[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2581 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2581

     To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide for a 2-year 
 prohibition on employment in a career civil service position for any 
          former political appointee, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 21, 2018

  Mrs. Ernst introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide for a 2-year 
 prohibition on employment in a career civil service position for any 
          former political appointee, 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 ``Political Appointee Burrowing 
Prevention Act''.

SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON EMPLOYMENT OF POLITICAL APPOINTEES IN CAREER 
              CIVIL SERVICE POSITIONS.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter I of chapter 31 of title 5, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 3115. Employment of political appointees
    ``(a) Appointment Approval Required.--
            ``(1) In general.--The head of an agency may not appoint 
        any individual described in paragraph (5) to a career position 
        within the agency without receiving prior written approval from 
        the Associate Director for Merit Systems Accountability and 
        Compliance, consistent with the requirements of this 
        subsection.
            ``(2) Request.--The head of an agency shall submit a 
        request to the Associate Director to approve the appointment of 
        any individual described in paragraph (5) to a career position. 
        Any such request shall include certification by the head of the 
        agency to the Associate Director that the appointment is 
        necessary for the agency to meet its mission.
            ``(3) Review and determination.--The Associate Director 
        shall review any request received pursuant to paragraph (2) and 
        deny any such request unless the Associate Director determines 
        that the appointment process with respect to the request was 
        fair, open, and free from political influence. If the Associate 
        Director makes that determination, the Associate Director may 
        approve the request.
            ``(4) Notification to congress.--With respect to any 
        request approved under paragraph (3), the Associate Director 
        shall, not less than five days before the date the Associate 
        Director provides approval to the head of the requesting 
        agency, provide to the Committee on Oversight and Government 
        Reform of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
        Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate the 
        agency certification under paragraph (2) and the agency head's 
        rationale for that certification.
            ``(5) Covered individuals.--An individual described in this 
        paragraph is--
                    ``(A) a political appointee;
                    ``(B) a former political appointee who held any 
                political position during the five-year period before 
                the date of the request described in paragraph (2); or
                    ``(C) at the discretion of the Director of the 
                Office of Personnel Management, a former political 
                appointee who held any political position before the 
                five-year period described in subparagraph (B).
    ``(b) Restriction on Appointment.--
            ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other law, rule, or 
        regulation, during the 2-year period following the date a 
        political appointee leaves or departs from a political 
        position, such appointee may not be appointed to any career 
        position in the civil service.
            ``(2) Exception.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a 
        political appointee who has not personally and substantially 
        participated in any particular matter while employed in a 
        political position.
    ``(c) Application.--Nothing in this section shall be construed to 
restrict the appointment of an individual who is--
            ``(1) entitled to reinstatement under section 3593(b); or
            ``(2) eligible for reinstatement under section 3593(a).
    ``(d) Definitions.--In this section--
            ``(1) the term `agency' has the meaning given the term 
        `Executive agency' in section 105;
            ``(2) the term `Associate Director' means the Associate 
        Director for Merit Systems Accountability and Compliance at the 
        Office of Personnel Management;
            ``(3) the term `political appointee' means an individual 
        serving in an appointment of any duration to a political 
        position;
            ``(4) the term `political position' means--
                    ``(A) a position with respect to which appointment 
                is made--
                            ``(i) by the President; or
                            ``(ii) by the President, by and with the 
                        advice and consent of the Senate;
                    ``(B) a position which has been excepted from the 
                competitive service by reason of its confidential, 
                policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating 
                character;
                    ``(C) a position described under sections 5312 
                through 5316 (relating to the Executive Schedule); and
                    ``(D) a general position in the Senior Executive 
                Service during such time as it is filled by--
                            ``(i) a noncareer appointee, as defined in 
                        paragraph (7) of section 3132(a); or
                            ``(ii) a limited term appointee or limited 
                        emergency appointee, as defined in paragraphs 
                        (5) and (6) of section 3132(a), who is serving 
                        under a political appointment;
            ``(5) the term `career position' means--
                    ``(A) a position in the competitive service filled 
                by career or career-conditional appointment;
                    ``(B) a position in the excepted service filled by 
                an appointment of equivalent tenure as a position 
                described in subparagraph (A);
                    ``(C) a career reserved position, as defined in 
                paragraph (8) of section 3132(a), in the Senior 
                Executive Service; or
                    ``(D) a general position in the Senior Executive 
                Service when filled by a career appointee, as defined 
                in section 3132(a)(4);
            ``(6) the term `participated' means an action taken as an 
        officer or employee through decision, approval, disapproval, 
        recommendation, the rendering of advice, investigation, or 
        other such action; and
            ``(7) the term `particular matter' includes any 
        investigation, application, request for a ruling or 
        determination, rulemaking, contract, controversy, claim, 
        charge, accusation, arrest, or judicial or other proceeding.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections of chapter 31 of 
title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding after the item 
relating to section 3114 the following:

``3115. Employment of political appointees.''.
    (c) Application.--
            (1) Appointment requests.--Section 3115(a) of title 5, 
        United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall apply to 
        any appointment or request for appointment described in such 
        section submitted to the Associate Director for Merit Systems 
        Accountability and Compliance after the date of enactment of 
        this Act.
            (2) Limitation on appointments.--Section 3115(b) of title 
        5, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall apply 
        to any individual who leaves or departs from a political 
        position (as that term is defined in section 3115(d) of such 
        title, as added by such subsection) after the date of enactment 
        of this Act.
    (d) Regulations Required.--The Director of the Office of Personnel 
Management shall issue regulations necessary to carry out this Act. 
Such regulations shall include guidance on the definition of the term 
``personally and substantially participated in any particular matter'' 
in section 3115(b)(2) of title 5, United States Code, as added by 
subsection (a), consistent with section 2641.201 of title 5, Code of 
Federal Regulations.
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