[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 745 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 745

To amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to provide for reform in 
   the operations of the Office of Government Ethics, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 24, 2019

 Mr. Raskin (for himself, Mr. Cummings, and Mr. Nadler) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and 
Reform, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period 
    to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to provide for reform in 
   the operations of the Office of Government Ethics, 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 ``Executive Branch Comprehensive 
Ethics Enforcement Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF THE OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS.

    Section 405 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) 
is amended by striking ``fiscal year 2007'' and inserting ``fiscal 
years 2019 through 2023.''.

SEC. 3. TENURE OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS.

    Section 401(b) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 
App.) is amended by striking the period at the end and inserting ``, 
subject to removal only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or 
malfeasance in office. The Director may continue to serve beyond the 
expiration of the term until a successor is appointed and has 
qualified, except that the Director may not continue to serve for more 
than one year after the date on which the term would otherwise expire 
under this subsection.''.

SEC. 4. 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;'';
            (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.'';
                    (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.''.

SEC. 5. AGENCY ETHICS OFFICIALS TRAINING AND DUTIES.

    Section 403 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c)(1) All designated agency ethics officials and alternate 
designated agency ethics officials shall register with, and report to, 
the Director as well as with the appointing authority of the official.
    ``(2) The Director shall provide ethics education and training to 
all designated and alternate designated agency ethics officials in a 
time and manner deemed appropriate by the Director.
    ``(d)(1) The head of each agency shall ensure that all records and 
information provided to the Director under this Act shall be provided, 
to the greatest extent practicable, in a searchable, sortable, and 
downloadable format.
    ``(2) The head of each agency shall post on the official website of 
the agency each recusal, waiver, exemption, ethics advisory opinion, 
ethics agreement, and certificate of divestiture issued by the agency 
under this Act and its implanting regulations.''.
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