[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1065 Placed on Calendar Senate (PCS)]






                                                       Calendar No. 128
105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1065

 To amend the Ethics in Government Act with respect to the appointment 
                       of an independent counsel.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 24, 1997

  Mr. Specter introduced the following bill; which was read the first 
                                  time

                             July 25, 1997

            Read the second time and placed on the calendar

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Ethics in Government Act with respect to the appointment 
                       of an independent counsel.

    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 Reform Act of 
1997''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE ETHICS IN GOVERNMENT ACT.

    (a) Inclusion of Federal Election Laws.--Section 591 of title 28, 
United States Code, is amended in subsection (a) by adding ``any 
provision of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974, as amended, the 
Presidential Election Campaign Fund Act, as amended, or the 
Presidential Primary Matching Payment Account Act, as amended, or'' 
after ``violated''.
    (b) Congressional Application for Appointment of Independent 
Counsel.--Section 595 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) Congressional Application.--Where the Committee on the 
Judiciary of either House of the Congress has received a report from 
the Attorney General containing notification that the appointment of an 
independent counsel is not warranted, and the committee or a majority 
of the majority party members or a majority of the nonmajority party 
members of such committee determines that the Attorney General's 
failure to appoint an independent counsel is an abuse of discretion, 
the committee or a majority of majority party members or a majority of 
the nonmajority party members of such committee may petition the court 
to appoint an independent counsel.''
    (c) Judicial Determination of Need for Independent Counsel.--
Section 593(b) of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at 
the end the following:
            ``(5) Authority under congressional application.--Upon 
        receipt of a congressional application under section 595(d) of 
        this title, the division of the court shall appoint an 
        appropriate independent counsel and shall define that 
        independent counsel's prosecutorial jurisdiction upon a 
        determination by such division that the Attorney General's 
        failure to appoint an independent counsel is an abuse of 
        discretion.''.




                                                       Calendar No. 128

105th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                                S. 1065

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 To amend the Ethics in Government Act with respect to the appointment 
                       of an independent counsel.

_______________________________________________________________________

                             July 25, 1997

            Read the second time and placed on the calendar