[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7853 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7853

To require executive branch employees to report certain royalties, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 2, 2024

   Mr. Griffith (for himself, Mr. Davidson, and Mr. Dunn of Florida) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
 Oversight and Accountability, 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 require executive branch employees to report certain royalties, 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 ``Royalty Transparency Act''.

SEC. 2. FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE REPORTS OF EXECUTIVE BRANCH EMPLOYEES.

    (a) Individuals Required To File.--
            (1) In general.--Section 13103 of title 5, United States 
        Code, is amended--
                    (A) in subsection (f)--
                            (i) in paragraph (11), by striking ``; 
                        and'' and inserting a semicolon;
                            (ii) in paragraph (12), by striking the 
                        period and inserting ``; and''; and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(13) any member of--
                    ``(A) the National Science Advisory Board for 
                Biosecurity;
                    ``(B) the Advisory Committee on Immunization 
                Practices;
                    ``(C) the Advisory Commission on Childhood 
                Vaccines;
                    ``(D) the National Vaccine Advisory Committee;
                    ``(E) the Vaccines and Related Biological Products 
                Advisory Committee;
                    ``(F) the Defense Science Board;
                    ``(G) the Board of Scientific Advisors of the 
                National Cancer Institute;
                    ``(H) the Homeland Security Science and Technology 
                Advisory Committee;
                    ``(I) the Medical Review Board Advisory Committee;
                    ``(J) the President's Council of Advisors on 
                Science and Technology; or
                    ``(K) any other advisory committee, as defined in 
                section 1001, including a successor to a committee 
                described in this paragraph, that the Government 
                Accountability Office determines, in accordance with 
                subsection (j)--
                            ``(i) makes recommendations relating to 
                        public health to an agency or the President; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) has had any recommendation fully or 
                        partially implemented during the 10 years 
                        preceding the determination.''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(j) Determination Regarding Advisory Committees.--Not later than 
180 days after the date of enactment of the Royalty Transparency Act, 
and annually thereafter, the Government Accountability Office shall 
publish a list of each advisory committee that the Government 
Accountability Office determines--
            ``(1) makes recommendations relating to public health to an 
        agency or the President; and
            ``(2) has had any recommendation fully or partially 
        implemented during the 10 years preceding the determination.''.
            (2) Sunset.--Effective on the date that is 5 years after 
        the date of enactment of this Act, section 13103 of title 5, 
        United States Code, as amended by this Act, is amended--
                    (A) in subsection (f)(13), by striking subparagraph 
                (K) and inserting the following:
                    ``(K) a successor to a committee described in 
                subparagraphs (A) through (J) of this paragraph.''; and
                    (B) by striking subsection (j).
    (b) Notification of Waiver.--
            (1) Title 5.--Section 13103(i) of title 5, United States 
        Code, is amended--
                    (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (4) as 
                subparagraphs (A) through (D), respectively, and 
                adjusting the margins accordingly;
                    (B) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), as so 
                redesignated, by striking ``the supervising ethics 
                office determines'' and inserting ``the supervising 
                ethics office--
            ``(1) determines'';
                    (C) in subparagraph (D), as so redesignated, by 
                striking the period at the end and inserting ``; and''; 
                and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) provides notification of such waiver to the Committee 
        on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and 
        the Committee on Oversight and Accountability of the House of 
        Representatives.''.
            (2) Title 18.--Section 208 of title 18, United States Code, 
        is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(e) Any exemption--
            ``(1) granted under paragraph (1) or (3) of subsection (b) 
        shall be immediately reported to the Committee on Homeland 
        Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the 
        Committee on Oversight and Accountability of the House of 
        Representatives, including a detailed justification for 
        granting the waiver; or
            ``(2) granted under subpart (C) of part 2640 of title 5 of 
        the Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation, 
        shall be immediately reported to the Committee on Homeland 
        Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the 
        Committee on Oversight and Accountability of the House of 
        Representatives, including a detailed justification for 
        granting the waiver.''.
    (c) Contents of Reports.--Section 13104(a)(1) of title 5, United 
States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``, subject to 
        subparagraph (C)'' after ``employment by the United States 
        Government''; and
            (2) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following:
                    ``(C) Royalties received by government employees 
                and committee filers.--Notwithstanding section 12(c) of 
                the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 
                (15 U.S.C. 3710a(c)) and section 209 of title 35, if 
                the reporting individual is an officer or employee in 
                the executive branch (including a special Government 
                employee, as defined in section 202 of title 18), or an 
                individual described in section 13103(f)(13), the 
                original source and amount or value of any royalties 
                received by the reporting individual, the spouse of the 
                reporting individual, or a dependent child of the 
                reporting individual during the reporting period 
                described in subsection (d) or (e) of section 13103, as 
                applicable, that were received as a result of an 
                invention developed by the reporting individual in the 
                course of employment of the reporting individual with 
                the United States Government, including any royalty 
                interest payment made under the Federal Technology 
                Transfer Act of 1986 (Public Law 99-502; 100 Stat. 
                1785), an amendment made by such Act, or any other 
                applicable authority.''.
    (d) Review of Reports.--Section 13107(b) of title 5, United States 
Code, is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) in the first sentence, by inserting ``and 
                shall, in the case of an agency or office and 
                notwithstanding section 12 of the Stevenson-Wydler 
                Technology Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3710a) and section 
                209 of title 35, publish such report on the internet 
                website of the agency or office, as the case may be'' 
                after ``to any person requesting such inspection or 
                copy''; and
                    (B) in the second sentence--
                            (i) by inserting ``, notwithstanding 
                        section 12 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology 
                        Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3710a) and section 209 
                        of title 35,'' after ``such report shall''; and
                            (ii) by inserting ``and, in the case of an 
                        agency or office, published on the internet 
                        website of the agency or office, as the case 
                        may be,'' after ``made available for public 
                        inspection'';
            (2) by striking paragraph (2) and the matter following 
        paragraph (2);
            (3) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (2); and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) Procedure for releasing reports to members of 
        congress.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, not 
        later than 30 days after receiving a request from a Member of 
        Congress, any agency or supervising ethics office in the 
        executive branch shall furnish to the Member of Congress a copy 
        of any report submitted under subsection (b), which shall be 
        unredacted, except with respect to social security numbers.''.
    (e) Confidential Reports and Other Additional Requirements.--
Section 13109 of title 5, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as subsections 
        (f) and (g), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the following:
    ``(b) Royalties Received by Confidential Filers.--Notwithstanding 
section 12(c) of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 
(15 U.S.C. 3710a(c)) and section 209 of title 35, the information 
required to be reported under this section shall include the original 
source and amount or value of any royalties received by the reporting 
individual, or the spouse or any dependent child of the reporting 
individual, that were received as a result of an invention, including 
any royalty interest payment made under the Federal Technology Transfer 
Act of 1986 (Public Law 99-502; 100 Stat. 1785), an amendment made by 
such Act, or any other applicable authority.
    ``(c) Procedure for Releasing Reports to Members of Congress.--
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, not later than 30 days 
after receiving a request from a Member of Congress, any agency or 
supervising ethics office in the executive branch shall furnish to the 
Member of Congress a copy of any report submitted under subsection (a), 
which shall be unredacted, except with respect to social security 
numbers, home addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and the 
personally identifiable information of dependents.
    ``(d) Reports.--Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment 
of the Royalty Transparency Act, and each year thereafter, the head of 
each agency shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and 
Accountability of the House of Representatives a report relating to 
confidential financial disclosures of officers and employees under the 
jurisdiction of such agency for the preceding fiscal year, which shall 
include--
            ``(1) the number of individuals who filed such disclosures 
        with the agency under this section, including, if applicable, 
        the subcomponent of the agency that has jurisdiction over the 
        individual and the reason for filing confidentially;
            ``(2) the number of special Government employees, as 
        defined in section 202 of title 18, that are required to file 
        confidential financial disclosure reports with the agency under 
        this section; and
            ``(3) any additional information determined to be relevant 
        by the Director of the Office of Government Ethics after 
        consultation with the Committee on Homeland Security and 
        Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 
        Oversight and Accountability of the House of Representatives.
    ``(e) Public Disclosure of Royalties Received by Certain Federal 
Employees.--
            ``(1) Definition.--For the purposes of this subsection, the 
        term `covered individual' means an individual who--
                    ``(A) is required to file a confidential financial 
                disclosure report under this section; and
                    ``(B) reports receiving a royalty interest under 
                subsection (b).
            ``(2) Requirement.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
        of enactment of the Royalty Transparency Act, and annually 
        thereafter, each agency shall publish a report on the internet 
        website of the agency, listing--
                    ``(A) the names of all covered individuals; and
                    ``(B) the original source and amount or value of 
                any royalties reported under this section by each 
                covered individual.''.

SEC. 3. PREVENTING ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST IN FEDERAL 
              ACQUISITION.

    (a) In General.--The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council and the 
Office of Management and Budget shall, as appropriate, enact or update 
any regulation necessary to ensure that conflict of interest reviews 
for prospective contractors or grantees include reviews of royalties 
paid to prospective contractors or grantees in the preceding calendar 
year.
    (b) Ongoing Reviews.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, and each year thereafter, each agency conducting 
any conflict of interest review described in subsection (a) shall 
report to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 
of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Accountability of the 
House of Representatives on the number of identified cases of potential 
conflict of interest related to royalty payments and the steps taken to 
mitigate those cases.

SEC. 4. SEVERABILITY.

    If any provision of this Act, an amendment made by this Act, or the 
application of such provision or amendment to any person or 
circumstance is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act 
and the amendments made by this Act, and the application of the 
provision or the amendment to any other person or circumstance, shall 
not be affected.
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