118 HR 10040 IH: Gift Accountability, Reporting, and Disclosures Act
U.S. House of Representatives
2024-10-25
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I
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 10040
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 25, 2024
Mr. Donalds introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability
A BILL
To amend section 7342 of title 5, United States Code, to require agencies to submit to the Office of Government Ethics and the Department of State the compiled listing of certain statements relating to the receipt and disposition of foreign gifts and decorations, and for other purposes.
1.

Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Gift Accountability, Reporting, and Disclosures Act” or the “GARD Act”.
2.

Receipt and disposition of foreign gifts and decorations
(a)

Revisions to the process requiring compilation of statements by Federal employees
Section 7342 of title 5, United States Code, is amended—
(1)
in subsection (a)—
(A)
in paragraph (1)—
(i)
by redesignating subparagraph (G) as subparagraph (H);
(ii)
by inserting after subparagraph (F) the following new subparagraph:
“(G)
a candidate as defined in section 301 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101) for nomination or election to the office of President, Vice President, or Member of Congress;”;
(iii)
in subparagraph (H) (as resdesignated in clause (i))—
(I)
by striking “(F)” and inserting “(G)” in each place it occurs; and
(II)
by striking “a dependent (within the meaning of section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986)” and inserting: “a relative (as defined in section 13101)”; and
(B)
in paragraph (2)—
(i)
in subparagraph (B), by striking the “and” at the end;
(ii)
in subparagraph (C), by adding at the end “and”; and
(iii)
by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
“(D)
any individual or entity that is not a United States citizen, a permanent resident alien, or an entity organized under the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within the United States;”;
(C)
in paragraph (6)—
(i)
in subparagraph (C), by striking “; and”;
(ii)
by redesignating subparagraph (D) as subparagraph (G); and
(iii)
by inserting after subparagraph (C), the following new subparagraphs:
“(D)
the Federal Electoral Commission, for candidates in an election for President, Vice President, and Member of Congress, except as provided in subparagraphs (E) and (F);
(E)
the Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate, for a candidate in an election for the Federal office of Senator who is serving as a Senator;
(F)
the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct of the House of Representatives, for a candidate in an election for the Federal office of Member of the House of Representatives who is serving as a Member; and”;
(2)
in subsection (b)—
(A)
in paragraph (1), by striking the “or” at the end;
(B)
in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; or”; and
(C)
by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
“(3)
accept a gift from a country of concern as designated by the Secretary of State.”;
(3)
in subsection (c)(3), by inserting “terminating the official use of a gift under subparagraph (B) or” before “accepting travel”;
(4)
in subsection (f)—
(A)
paragraph (1)—
(i)
by striking “January 31” and inserting “May 15”;
(ii)
by inserting “Office of Government Ethics and the” before “Secretary of State”;
(iii)
by striking “State who shall” and inserting “State. The Secretary of State shall”; and
(iv)
by striking the period and inserting at the end “within 30 days after May 15 of the filing year.”;
(B)
in paragraph (2)—
(i)
in subparagraph (B), by striking “brief”;
(ii)
in subparagraph (C), by striking “, if known,”;
(iii)
by amending subparagraph (E) to read as follows:
“(E)
the estimated fair market value in the United States of the gift at the time of acceptance as determined by retail prices, price of comparable items, or appraisal;”;
(iv)
by redesignating subparagraph (F) as subparagraph (G);
(v)
by inserting after subparagraph (E) the following:
“(F)
the Personal Property Management Foreign Gift Inventory Control Number (PPM) of gifts transferred to the Government Services Administration and any internal gift tracking number relevant to the current location and final disposition of the gift; and”; and
(vi)
by amending subparagraph (G), as redesignated under clause (iv), to read as follows:
“(G)
current location and final disposition of the gift using any of the following descriptions:
(i)
Purchased by recipient.
(ii)
Deposited with the National Archives and Records Administration.
(iii)
Retained for official use by agency.
(iv)
Approved by employing agency for official use by employee.
(v)
Transferred according to agency policy.
(vi)
Processed according to agency guidance.”;
(C)
in paragraph (3)(B), by striking “brief”; and
(D)
in paragraph (4)—
(i)
in subparagraph (A)—
(I)
by striking “delete” and inserting “redact”;
(II)
by inserting “Office of Government Ethics and the” after “in writing to the”; and
(ii)
in subparagraph (B), by inserting “Office of Government Ethics and the” after “provided to the”;
(5)
in subsection (g)—
(A)
in paragraph (1)—
(i)
by striking “Each employing agency shall” and inserting “Each employing agency acting through the Designated Agency Ethics Official (as appointed pursuant to chapter 131 of this title) and in coordination with the Office of Government Ethics, shall”; and
(ii)
by inserting “the Office of Government Ethics and” before “the Secretary of State”; and
(B)
by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3); and
(C)
by adding after paragraph (1) the following new paragraph:
“(3)
Each employing agency—
(A)
shall impose a $200 late fee for any employee who files a statement 30 days after the date on which such statement is required to be submitted; and
(B)
may waive the fee described in subparagraph (A) if a determination is made by the employing agency, or a designated agency ethics official as defined in section 13101, that an employee has good cause for the late submission.”; and
(6)
by adding at the end the following new subsection:
“(l)
Not later than 120 days after enactment of the GARD Act, each employing agency shall adapt systems to enable public access to the listings under this section in a manner similar to the public access of financial disclosure reports required under chapter 131.”.
(b)

Application
The amendments by this Act shall apply to any individual required to submit a statement under section 7342 of title 5, United States Code, within 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act.