[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 24 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

<DOC>

        S.24

                       One Hundred Third Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
 the twenty-fifth day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-
                                  four


                                 An Act

  
 
  To reauthorize the independent counsel law for an additional 5 years, 
and for


                             other purposes.

    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 ``Independent Counsel Reauthorization 
Act of 1994''.

SEC. 2. FIVE-YEAR REAUTHORIZATION.

    Section 599 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by striking 
``1987'' and inserting ``1994''.

SEC. 3. ADDED CONTROLS.

    (a) Cost Controls and Administrative Support.--Section 594 of title 
28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following 
new subsection:
    ``(l) Cost Controls and Administrative Support.--
        ``(1) Cost controls.--
            ``(A) In general.--An independent counsel shall--
                ``(i) conduct all activities with due regard for 
            expense;
                ``(ii) authorize only reasonable and lawful 
            expenditures; and
                ``(iii) promptly, upon taking office, assign to a 
            specific employee the duty of certifying that expenditures 
            of the independent counsel are reasonable and made in 
            accordance with law.
            ``(B) Liability for invalid certification.--An employee 
        making a certification under subparagraph (A)(iii) shall be 
        liable for an invalid certification to the same extent as a 
        certifying official certifying a voucher is liable under 
        section 3528 of title 31.
            ``(C) Department of justice policies.--An independent 
        counsel shall comply with the established policies of the 
        Department of Justice respecting expenditures of funds, except 
        to the extent that compliance would be inconsistent with the 
        purposes of this chapter.
        ``(2) Administrative support.--The Director of the 
    Administrative Office of the United States Courts shall provide 
    administrative support and guidance to each independent counsel. No 
    officer or employee of the Administrative Office of the United 
    States Courts shall disclose information related to an independent 
    counsel's expenditures, personnel, or administrative acts or 
    arrangements without the authorization of the independent counsel.
        ``(3) Office space.--The Administrator of General Services, in 
    consultation with the Director of the Administrative Office of the 
    United States Courts, shall promptly provide appropriate office 
    space for each independent counsel. Such office space shall be 
    within a Federal building unless the Administrator of General 
    Services determines that other arrangements would cost less. Until 
    such office space is provided, the Administrative Office of the 
    United States Courts shall provide newly appointed independent 
    counsels immediately upon appointment with appropriate, temporary 
    office space, equipment, and supplies.''.
    (b) Independent Counsel Per Diem Expenses.--Section 594(b) of title 
28, United States Code, is amended--
        (1) by striking ``(b) Compensation.--An'' and inserting the 
    following:
    ``(b) Compensation.--
        ``(1) In general.--An''; and
        (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
        ``(2) Travel expenses.--Except as provided in paragraph (3), an 
    independent counsel and persons appointed under subsection (c) 
    shall be entitled to the payment of travel expenses as provided by 
    subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, 
    including travel, per diem, and subsistence expenses in accordance 
    with section 5703 of title 5.
        ``(3) Travel to primary office.--
            ``(A) In general.--After 1 year of service under this 
        chapter, an independent counsel and persons appointed under 
        subsection (c) shall not be entitled to the payment of travel, 
        per diem, or subsistence expenses under subchapter I of chapter 
        57 of title 5, United States Code, for the purpose of commuting 
        to or from the city in which the primary office of the 
        independent counsel or person is located. The 1-year period may 
        be extended by 6 months if the employee assigned duties under 
        subsection (l)(1)(A)(iii) certifies that the payment is in the 
        public interest to carry out the purposes of this chapter.
            ``(B) Relevant factors.--In making any certification under 
        this paragraph with respect to travel and subsistence expenses 
        of an independent counsel or person appointed under subsection 
        (c), such employee shall consider, among other relevant 
        factors--
                ``(i) the cost to the Government of reimbursing such 
            travel and subsistence expenses;
                ``(ii) the period of time for which the independent 
            counsel anticipates that the activities of the independent 
            counsel or person, as the case may be, will continue;
                ``(iii) the personal and financial burdens on the 
            independent counsel or person, as the case may be, of 
            relocating so that such travel and subsistence expenses 
            would not be incurred; and
                ``(iv) the burdens associated with appointing a new 
            independent counsel, or appointing another person under 
            subsection (c), to replace the individual involved who is 
            unable or unwilling to so relocate.''.
    (c) Independent Counsel Employee Pay Comparability.--Section 594(c) 
of title 28, United States Code, is amended by striking the last 
sentence and inserting: ``Such employees shall be compensated at levels 
not to exceed those payable for comparable positions in the Office of 
United States Attorney for the District of Columbia under sections 548 
and 550, but in no event shall any such employee be compensated at a 
rate greater than the rate of basic pay payable for level ES-4 of the 
Senior Executive Service Schedule under section 5382 of title 5, as 
adjusted for the District of Columbia under section 5304 of that title 
regardless of the locality in which an employee is employed.''.
    (d) Ethics Enforcement.--Section 594(j) of title 28, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
        ``(5) Enforcement.--The Attorney General and the Director of 
    the Office of Government Ethics have authority to enforce 
    compliance with this subsection.''.
    (e) Compliance With Policies of the Department of Justice.--Section 
594(f) of title 28, United States Code, is amended--
        (1) by striking ``shall, except where not possible, comply'' 
    and inserting ``shall, except to the extent that to do so would be 
    inconsistent with the purposes of this chapter, comply'';
        (2) by adding at the end the following: ``To determine these 
    policies and policies under subsection (l)(1)(B), the independent 
    counsel shall, except to the extent that doing so would be 
    inconsistent with the purposes of this chapter, consult with the 
    Department of Justice.'';
        (3) by striking ``An independent'' and inserting the following:
        ``(1) In general.--An independent''; and
        (4) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
        ``(2) National security.--An independent counsel shall comply 
    with guidelines and procedures used by the Department in the 
    handling and use of classified material.''.
    (f) Publication of Reports.--Section 594(h) of title 28, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph:
        ``(3) Publication of reports.--At the request of an independent 
    counsel, the Public Printer shall cause to be printed any report 
    previously released to the public under paragraph (2). The 
    independent counsel shall certify the number of copies necessary 
    for the public, and the Public Printer shall place the cost of the 
    required number to the debit of such independent counsel. 
    Additional copies shall be made available to the public through the 
    depository library program and Superintendent of Documents sales 
    program pursuant to sections 1702 and 1903 of title 44.''.
    (g) Annual Reports to Congress.--Section 595(a)(2) of title 28, 
United States Code, is amended by striking ``such statements'' and all 
that follows through ``appropriate'' and inserting ``annually a report 
on the activities of the independent counsel, including a description 
of the progress of any investigation or prosecution conducted by the 
independent counsel. Such report may omit any matter that in the 
judgment of the independent counsel should be kept confidential, but 
shall provide information adequate to justify the expenditures that the 
office of the independent counsel has made''.
    (h) Periodic Reappointment of Independent Counsel.--Section 
596(b)(2) of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following new sentence: ``If the Attorney General has not made 
a request under this paragraph, the division of the court shall 
determine on its own motion whether termination is appropriate under 
this paragraph no later than 2 years after the appointment of an 
independent counsel, at the end of the succeeding 2-year period, and 
thereafter at the end of each succeeding 1-year period.''.
    (i) Audits by the Comptroller General.--Section 596(c) of title 28, 
United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
    ``(c) Audits.--(1) On or before June 30 of each year, an 
independent counsel shall prepare a statement of expenditures for the 6 
months that ended on the immediately preceding March 31. On or before 
December 31 of each year, an independent counsel shall prepare a 
statement of expenditures for the fiscal year that ended on the 
immediately preceding September 30. An independent counsel whose office 
is terminated prior to the end of the fiscal year shall prepare a 
statement of expenditures on or before the date that is 90 days after 
the date on which the office is terminated.
    ``(2) The Comptroller General shall--
        ``(A) conduct a financial review of a mid-year statement and a 
    financial audit of a year-end statement and statement on 
    termination; and
        ``(B) report the results to the Committee on the Judiciary, 
    Committee on Governmental Affairs, and Committee on Appropriations 
    of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary, Committee on 
    Government Operations, and Committee on Appropriations of the House 
    of Representatives not later than 90 days following the submission 
    of each such statement.''.
    (j) Threshold Inquiry.--Section 591(d)(2) of title 28, United 
States Code, is amended by striking ``15'' each time it appears and 
inserting ``30''.
    (k) Recusal.--Section 591(e) of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
    ``(e) Recusal of Attorney General.--
        ``(1) When recusal is required.--(A) If information received 
    under this chapter involves the Attorney General, the next most 
    senior official in the Department of Justice who is not also 
    recused shall perform the duties assigned under this chapter to the 
    Attorney General.
        ``(B) If information received under this chapter involves a 
    person with whom the Attorney General has a personal or financial 
    relationship, the Attorney General shall recuse himself or herself 
    by designating the next most senior official in the Department of 
    Justice who is not also recused to perform the duties assigned 
    under this chapter to the Attorney General.
        ``(2) Requirements for recusal determination.--Before 
    personally making any other determination under this chapter with 
    respect to information received under this chapter, the Attorney 
    General shall determine under paragraph (1)(B) whether recusal is 
    necessary. The Attorney General shall set forth this determination 
    in writing, identify the facts considered by the Attorney General, 
    and set forth the reasons for the recusal. The Attorney General 
    shall file this determination with any notification or application 
    submitted to the division of the court under this chapter with 
    respect to such information.''.
    (l) Disclosure of Information.--Section 592(e) of title 28, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting after ``Except as otherwise 
provided in this chapter'' the following: ``or as is deemed necessary 
for law enforcement purposes''.
    (m) Clarification of Authority To Use Department of Justice 
Personnel.--Section 594(d)(1) of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following: ``At the request of an 
independent counsel, prosecutors, administrative personnel, and other 
employees of the Department of Justice may be detailed to the staff of 
the independent counsel.''.
    (n) Attorneys' Fees.--Section 593(f) of title 28, United States 
Code, is amended--
        (1) in the last sentence of paragraph (1) by inserting before 
    ``Attorney General'' the following: ``the independent counsel who 
    conducted the investigation and''; and
        (2) in paragraph (2)--
            (A) by striking ``may direct'' and inserting ``shall direct 
        such independent counsel and''; and
            (B) by striking all after ``subsection,'' and inserting the 
        following: ``addressing--
            ``(A) the sufficiency of the documentation;
            ``(B) the need or justification for the underlying item;
            ``(C) whether the underlying item would have been incurred 
        but for the requirements of this chapter; and
            ``(D) the reasonableness of the amount of money 
        requested.''.
    (o) Final Report.--Section 594(h)(1)(B) of title 28, United States 
Code, is amended by striking ``, and the reasons'' and all that follows 
through the period and inserting a period.

SEC. 4. MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.

    (a) Discretionary Authority.--Section 591(c) of title 28, United 
States Code, is amended to read as follows:
    ``(c) Preliminary Investigation With Respect to Other Persons.--
        ``(1) In general.--When the Attorney General determines that an 
    investigation or prosecution of a person by the Department of 
    Justice may result in a personal, financial, or political conflict 
    of interest, the Attorney General may conduct a preliminary 
    investigation of such person in accordance with section 592 if the 
    Attorney General receives information sufficient to constitute 
    grounds to investigate whether that person may have violated 
    Federal criminal law other than a violation classified as a Class B 
    or C misdemeanor or an infraction.
        ``(2) Members of congress.--When the Attorney General 
    determines that it would be in the public interest, the Attorney 
    General may conduct a preliminary investigation in accordance with 
    section 592 if the Attorney General receives information sufficient 
    to constitute grounds to investigate whether a Member of Congress 
    may have violated any Federal criminal law other than a violation 
    classified as a Class B or C misdemeanor or an infraction.''.
    (b) Postemployment Coverage.--Section 591(b) of title 28, United 
States Code, is amended--
        (1) by striking paragraphs (6) and (7);
        (2) by redesignating paragraph (8) as paragraph (6), and, at 
    the end of that paragraph, striking the period and inserting ``; 
    and''; and
        (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
        ``(7) any individual who held an office or position described 
    in paragraph (1), (2), (3), (4), or (5) for 1 year after leaving 
    the office or position.''.

SEC. 5. GROUNDS FOR REMOVAL.

    Section 596(a)(1) of title 28, United States Code, is amended by 
striking ``physical disability, mental incapacity'' and inserting 
``physical or mental disability (if not prohibited by law protecting 
persons from discrimination on the basis of such a disability),''.

SEC. 6. REPORT ON WHITE HOUSE OFFICE PERSONNEL.

    (a) Submission of Report.--On July 1 of each year, the President 
shall submit a report described in subsection (b) to the Committee on 
Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Government 
Operations of the House of Representatives.
    (b) Contents.--A report under subsection (a) shall, except as 
provided in subsection (c), include--
        (1) a list of each individual--
            (A) employed by the White House Office; or
            (B) detailed to the White House Office; and
        (2) with regard to each individual described in paragraph (1), 
    the individual's--
            (A) name;
            (B) position and title; and
            (C) annual rate of pay.
    (c) Exclusion From Report.--If the President determines that 
disclosure of any item of information described in subsection (b) with 
respect to any particular individual would not be in the interest of 
the national defense or foreign policy of the United States--
        (1) a report under subsection (a) shall--
            (A) exclude such information with respect to that 
        individual; and
            (B) include a statement of the number of individuals with 
        respect to whom such information has been excluded; and
        (2) at the request of the Committee on Governmental Affairs of 
    the Senate or the Committee on Government Operations of the House 
    of Representatives, the information that was excluded from the 
    report shall be made available for inspection by such committee.

SEC. 7. TRANSITION PROVISIONS.

    (a) In General.--Except as provided in this section, the amendments 
made by this Act shall apply with respect to independent counsels 
appointed before, on, or after the date of enactment of this Act.
    (b) Assignment of Employee To Certify Expenditures.--An independent 
counsel appointed prior to the date of enactment of this Act shall 
assign to an employee the duty of certifying expenditures, as required 
by section 594(l) of title 28, United States Code, as added by section 
3(a), by the date that is 30 days after the date of enactment of this 
Act.
    (c) Office Space.--The Administrator of General Services, in 
applying section 594(l)(3) of title 28, United States Code, as added by 
section 3(a), to determine whether the office of an independent counsel 
appointed prior to the date of enactment of this Act should be moved to 
a Federal building, shall take into account the moving, legal, and 
other expenses that might arise if the office were moved.
    (d) Travel And Subsistence Expenses.--For purposes of the 
restrictions on reimbursement of travel and subsistence expenses of an 
independent counsel and employees of an office of independent counsel 
contained in paragraph (3) of section 594(b) of title 28, United States 
Code, as amended by section 3(b), as applied to the office of an 
independent counsel appointed before the date of enactment of this Act, 
the 1-year service period shall begin on the date of enactment of this 
Act.
    (e) Rates of Compensation.--The limitation on rates of compensation 
of employees of an office of independent counsel contained in the last 
sentence of section 594(c) of title 28, United States Code, as amended 
by section 3(c), shall not be applied to cause a reduction in the rate 
of compensation of an employee appointed before the date of enactment 
of this Act.
    (f) Periodic Reappointment.--The determinations by the division of 
the court contained in the last sentence of section 596(b)(2) of title 
28, United States Code, as amended by section 3(h), shall, for the 
office of an independent counsel appointed before the date of enactment 
of this Act, be required no later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act and at the end of each succeeding 1-year period.
    (g) Reporting Requirements.--No amendment made by this Act that 
establishes or modifies a requirement that any person submit a report 
to any other person with respect to an activity occurring during any 
time period shall be construed to require that a report submitted prior 
to the date of enactment of this Act, with respect to that time period 
be supplemented to include information with respect to such activity.
    (h) Regulatory Independent Counsel.--Notwithstanding the 
restriction in section 593(b)(2) of title 28, United States Code, the 
division of the court described in section 49 of that title may appoint 
as an independent counsel any individual who, on the date of enactment 
of this Act, is serving as a regulatory independent counsel under parts 
600 and 603 of title 28, Code of Federal Regulations. If such an 
individual is so appointed, such an independent counsel shall comply 
with chapter 40 of title 28, United States Code, as amended by this 
Act, in the same manner and to the same extent as an independent 
counsel appointed before the date of enactment of this Act is required 
to comply with that chapter, except that subsection (f) of this section 
shall not apply to such an independent counsel.
    (i) White House Personnel Report.--Section 6 shall take effect on 
January 1, 1995.







                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.







                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.