[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9216 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9216

 To amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to restrict trading and 
  ownership of covered investments by each Federal employee, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 21, 2022

Mr. Schweikert introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Oversight and Reform, and in addition to the Committees on 
 House Administration, the Judiciary, and Ways and Means, 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 restrict trading and 
  ownership of covered investments by each Federal employee, 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 ``Preventing Opportunistic Returns on 
Trades and Futures by Officials, Leadership, and Individuals in Office 
Act'' or the ``PORTFOLIO Act''.

SEC. 2. RESTRICTING TRADING AND OWNERSHIP OF COVERED INVESTMENTS BY 
              FEDERAL PERSONNEL.

    (a) Qualified Blind Trust Amendments.--Section 102(f)(3) of the 
Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App 102(f)(3)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (C)(iii), by striking ``promptly 
        notify'' and inserting ``promptly provide a written notice 
        to''; and
            (2) by adding after subparagraph (F) the following new 
        subparagraph:
            ``(G) Any asset described as a covered investment under 
        title II that is placed in a trust after the date of enactment 
        of the PORTFOLIO Act shall be divested not later than 18 months 
        after such asset was so placed.
            ``(H) Notwithstanding subparagraphs (A) through (G), a form 
        of a trust approved by the Office of Government Ethics, 
        Judicial Conference, House of Representatives, or Senate 
        through rule making or by majority vote for its respective 
        jurisdiction.''.
    (b) Trade and Ownership Restrictions.--The Ethics in Government Act 
of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by inserting after title I the 
following:

``TITLE II--RESTRICTIONS ON TRADE AND OWNERSHIP OF COVERED INVESTMENTS 
                          BY FEDERAL PERSONNEL

``SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS.

    ``In this title:
            ``(1) Commodity.--The term `commodity' has the meaning 
        given the term in section 1a of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 
        U.S.C. 1a).
            ``(2) Covered investment.--The term `covered investment'--
                    ``(A) means an investment in a security, a 
                commodity, a future, cryptocurrency or other digital 
                asset, or any comparable economic interest acquired 
                through synthetic means, such as the use of a 
                derivative, including an option, warrant, or other 
                similar means; and
                    ``(B) does not include--
                            ``(i) a widely held investment fund 
                        described in section 102(f)(8) that is 
                        diversified and publicly traded on a national 
                        or regional stock exchange;
                            ``(ii) an asset held in a qualified blind 
                        trust;
                            ``(iii) an asset held in a qualified 
                        diversified trust;
                            ``(iv) a diversified mutual fund (including 
                        any holdings of such a fund);
                            ``(v) a diversified exchange-traded fund 
                        (including any holdings of such a fund);
                            ``(vi) a United States Treasury bill, note, 
                        or bond;
                            ``(vii) a State or municipal government 
                        bill, note, or bond;
                            ``(viii) the Thrift Savings Plan (including 
                        any holdings in such plan);
                            ``(ix) any compensation received by the 
                        spouse or dependent child of a covered official 
                        from their primary employer;
                            ``(x) any investment fund held in a 
                        Federal, State, or local government employee 
                        retirement plan; or
                            ``(xi) an interest in a small business 
                        concern or family-owned business that does not 
                        present a conflict of interest.
            ``(3) Covered person.--The term `covered person' means--
                    ``(A) any employee (as that term is defined in 
                section 2105 of title 5, United States Code), 
                including--
                            ``(i) an officer or employee of the United 
                        States Postal Service and the Postal Regulatory 
                        Commission;
                            ``(ii) notwithstanding section 7425(b) of 
                        title 38, United States Code, employees 
                        appointed under chapter 73 or 74 of such title 
                        38; and
                            ``(iii) any other individual occupying a 
                        position in the civil service (as that term is 
                        defined in section 2101 of such title 5);
                    ``(B) a Member of Congress as defined in section 
                109(12);
                    ``(C) the President; and
                    ``(D) the Vice President.
            ``(4) Cryptocurrency or other digital asset.--The term 
        `cryptocurrency or other digital asset' means an asset that is 
        issued or transferred using distributed ledger or blockchain 
        technology, including: virtual currencies, coins and tokens, or 
        any other digital asset specified by regulations of a filer's 
        supervising ethics office.
            ``(5) Dependent child.--The term `dependent child' means an 
        individual described in section 109(2).
            ``(6) Interested party.--The term `interested party' has 
        the meaning given the term in section 102(f)(3)(E).
            ``(7) Future.--The term `future' means a financial contract 
        obligating the buyer to purchase an asset or the seller to sell 
        an asset, such as a physical commodity or a financial 
        investment, at a predetermined future date and price.
            ``(8) Qualified blind trust.--The term `qualified blind 
        trust' has the meaning given the term in section 102(f)(3).
            ``(9) Qualified diversified trust.--The term `qualified 
        diversified trust' means a trust described in section 
        102(f)(4)(B).
            ``(10) Security.--The term `security' has the meaning given 
        the term in section 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
        (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)).
            ``(11) Small business concern.--The term `small business 
        concern' has the meaning given that term under section 3 of the 
        Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632).
            ``(12) Supervising ethics office.--The term `supervising 
        ethics office' has the meaning given the term in section 
        109(18).

``SEC. 202. OWNERSHIP OF COVERED INVESTMENTS.

    ``(a) Conduct During Federal Service.--Except as described in 
paragraph (2) of subsection (b) or subsections (c) through (h), no 
covered person may own or trade any covered investment.
    ``(b) Compliance.--To comply with the requirements under paragraph 
(1)--
            ``(1) a covered person shall not purchase any covered 
        investment beginning 60 days after the date of enactment of the 
        PORTFOLIO Act or the date on which an individual becomes a 
        covered person, whichever is later; and
            ``(2) a covered person shall divest of any covered 
        investment within 180 days of the effective date established in 
        subsection (k)(2) or the date on which an individual becomes a 
        covered person, whichever is later--
                    ``(A) through gift or charitable donation of a 
                covered investment;
                    ``(B) by converting a covered investment to cash; 
                or
                    ``(C) by placing a covered investment in a 
                qualified blind trust in accordance with subsection 
                (c).
    ``(c) Qualified Blind Trust.--
            ``(1) Covered persons as of date of enactment.--An 
        individual who is a covered person as of the date of enactment 
        of the PORTFOLIO Act may comply with subsection (b) by placing 
        any covered investment owned by such person into a qualified 
        blind trust not later than 180 days after the effective date 
        established in subsection (k)(2).
            ``(2) Covered persons after date of enactment.--An 
        individual who becomes a covered person after the date of 
        enactment of the PORTFOLIO Act may comply with subsection (b) 
        by placing any covered investment owned by such person into a 
        qualified blind trust not later than 180 days after the 
        effective date established in subsection (k)(2) or the date on 
        which the individual becomes a covered person, whichever is 
        later.
            ``(3) Mingling of assets.--A spouse or dependent child of a 
        covered person may place a covered investment in a qualified 
        blind trust established by a covered person.
    ``(d) Public Notification.--Not later than 30 days after receiving 
any written notice under section 102(f)(3)(C)(iii), the supervising 
ethics office shall make such notices publicly available in the manner 
provided under section 105(a).
    ``(e) Exception.--Subsection (a) shall not apply to an individual 
who ceases to be a covered person within 180 days of the date of the 
enactment of the PORTFOLIO Act.
    ``(f) Complex Financial Arrangements.--
            ``(1) Temporary exemptions.--A supervising ethics office 
        may grant a temporary exemption to a covered person regarding 
        their compliance with the requirements of subsection (a) for 
        investments held in trusts or other complex financial 
        arrangements in which--
                    ``(A) the covered person entered into, or was made 
                a beneficiary of or to, a complex financial arrangement 
                before the enactment of the PORTFOLIO Act; and
                    ``(B) the covered person is contractually 
                prohibited from--
                            ``(i) having knowledge or control of the 
                        covered person's investments; or
                            ``(ii) withdrawing the investment in 
                        certain circumstances.
            ``(2) Publication.--A supervising ethics office shall make 
        publicly available in the manner provided under section 
        105(a)--
                    ``(A) any requests from a covered person for a 
                temporary exemption within 30 days of receipt; and
                    ``(B) any decision by the supervising ethics office 
                on the temporary exemption request of a covered person 
                within 30 days of issuing it.
    ``(g) Assets Acquired in Special Circumstances.--
            ``(1) Divestment.--Except as described in paragraph (2), in 
        the event that a covered person acquires a covered investment 
        after the date of enactment of PORTFOLIO Act other than by 
        purchase (such as by marriage, inheritance, divorce settlement, 
        or other circumstance), the covered person shall have 180 days 
        of the effective date established in subsection (k)(2) to 
        divest of such investment through any means provided under 
        subsection (b)(2).
            ``(2) Extension.--A supervising ethics office may grant a 
        covered person an extension of time to comply with the deadline 
        specified in paragraph (1) in accordance with subsection (h).
    ``(h) Extensions.--With respect to subsections (a) and (g), in 
response to a written request for an extension, a supervising ethics 
office may grant a covered person one or more extensions to comply with 
such subsections in the following manner:
            ``(1) An extension of up to 30 days may be granted but the 
        total of all extensions for each covered person in a calendar 
        year may not exceed 90 days.
            ``(2) A copy of each extension granted by the supervising 
        ethics office shall be made publicly available in the manner 
        provided under section 105(a).
    ``(i) Rules Providing Nonrecognition of Gain on Sales To Comply 
With Conflict-of-Interest Requirements Not Applicable.--For purposes of 
section 1043 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, this title (and any 
regulation or rule issued pursuant to this title) shall not be treated 
as a statute, regulation, or rule described in subsection (b)(2)(A) of 
such section.
    ``(j) Assets Upon Separation.--An individual who is a covered 
person under this section may not dissolve any qualified blind trust in 
which a covered investment has been placed pursuant to subsection (c), 
or otherwise control such an investment, until the date that is 180 
days after the date such individual ceases to be a covered person.
    ``(k) Administration and Enforcement.--
            ``(1) In general.--The provisions of this section shall be 
        administered by the supervising ethics office for each branch.
            ``(2) Regulations.--Within 180 days of enactment of 
        PORTFOLIO Act, the supervising ethics office for each branch 
        shall issue regulations implementing the provisions of this 
        section and specifying an effective date for the provisions of 
        this section.
            ``(3) Guidance.--The supervising ethics office for each 
        branch is authorized to issue guidance on any matter contained 
        in this section for its respective jurisdiction.

``SEC. 203. PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS OF RESTRICTIONS ON TRADING AND 
              OWNERSHIP OF COVERED INVESTMENTS.

    ``(a) Penalties.--
            ``(1) In general.--Any covered person who violates the 
        restrictions on trading or ownership of covered investments in 
        section 202 shall, at the direction of the supervising ethics 
        office, pay a fee of $1,000 after being notified by the 
        supervising ethics office of such violation.
            ``(2) Assessment of additional penalties.--If the violation 
        that is the subject of a notice under paragraph (1) continues 
        for more than 30 days after the date of the notice (including a 
        violation resulting from a covered person who continues to own 
        a covered investment in violation of section 202) for each 
        subsequent 30-day period after the date of the notice during 
        which the violation is ongoing, such person shall be assessed 
        an additional fee equal to--
                    ``(A) the amount in paragraph (1); plus
                    ``(B) an amount equal to 10 percent of the value of 
                the covered investment that is the subject of the 
                violation at the beginning of the additional 30-day 
                period of a continuing violation.
            ``(3) Annual indexing of penalty for inflation.--By January 
        31 of the calendar year following the enactment of the 
        PORTFOLIO Act and in each year thereafter, the supervising 
        ethics office shall adjust the amount of the penalty in 
        paragraph (1) in the same manner that civil monetary penalties 
        are annually adjusted for inflation pursuant to section 4 of 
        the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 
        (28 U.S.C. 2461 note).
            ``(4) Treatment of fees.--
                    ``(A) Deposit.--All such fees collected under this 
                section shall be deposited in the miscellaneous 
                receipts of the Treasury.
                    ``(B) Delegation of authority.--The authority under 
                this section to direct the payment of a fee may be 
                delegated by the supervising ethics office in the 
                executive branch to other agencies in the executive 
                branch.
    ``(b) Waiver or Reduction.--
            ``(1) In general.--The supervising ethics office may waive 
        or reduce the amount of a fee under subsection (a) in 
        extraordinary circumstances in response to a written request 
        signed by the covered person to whom the fee would otherwise 
        apply.
            ``(2) Publication.--In the event the supervising ethics 
        office grants a request for a fee waiver or reduction, the 
        response of the supervising office shall be made public in the 
        same manner as under section 105(a).
    ``(c) Civil Penalties.--The Attorney General may bring a civil 
action in any appropriate United States district court in the same 
manner as authorized by section 104(a)(1) against any individual who--
            ``(1) knowingly and willfully makes a transaction in a 
        manner that is prohibited by section 202; or
            ``(2) knowingly and willfully holds a covered investment in 
        a manner that is prohibited by section 202.

``SEC. 204. ACCOUNTABILITY AND PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF ENFORCEMENT 
              MEASURES.

    ``(a) Referral to Attorney General.--The head of each agency, each 
Secretary concerned, the Director of the Office of Government Ethics, 
each congressional ethics committee, or the Judicial Conference, shall 
refer to the Attorney General the name of any individual whom such 
official or committee has reasonable cause to believe has willfully 
violated the requirements under section 202.
    ``(b) Judicial Officers.--Whenever the Judicial Conference refers a 
name to the Attorney General under this section, the Judicial 
Conference also shall notify the judicial council of the circuit in 
which the named individual serves of the referral.
    ``(c) Report to Congress.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Attorney General shall annually 
        submit to Congress a report on the criminal and civil actions 
        brought against any individual under titles I or II.
            ``(2) Timing.--Such report shall be filed by January 31 of 
        each year covering the prior calendar year.
    ``(d) Reports by Supervising Ethics Office.--
            ``(1) In general.--Each supervising ethics office shall 
        annually make a public report about compliance by individuals 
        within its jurisdiction with the requirements of titles I or 
        II.
            ``(2) Contents.--Such public report shall include the 
        following information:
                    ``(A) The overall compliance by such individuals.
                    ``(B) The measures taken by the supervising ethics 
                office to ensure compliance.
                    ``(C) The efforts taken to enforce such 
                requirements, including through the issuance of fees or 
                other sanctions.
                    ``(D) The rate of compliance with the enforcement 
                measures described under subparagraph (C).
                    ``(E) The issuance of waivers, reductions, 
                temporary exemptions, and extensions for statutory 
                requirements, rules, or enforcement measures described 
                under subparagraph (C).
            ``(3) Timing.--Such public report shall be filed by January 
        31 of each year covering the prior calendar year.''.

SEC. 3. REFORMS TO FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Updated Income Reporting Requirements.--Section 102(a)(1)(B) of 
the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 102(a)(1)(B)) is 
amended--
            (1) in clause (vii), by adding at the end ``or'';
            (2) in clause (viii), by striking ``greater than 
        $1,000,000'' through ``not more than $5,000,000, or'' and 
        inserting ``greater than $1,000,000, in which case the filer 
        shall provide an indication of the value of such income rounded 
        to the nearest one hundred thousand dollars.''; and
            (3) by striking clause (ix).
    (b) Increased Transparency for Interests in Property, Liabilities, 
Transactions, and Qualified Blind Trusts.--Section 102(d)(1) of the 
Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 102(d)(1)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (G), by adding at the end ``and'';
            (2) by striking subparagraphs (H), (I), and (J); and
            (3) by inserting after subparagraph (G) the following 
        subparagraph:
            ``(H) greater than $5,000,000, in which case the filer 
        shall provide an indication of the value rounded to the nearest 
        million dollars.''.
    (c) Ending Disclosure Loophole.--Section 102(e)(1) of the Ethics in 
Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 102(e)(1)) is amended--
            (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking 
        ``Except as provided in the last sentence of this paragraph, 
        each'' and insert ``Each''; and
            (2) by striking subparagraph (F).
    (d) Swifter Disclosure of Certain Transactions.--Section 103 of the 
Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 103) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (l), by striking ``Not later than'' and 
        inserting ``Except as provided in subsection (m), not later 
        than''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following subsection:
    ``(m) Not later than 14 days after receiving notification of any 
transaction required to be reported under section 102(a)(5)(B), where 
the value of the transaction is $15,000 or greater, but in no case 
later than 21 days after such transaction, the persons listed in 
subsection (l), if required to file a report under any subsection of 
section 101, subject to any waivers and exclusions, shall file a report 
of the transaction. In such case, the filer does not need to file an 
additional report of that transaction pursuant to subsection (l).''.
    (e) Disclosure of Cryptocurrency or Other Digital Assets.--Section 
102(a) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 102(a)) 
is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (3), by inserting ``For purposes of this 
        paragraph, `property' includes cryptocurrency or other digital 
        assets that are issued or transferred using distributed ledger 
        or blockchain technology including: virtual currencies, coins 
        and tokens or any other digital asset specified by regulations 
        of a filer's supervising ethics office.'' after ``similar 
        financial institution.''; and
            (2) in paragraph (5)(B), by striking ``other forms of 
        securities.'' and inserting ``other forms of securities and in 
        cryptocurrency or other digital assets that are issued or 
        transferred using distributed ledger or blockchain technology 
        including: virtual currencies, coins and tokens or any other 
        digital asset specified by regulations of a filer's supervising 
        ethics office.''.
    (f) Mandatory Electronic Filing.--Section 103(a) of the Ethics in 
Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 103(a)) is amended by striking 
``or in which he will serve.'' and inserting ``or in which the 
individual will serve using the system for electronically filing 
reports implemented by that agency's supervising ethics office.''.
    (g) Supervising Ethics Office.--
            (1) Added authorities.--Section 111 of the Ethics in 
        Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 111) is amended--
                    (A) by striking ``The provisions of this title'' 
                and inserting ``(a) The provisions of this title'';
                    (B) by striking ``The Judicial Conference may 
                delegate any authority it has under this title to an 
                ethics committee established by the Judicial 
                Conference.'';
                    (C) in paragraph (3) by striking ``101(f).'' and 
                inserting ``101(f). The Judicial Conference may 
                delegate any authority it has under this title to an 
                ethics committee established by the Judicial 
                Conference.''; and
                    (D) by adding after subsection (a), as redesignated 
                by this subsection, the following subsection:
    ``(b) Each supervising ethics office--
            ``(1) shall develop and make available forms for the 
        reporting of information required by titles I or II, including 
        modifications to the system for electronically filing reports 
        implemented by that agency's supervising ethics office, as 
        necessary;
            ``(2) may issue rules or regulations implementing titles I 
        or II;
            ``(3) may establish procedures and promulgate forms;
            ``(4) may render advisory opinions interpreting titles I or 
        II in the same manner as authorized by section 106(b)(7);
            ``(5) may impose and collect fees as provided in sections 
        104 and 203;
            ``(6) shall notify any individual within its jurisdiction 
        of the changes to disclosure requirements, including revisions 
        to the forms and electronic filing system and any regulations 
        issued by the supervising ethics office; and
            ``(7) shall provide a written notice about the changes to 
        titles I and II to any individual within its jurisdiction 
        within 15 days of any such change.''.
            (2) Timing.--For purposes of section 111(b)(1) of the 
        Ethics in Government Act of 1978, as added by paragraph (1), 
        the supervising ethics office shall develop the first iteration 
        of the form required under such section within 90 days of the 
        date of enactment of the PORTFOLIO Act.
    (h) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to any report due beginning 120 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, except that the amendments made by subsection 
(f) shall apply to any report due beginning 60 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. NEW AND STRENGTHENED PENALTIES FOR NONCOMPLIANCE.

    (a) Penalties for Failure To Timely File Reports; Publication of 
Fees Assessed.--Section 104(d) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 
(5 U.S.C. App. 104(d)) is amended--
            (1) in the matter following paragraph (1)(B), by striking 
        ``$200'' and inserting ``$500'';
            (2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (5);
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
    ``(2) For each subsequent 30-day period during which the individual 
has not filed a report required to be filed under this title, the 
individual shall be assessed an additional filing fee equal to--
            ``(A) $500; plus
            ``(B) if the report is required under section 103(l), an 
        amount equal to 10 percent of the actual value of the 
        transactions that should have been disclosed on the report.
    ``(3) By January 31 of the calendar year following the enactment of 
PORTFOLIO Act and in each year thereafter, the supervising ethics 
office shall adjust the $500 figure in paragraphs (1) and (2) in the 
same manner that civil monetary penalties are annually adjusted for 
inflation pursuant to section 4 of the Federal Civil Penalties 
Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (28 U.S.C. 2461 note).
    ``(4) With respect to a filing fee required to be paid under this 
subsection, the supervising ethics office shall make available, on a 
publicly accessible website, the following information:
            ``(A) The name and occupation of the individual required to 
        pay such fee.
            ``(B) The amount of each such fee that such individual is 
        required to pay.
            ``(C) The date on which the supervising ethics office 
        assessed each such fee described in subparagraph (B).
            ``(D) An indication as to whether such individual has paid 
        each amount described in subparagraph (B).''; and
            (4) by adding after paragraph (5), as redesignated by this 
        subsection, the following paragraph:
    ``(6) With respect to a waiver granted under paragraph (5), the 
supervising ethics office shall make available the name and occupation 
of each recipient of such waiver on a publicly accessible website.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply for any report due beginning 30 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act.
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