of the Ethics 
                in Government Act of 1993) and is not an appointee of 
                the senior foreign service or solely an appointee as a 
                uniformed service commissioned officer,
                    ``(v) is a Member of Congress, or
                    ``(vi) is employed in a position by the Congress at 
                a rate of pay equal to or greater than $70,000 
                (adjusted for any COLA after the date of enactment of 
                the Ethics in Government Reform Act of 1993), and
                    ``(B) after such service or employment terminates, 
                receives a gift from a foreign government or foreign 
                political party,
        shall be punished as provided in section 216 of this title.
            ``(4) Definitions.--For purposes of this subsection--
                    ``(A) the term `foreign national' means--
                            ``(i) a government of a foreign country as 
                        defined in section 1(e) of the Foreign Agents 
                        Registration Act of 1938, as amended, or a 
                        foreign political party as defined in section 
                        1(f) of that Act;
                            ``(ii) a person outside of the United 
                        States, unless such person is an individual and 
                        a citizen of the United States, or unless such 
                        person is not an individual and is organized 
                        under or created by the laws of the United 
                        States or of any State or other place subject 
                        to the jurisdiction of the United States and 
                        has its principal place of business within the 
                        United States;
                            ``(iii) a partnership, association, 
                        corporation, organization, or other combination 
                        of persons organized under the laws of or 
                        having its principal place of business in a 
                        foreign country; and
                            ``(iv) a person any of whose activities are 
                        directly or indirectly supervised, directed, 
                        controlled, financed, or subsidized in whole or 
                        in major part by an entity described in clause 
                        (i), (ii), or (iii); and
                    ``(B) the term `gift'--
                            (i) includes any gratuity, favor, discount, 
                        entertainment, hospitality, loan, forbearance, 
                        or other item having monetary value greater 
                        than $20; and
                            ``(ii) does not include--
                                    ``(I) modest items of food and 
                                refreshments offered other than as part 
                                of a meal;
                                    ``(II) greeting cards and items of 
                                little intrinsic value which are 
                                intended solely for presentation;
                                    ``(III) loans from banks and other 
                                financial institutions on terms 
                                generally available to the public;
                                    ``(IV) opportunities and benefits, 
                                including favorable rates and 
                                commercial discounts, available to the 
                                public; or
                                    ``(V) travel, subsistence, and 
                                related expenses in connection with the 
                                person's rendering of advice or aid to 
                                a government of a foreign country or 
                                foreign political party, if the 
                                Secretary of State certifies in advance 
                                that such activity is in the best 
                                interests of the United States.''.
            (3) Trade negotiators.--Section 207(b)(1) of title 18, 
        United States Code, is amended--
                    (A) by inserting ``(A)'' after ``In general.--''; 
                and
                    (B) by adding at the end thereof the following:
            ``(B) For any person who--
                    ``(i) is a full-time, noncareer Presidential, Vice 
                Presidential, or agency head appointee in an executive 
                agency whose rate of basic pay is not less than $70,000 
                (adjusted for any COLA after the date of enactment of 
                the Ethics in Government Reform Act of 1993) and is not 
                an appointee of the senior foreign service or solely an 
                appointee as a uniformed service commissioned officer,
                    ``(ii) is employed in a full-time, noncareer 
                position in the Executive Office of the President, 
                whose rate of basic pay is not less than $70,000 
                (adjusted for any COLA after the date of enactment of 
                the Ethics in Government Reform Act of 1993) and is not 
                an appointee of the senior foreign service or solely an 
                appointee as a uniformed service commissioned officer, 
                or
                    ``(iii) is a Member of Congress or employed in a 
                position by the Congress at a rate of pay equal to or 
                greater than $70,000 (adjusted for any COLA after the 
                date of enactment of the Ethics in Government Reform 
                Act of 1993),
        the restricted period after the termination of service or 
        employment that is referred to in subparagraph (A) shall be 
        permanent.''.
            (4) Legislative branch.--Section 207(e) of title 18, United 
        States Code, is amended--
                    (A) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 
                following:
            ``(1) Members of congress, elected officers, and highly-
        paid staffers.--(A) Any person who is a Member of Congress, an 
        elected officer of either House of Congress, or employed in a 
        position by the Congress at a rate of pay equal to or greater 
        than $70,000 (adjusted for any COLA after the date of enactment 
        of the Ethics in Government Reform Act of 1993) and who, within 
        2 years after that person leaves his or her employment, 
        knowingly makes, with the intent to influence, any 
        communication to or appearance before any Member, officer, 
        employee of either House of Congress, or any employee of any 
        other legislative office of the Congress on behalf of any other 
        person (except the United States) in connection with any matter 
        on which such former Member, elected officer, or employee seeks 
        action by a Member, officer, or employee of either House of 
        Congress, in his or her official capacity, shall be punished as 
        provided in section 216 of this title.
            ``(B) Any person who is a Member of Congress and who, after 
        that person leaves office, knowingly makes, with the intent to 
        influence, any communication to or appearance before any member 
        or employee of a committee of Congress on which the Member 
        served within 5 years before that person left office, during 
        the period beginning on the date that person leaves office and 
        ending 5 years after the termination of that person's service 
        on that committee, on behalf of any other person (except the 
        United States) in connection with any matter on which such 
        former Member seeks action by the member or employee of the 
        committee in his or her official capacity, shall be punished as 
        provided in section 216 of this title.'';
                    (B) by redesignating paragraphs (6) and (7) as 
                paragraphs (7) and (8), respectively; and
                    (C) by inserting after paragraph (5) the following 
                new paragraph:
            ``(6) Highly paid staffers.--For any person to whom the 
        restrictions in paragraph (2), (3), (4), or (5) apply, and who 
        is employed in a position at a rate of pay equal to or greater 
        than $70,000 (adjusted for any COLA after the date of enactment 
        of the Ethics in Government Reform Act of 1993) the restricted 
        period after termination of employment in paragraph (2), (3), 
        (4), or (5) that applies to such person shall be 5 years.''.
            (5) Governmentwide cooling off period.--
                    (A) Executive branch.--Subsection (c) of section 
                207 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
                            (i) by amending the caption for such 
                        subsection to read as follows:
    ``(c)  One-Year Restriction on all Officers and Employees of the 
Executive Branch and Certain Other Agencies.--'';
                            (ii) in paragraph (1) by striking ``who is 
                        referred to in paragraph (2)'' and inserting 
                        ``who is subject to the restrictions contained 
                        in subsection (a)(1)''; and
                            (iii) by striking paragraph (2) and 
                        inserting the following:
            ``(2) Exceptions.--(A) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a 
        special Government employee who serves less than 90 days in the 
        1-year period before his or her service or employment as such 
        employee terminates.
            ``(B) At the request of a department or agency, the 
        Director of the Office of Government Ethics may waive the 
        restrictions contained in paragraph (1) with respect to any 
        position, or category of positions, referred to in subsection 
        (a)(1), in such department or agency if the Director determines 
        that--
                    ``(i) the imposition of the restrictions with 
                respect to such position or positions would create an 
                undue hardship on the department or agency in obtaining 
                qualified personnel to fill such position or positions, 
                and
                    ``(ii) granting the waiver would not create the 
                potential for use of undue influence or unfair 
                advantage.''.
                    (B) Congress.--Section 207(e) of title 18, United 
                States Code, is amended by striking paragraph (6) and 
                inserting the following:
            ``(6) Limitation on restrictions.--(A) The restrictions 
        contained in paragraphs (2), (3), (4), and (5) apply only to 
        acts by a former employee who was employed for at least 90 
        days, in the aggregate, during the 1-year period before that 
        former employee's service as such employee terminated.''.
    (b) Penalties.--
            (1) Future activities.--Section 216 of title 18, United 
        States Code, is amended by adding at the end thereof the 
        following:
    ``(d) In addition to the penalties provided in subsections (a), 
(b), and (c), the punishment for each violation of section 207 may 
include a prohibition on the person knowingly, with the intent to 
influence, communicating to or appearing before any employee of the 
executive or legislative branch, for a period of not to exceed 5 
years.''.
            (2) Use of profits.--Section 216(b) of title 18, United 
        States Code, is amended by inserting after the first sentence 
        the following: ``Any amount of compensation recovered pursuant 
        to the preceding sentence for a violation of section 207 shall 
        be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury to reduce the 
        deficit.''.
    (c) Exceptions.--Section 207(j) of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end thereof the following:
            ``(7) Non-influential contacts.--Nothing in this section 
        shall prevent an individual from making requests for 
        appointments, requests for the status of Federal action, or 
        other similar ministerial contacts, if there is no attempt to 
        influence an officer or employee of the legislative or 
        executive branch.
            ``(8) Comments.--Nothing in this section shall prevent an 
        individual from making communications in response to a notice 
        in the Federal Register, Commerce Business Daily, or other 
        similar publication soliciting communications from the public 
        and directed to the agency official specifically designated in 
        the notice to receive such communications.
            ``(9) Adjudication.--Nothing in this section shall prevent 
        an individual from making communications or appearances in 
        compliance with written agency procedures regarding an 
        adjudication conducted by the agency under section 554 of title 
        5, or substantially similar provisions.
            ``(10) Comments for the record.--Nothing in this section 
        shall prevent an individual from submitting written comments 
        filed in a public docket and other communications that are made 
        on the record.''.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The restrictions contained in section 207 of title 18, United 
States Code, as added by section 2 of this Act--
            (1) shall apply only to persons whose service as officers 
        or employees of the Government, or as Members of Congress 
        terminates on or after the date of the enactment of this Act; 
        and
            (2) in the case of officers, employees, and Members of 
        Congress described in section 207(b)(1)(B) of title 18, United 
        States Code (as added by section 2 of this Act), shall apply 
        only with respect to participation in trade negotiations or 
        treaty negotiations, and with respect to access to information, 
        occurring on or after such date of enactment.

                                 <all>

HR 1395 IH----2