119 S2852 IS: Restoring Trust in Public Servants Act
U.S. Senate
2025-09-17
text/xml
EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
II
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2852
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 17 (legislative day, September 16), 2025
Mr. Kim introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance
A BILL
To prohibit Federal officials from owning covered investments, and for other purposes.
1.

Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Restoring Trust in Public Servants Act”.
2.

Ownership of covered investments
(a)

Definitions
In this section:
(1)

Commodity; security future
The terms commodity and “security future” have the meanings given those term in section 1a of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1a).
(2)

Covered investment
(A)

In general
The term covered investment means—
(i)
an investment in—
(I)
a security;
(II)
a commodity;
(III)
a digital asset; or
(IV)
a security future; and
(ii)
any economic interest comparable to an interest described in clause (i) that is acquired through synthetic means, such as the use of a derivative, including an option, warrant, or other, similar means.
(B)

Inclusions
The term covered investment includes an investment or economic interest described in subparagraph (A) that is held directly, or in which an individual has an indirect, beneficial, or economic interest, through—
(i)
an investment fund;
(ii)
a trust;
(iii)
an employee benefit plan; or
(iv)
a deferred compensation plan, including a carried interest or other agreement tied to the performance of an investment, other than a fixed cash payment.
(C)

Exclusions
The term covered investment does not include—
(i)
a diversified mutual fund (including any holdings of such a fund);
(ii)
a diversified exchange-traded fund (including any holdings of such a fund);
(iii)
a United States Treasury bill, note, or bond;
(iv)
compensation from the primary occupation of a family member of a Member of Congress; or
(v)
any investment fund held in a Federal, State, or local government employee retirement plan.
(D)

Clarification
An investment that achieves compliance with applicable environmental, social, and governance criteria shall not be considered to be a covered investment solely by reason of that compliance.
(3)

Covered official
The term covered official means the following:
(A)
In the legislative branch, a Member of Congress and each of the following (other than an employee who is considered an intern or a fellow for purposes of any law or regulation establishing a limit on the number of employees of an office of the Senate or the House of Representatives):
(i)
An employee of a Senator (as described in section 207(e)(9)(F) of title 18, United States Code).
(ii)
An employee of a Member of the House of Representatives (as described in section 207(e)(9)(E) of title 18, United States Code).
(iii)
An employee of a committee of Congress (as defined in section 207(e)(9)(A) of title 18, United States Code).
(iv)
An employee on the leadership staff of the Senate (as defined in section 207(e)(9)(I) of title 18, United States Code).
(v)
An employee on the leadership staff of the House of Representatives (as defined in section 207(e)(9)(H) of title 18, United States Code).
(B)
In the executive branch—
(i)
the President;
(ii)
the Vice President;
(iii)
a political appointee; or
(iv)
any officer or employee of the executive branch who—
(I)
is not a political appointee; and
(II)
occupies a position described in paragraphs (3) through (8) of section 13103(f) of title 5, United States Code.
(C)
A judicial officer.
(4)

Digital asset
The term digital asset means any digital representation of value that is recorded on a cryptographically secured distributed ledger or any similar technology.
(5)

Executive branch; Member of Congress
The terms executive branch and “Member of Congress” have the meanings given those term in section 13101 of title 5, United States Code.
(6)

Family member
The term family member means a spouse or a dependent child (as defined in section 13101 of title 5, United States Code).
(7)

Judicial officer
The term judicial officer—
(A)
has the meaning given the term in section 13101 of title 5, United States Code; and
(B)
includes—
(i)
a bankruptcy judge; and
(ii)
a magistrate judge.
(8)

Political appointee
The term political appointee means any individual occupying a position in the executive branch—
(A)
who was appointed to such position by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate;
(B)
described in sections 5312 through 5316 of title 5, United States Code (relating to the Executive Schedule);
(C)
as a noncareer appointee in the Senior Executive Service, as defined in section 3132(a) of title 5, United States Code; or
(D)
that is of a confidential or policy-determining character under schedule C of subpart C of part 213 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, or any other position that is excepted from the competitive service because of the confidential policy-determining, policy-making or policy-advocating character of the position.
(9)

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)).
(10)

Supervising ethics office
The term supervising ethics office means any of the following:
(A)
In the case of an individual described in paragraph (3)(A)—
(i)
the Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate; or
(ii)
the Committee on Ethics of the House of Representatives.
(B)
In the case of an individual described in paragraph (3)(B), the Office of Government Ethics.
(C)
In the case of a judicial officer, the Judicial Conference of the United States.
(b)

Ownership of covered investments
(1)

Conduct during Federal service
Except as described in paragraph (2), no covered official or family member of a Member of Congress may own or trade any covered investment.
(2)

Compliance
(A)

In general
Except as provided in subparagraph (B), to comply with the requirements under paragraph (1), a covered official or family member of a Member of Congress shall divest of any covered investment prior to the expiration of the applicable compliance period.
(B)

Applicable compliance period
In this paragraph, the term applicable compliance period means—
(i)
with respect to a covered investment held by a covered official or family member of a Member of Congress on the date of enactment of this Act, the 90-day period that begins on the date of enactment of this Act;
(ii)
with respect to a covered investment held by an individual on the date on which the individual becomes a covered official or becomes a family member of a Member of Congress after the date of enactment of this Act, the 90-day period that begins on the date on which the individual becomes a covered official or becomes a family member of a Member of Congress; and
(iii)
with respect to a covered investment that is first held by a covered official or a family member of a Member of Congress after the last day of either of the periods described in clauses (i) or (ii), the 90-day period that begins on the date on which the covered investment was first held by the covered official or family member.
(c)

Penalties
(1)

In general
Except as provided in paragraph (2), a covered official in violation of this section, as determined by the supervising ethics office, shall pay a penalty in an amount equal to the fee set forth under section 13106(d)(1) of title 5, United States Code, for each such violation.
(2)

Exception
(A)

Penalty
An individual described in subparagraph (C) who during any month is in violation of this section with respect to a covered investment, as determined by the supervising ethics office, shall pay a penalty in an amount equal to—
(i)
in the case of an individual who is a covered official, the salary of such official for that month; or
(ii)
in the case of an individual who is a family member of a Member of Congress, the salary of the Member of Congress for that month.
(B)

Amount determined without regard to number of violations
The amount of the penalty imposed under subparagraph (A) shall apply to an individual without regard to the number of covered investments with respect to which the individual is in violation during the month in which the penalty is imposed.
(C)

Individuals described
The individuals described in this paragraph are the following:
(i)
A Member of Congress or a family member of a Member of Congress.
(ii)
The President.
(iii)
The Vice President.
(iv)
A political appointee who was appointed to such position by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
(v)
A judicial officer.
(d)

Publication
For each individual in violation of this section, as determined by the supervising ethics office, the supervising ethics office shall make available a list, on a publicly accessible website of the supervising ethics office, detailing the names, occupation, and office of employment for each such individual or, in the case of a family member of a Member of Congress, the name of such family member and of such Member of Congress.
(e)

Tax treatment of divestitures
(1)

In general
Section 1043(b)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended—
(A)
by striking “and” at the end of subparagraph (A);
(B)
by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (B) and inserting “, and”; and
(C)
by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
“(C)
any—
(i)
covered official described in subparagraph (B) or (C) of section 2(a)(3) of the Restoring Trust in Public Servants Act who is not described in subparagraph (A),
(ii)
any covered official described in subparagraph (A) of section 2(a)(3) of such Act, and
(iii)
any family member of a Member of Congress (as such terms are defined in section 2(a) of such Act).”.
(2)

Certificate of divestiture
Section 1043(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended—
(A)
in subparagraph (A), by inserting “, and the Restoring Trust in Public Servants Act” after “including section 208 of title 18, United States Code”; and
(B)
by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the following:
“(B)
that has been issued by—
(i)
in the case of an eligible person described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1), the President or the Director of the Office of Government Ethics, in the case of executive branch officers or employees, or by the Judicial Conference of the United States (or its designee), in the case of judicial officers, and
(ii)
in the case of any eligible person described in paragraph (1)(C), the supervising ethics office (as defined in section 2(a) of the Restoring Trust in Public Servants Act), and”.
(3)

Effective date
The amendments made by this subsection shall apply to sales after the date of the enactment of this Act.
3.

Ban on all outside earned income and all service on boards by Members of Congress
(a)

Outside earned income
(1)

In general
Section 13143(a)(1) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking “outside earned income attributable to such calendar year which exceeds 15 percent” and inserting “any outside earned income attributable to such calendar year, except that such an officer or employee may have outside earned income attributable to such calendar year which does not exceed 15 percent”.
(2)

Individuals becoming Members during calendar year
Section 13143(a)(2) of title 5, United States Code, is amended—
(A)
by striking “outside earned income attributable to the portion of that calendar year which occurs after such individual becomes a Member or such an officer or employee which exceeds 15 percent” and inserting “any outside earned income attributable to the portion of that calendar year which occurs after such individual becomes a Member or such an officer or employee, except that such an officer or employee may have outside earned income attributable to such portion of that calendar year which does not exceed 15 percent”; and
(B)
by striking “such individual is a Member or such officer or employee” and inserting “such individual is such an officer or employee”.
(3)

Preserving authority of officers and employees of Congress to earn compensation from practicing medicine
Section 13144(a) of title 5, United States Code, is amended—
(A)
in paragraph (1), by striking “fiduciary relationship” and inserting “fiduciary relationship, except that such an officer or employee of the House of Representatives or Senate may receive such compensation if the fiduciary relationship involves the practice of medicine”; and
(B)
in paragraph (3), by striking “fiduciary relationship” and inserting “fiduciary relationship, except that such an officer or employee of the House of Representatives or Senate may receive such compensation if the fiduciary relationship involves the practice of medicine”.
(4)

Application of ban to income earned from teaching
Section 13144(a)(5) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking “without the prior notification” and inserting “except that such an officer or employee may receive compensation for teaching with the prior notification”.
(5)

Definition
Section 13141 of title 5, United States Code, is amended—
(A)
by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (6); and
(B)
by inserting after paragraph (4) the following:
“(5)
The term outside earned income, with respect to a Member of Congress, has the meaning given that term in clause 4(d) of rule XXV of the Rules of the House of Representatives for the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress, except that paragraph (d)(1)(D) of such clause shall not apply. Such term shall apply with respect to a Senator in the same manner as such term applies to a Member of the House of Representatives under such clause.”.
(b)

Service on boards
Section 13144(a)(4) of title 5, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
“(4)
serve as an officer or member of the board of any association, corporation, or other entity, except that—
(A)
a Member and such an officer or employee may serve without compensation as an officer or member of the board of any nonprofit association, nonprofit corporation, or other nonprofit entity; and
(B)
such an officer or employee may serve without compensation as an officer or member of any other association, corporation or other entity; or”.
4.

Lifetime lobbying ban
(a)

In general
Section 207(e) of title 18, United States Code, is amended—
(1)
by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:
“(1)

Members of Congress
(A)

In general
Any person who is a Senator or a Member of the House of Representatives and who, after that person leaves office, knowingly makes any lobbying contact to, or engages in lobbying activities with, a covered executive branch official or any Member, officer, or employee of either House of Congress shall be punished as provided in section 216 of this title.
(B)

Definitions
In this paragraph:
(i)
The terms lobbying activities and covered executive branch official have the meanings given those terms in section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602).
(ii)
The term lobbying contact has the meaning given the term in section 3(8) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602(8)) except that subparagraph (B)(iv) of such paragraph shall not apply.”; and
(2)
in paragraph (2)—
(A)
by striking the heading and all that follows through “Any person” and inserting the following:
“(2)

Officers and certain staff
(A)

Officers and staff of the Senate
Any person”; and
(B)
by adding at the end the following:
“(B)

Officers of the House of Representatives
(i)
Any person who is an elected officer of the House of Representatives and who, within 1 year after that person leaves office, knowingly makes, with the intent to influence, any communication to or appearance before any of the persons described in clause (ii), on behalf of any other person (except the United States) in connection with any matter on which such elected officer seeks action by a Member, officer, or employee of either House of Congress, in his or her official capacity, shall be punished as provided in section 216 of this title.
(ii)
The persons referred to in clause (i) with respect to appearances or communications by a former elected officer are any Member, officer, or employee of the House of Representatives.”.
(b)

Restrictions relating to foreign entities
Section 207(f) of title 18, United States Code, is amended—
(1)
in paragraph (1), by striking “Any person” and inserting “Except as provided in paragraph (2), any person”;
(2)
by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively;
(3)
by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
“(2)

Member of Congress
With respect to the restrictions under paragraph (1), any person who is a Member of Congress may not engage in any of the activities under such paragraph at any time after leaving office.”; and
(4)
by striking paragraph (4), as so redesignated, and inserting the following:
“(4)

Definition
For purposes of this subsection, the term “foreign entity” means—
(A)
the government of a foreign country, as defined in section 1(e) of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended (22 U.S.C. 611(e)), or a foreign political party, as defined in section 1(f) of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended (22 U.S.C. 611(f)); and
(B)
in the case of a Member of Congress, any foreign principal as defined in section 1(b) of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended (22 U.S.C. 611(b)).”.
(c)

Effective date
The amendments made by subsection (a) shall apply to individuals who leave office or employment to which such amendments apply on or after the date of commencement of the first session of the One Hundred Twentieth Congress sine die or January 4, 2027, whichever date is earlier.