[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 896 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 896

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 27, 2019

Mr. Blumenthal (for himself, Ms. Hirono, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Udall, Mr. 
Whitehouse, and Ms. Duckworth) introduced the following bill; which was 
   read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 
                          Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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''.

SEC. 2. 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--
            (1) by inserting after the first sentence the following: 
        ``The Director shall be subject to removal only for 
        inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following: ``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 1 year after 
        the date on which the term would otherwise expire under this 
        subsection.''.

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

    (a) Duties Generally.--
            (1) In general.--Section 402(b) of the Ethics in Government 
        Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) by striking ``developing, in 
                        consultation with the Attorney General and the 
                        Office of Personnel Management,'' and inserting 
                        ``(A) developing'';
                            (ii) by striking ``title II'' and inserting 
                        ``title I'';
                            (iii) by adding ``and'' after the 
                        semicolon; and
                            (iv) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(B) before promulgating rules or regulations under 
        subparagraph (A), consulting with the Attorney General;'';
                    (B) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 
                following:
            ``(2) providing mandatory education and training programs 
        for agency ethics counselors and other responsible officials, 
        which may be delegated to each agency or the Counsel to the 
        President, as determined appropriate by the Director;'';
                    (C) by redesignating paragraph (14) as paragraph 
                (3) and transferring such paragraph, as so 
                redesignated, to after paragraph (2);
                    (D) by redesignating paragraph (3) (relating to 
                monitoring and investigating compliance) and paragraphs 
                (4) through (13) as paragraphs (4) through (14), 
                respectively;
                    (E) in paragraph (3), as redesignated and 
                transferred by subparagraph (C) of this paragraph, by 
                striking ``and'' at the end;
                    (F) in paragraph (4), as so redesignated, by 
                striking ``title II'' and inserting ``title I'';
                    (G) in paragraph (5), as so redesignated--
                            (i) by striking ``violations of applicable 
                        conflict of interest laws or regulations'' and 
                        inserting ``conflicts of interest or other 
                        ethics issues'';
                            (ii) by striking ``recommending'' and 
                        inserting ``directing''; and
                            (iii) by striking ``ethical problems'' and 
                        inserting ``ethics issues'';
                    (H) in paragraph (7), as so redesignated, by 
                striking ``ethical problems'' and inserting ``ethics 
                issues'';
                    (I) in paragraph (8), as so redesignated--
                            (i) by striking ``, when requested,''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``conflict of interest 
                        problems'' and inserting ``conflicts of 
                        interest and other ethics issues'';
                    (J) in paragraph (10), as so redesignated, by 
                inserting ``, except that the Director may not order 
                the President to take corrective action'' before the 
                semicolon;
                    (K) in paragraph (12), as so redesignated, by 
                striking ``conflict of interest laws'' and inserting 
                ``laws, rules, and regulations relating to conflicts of 
                interest and other ethics issues'';
                    (L) in paragraph (13), as so redesignated--
                            (i) by striking ``evaluating'' and 
                        inserting ``promulgating'';
                            (ii) by striking ``the need for''; and
                            (iii) by striking ``conflict of interest 
                        and ethical problems'' and inserting 
                        ``conflicts of interest and other ethics 
                        issues'';
                    (M) in paragraph (14), as so redesignated--
                            (i) by striking ``violations of the 
                        conflict of interest laws'' and inserting 
                        ``conflicts of interest and other ethics 
                        issues''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``, as required by section 
                        535 of title 28, United States Code'';
                    (N) in paragraph (15)--
                            (i) by striking ``title II'' and inserting 
                        ``title I''; and
                            (ii) by striking the period at the end and 
                        inserting a semicolon; and
                    (O) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(16) determining whether employees of an agency have 
        violated this Act and issuing appropriate administrative 
        penalties;
            ``(17) directing and providing final approval, when 
        determined appropriate by the Director, for agency ethics 
        counselors and other responsible officials regarding the 
        resolution of conflicts of interest and other ethics issues 
        under the purview of this Act in individual cases; and
            ``(18) reviewing and, when determined appropriate by the 
        Director, approving any recusals because of, exemptions from, 
        or waivers of the laws, rules, and regulations relating to 
        conflicts of interest and other ethics issues and making 
        approved recusals, exemptions, and waivers publicly 
        available.''.
            (2) Technical and conforming amendments.--
                    (A) Section 402(e) of the Ethics in Government Act 
                of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended, in the matter 
                preceding paragraph (1), by striking ``subsection 
                (b)(10)'' and inserting ``subsection (b)(11)''.
                    (B) Section 402(f) of the Ethics in Government Act 
                of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by striking 
                ``subsection (b)(9)'' each place it appears and 
                inserting ``subsection (b)(10)''.
    (b) Written Procedures.--Section 402(d)(1) of the Ethics in 
Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended--
            (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 Action.--Section 402(f) of the Ethics in Government 
Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A)--
                            (i) in clause (i)--
                                    (I) by inserting ``(or, with 
                                respect to the President, recommend)'' 
                                after ``order'' the first place it 
                                appears; and
                                    (II) by striking ``of such 
                                agency''; and
                            (ii) in clause (ii), by inserting ``(or, 
                        with respect to the President, recommend)'' 
                        after ``order''; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``notify the 
                President'' and all that follows through ``may 
                provide)'' and inserting ``determine that a violation 
                of this Act has occurred and (except with respect to 
                the President) issue appropriate administrative or 
                legal remedies as prescribed in paragraph (2)'';
            (2) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A)--
                            (i) in clause (ii)(II)--
                                    (I) by striking ``shall notify the 
                                President in writing'';
                                    (II) by striking ``such action;'' 
                                and inserting ``such action--''; and
                                    (III) by adding at the end the 
                                following:
                            ``(aa) shall notify the President in 
                        writing; and
                            ``(bb) may conduct a formal investigation 
                        and hearing in accordance to the procedures 
                        described in subparagraph (B); and'';
                            (ii) in clause (iii)--
                                    (I) in the matter preceding 
                                subclause (I), by inserting ``or has 
                                violated'' after ``is violating''; and
                                    (II) by striking subclause (II) and 
                                inserting the following:
                    ``(II) shall, if the officer or employee has not 
                complied with the order under subclause (I) within a 
                reasonable period of time--
                            ``(aa) if the officer or employee is the 
                        head of an agency, notify the President and 
                        Congress of the officer's or employee's 
                        noncompliance; and
                            ``(bb) in the case of any other officer or 
                        employee, order, in writing, that the head of 
                        the officer's or employee's agency take 
                        appropriate disciplinary action, including 
                        reprimand, suspension, demotion, or dismissal 
                        against the officer or employee.''; and
                            (iii) by striking clause (iv); and
                    (B) in subparagraph (B)--
                            (i) in clause (i)--
                                    (I) by inserting ``(I)'' before 
                                ``In order to'';
                                    (II) by striking ``(iii) or (iv)''; 
                                and
                                    (III) by adding at the end the 
                                following:
    ``(II)(aa) In conducting an investigation, the Director may require 
by subpoena--
            ``(AA) the production of information, documents, reports, 
        answers, records, accounts, papers, and other data in any 
        medium and other documentary evidence; and
            ``(BB) a witness to appear at a time or place stated in the 
        subpoena before an individual authorized to take depositions to 
        be used in the courts of the United States, to give full and 
        true answers to written interrogatories and cross-
        interrogatories as may be submitted with the application, or to 
        be orally examined or cross-examined on the subject of the 
        claim.
    ``(bb) In the case of a refusal to obey a subpoena of the Director 
under item (aa), the subpoena may be enforced by order of any 
appropriate United States district court.
    ``(cc) 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 (except in the case of the 
President) shall furnish that information to the Director.'';
                            (ii) in clause (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)'';
                            (iii) in clause (iii), by striking 
                        ``Subject to clause (iv) of this subparagraph, 
                        before'' and inserting ``Before''; and
                            (iv) in clause (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 be the central 
repository, by maintaining data or referencing data by internet link 
that is maintained by agencies or otherwise made publicly available, of 
all laws, rules and regulations relating to conflicts of interest and 
other ethics issues, recusals, waivers, and exemptions of such laws, 
rules, and regulations, ethics advisory opinions, ethics agreements of 
senior executive branch personnel and employee certificates of 
divestiture, financial disclosure reports as required under title I of 
this Act, compliance reviews, enforcement actions, and any other public 
records concerning conflicts of interest and other ethics issues for 
the executive branch required by law.
    ``(B) All financial disclosure reports and records relating to 
conflicts of interest and other ethics issues determined to be public 
information by the Director or by law shall be made available to the 
public--
            ``(i)(I) by a link to such information if publicly 
        available on a website other than the website of the Office of 
        Government Ethics; or
            ``(II) at no charge on the website of the Office of 
        Government Ethics in a searchable, sortable, and downloadable 
        format; and
            ``(ii) subject to a reasonable fee, for reproduction of 
        paper documents at the Office of Government Ethics.''.
    (d) Definitions.--Title IV of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 
(5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``Sec. 409. Definitions.--For purposes of this title--
            ``(1) the term `agency' includes the Executive Office of 
        the President;
            ``(2) the term `officer or employee' includes 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, regardless of whether 
        the individual receives pay; and
            ``(3) the term `head of an agency' includes the President 
        or a designee of the President, for purposes of applying this 
        title to the White House and the Executive Office of the 
        President.''.
    (e) Submission of Information and Views.--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)(1) Upon request by any committee or subcommittee of Congress, 
the Director shall provide to Congress, by report, testimony, or 
otherwise, information and the views of the Director on functions, 
responsibilities, or other matters relating to the Office of Government 
Ethics.
    ``(2) 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.
    ``(3) Information and views provided to Congress under paragraph 
(1) shall be transmitted concurrently to the President and any other 
appropriate executive agency.''.

SEC. 4. 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 and 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.
    ``(3) The Director shall have final authority over the designee of 
the President for purposes of this title and all designated and 
alternate designated agency ethics officials and other ethics 
counselors in the executive branch in the interpretation and 
implementation of all rules and regulations relating to conflict of 
interest and other ethics issues promulgated by the President or the 
Director.''.
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