[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 5, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H825-H827]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2019

  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend 
the rules and pass the bill (S. 394) to amend the Presidential 
Transition Act of 1963 to improve the orderly transfer of the executive 
power during Presidential transitions.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                 S. 394

       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 ``Presidential Transition 
     Enhancement Act of 2019''.

     SEC. 2. PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION ENHANCEMENTS.

       (a) In General.--Section 3 of the Presidential Transition 
     Act of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)--
       (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking 
     ``upon request,'' and all that follows through ``including'' 
     and inserting ``upon request, to each President-elect, each 
     Vice-President-elect, and, for up to 60 days after the date 
     of the inauguration of the President-elect and Vice-
     President-elect, each President and Vice President, for use 
     in connection with the preparations for the assumption of 
     official duties as President or Vice President necessary 
     services and facilities, including''; and
       (B) in paragraph (2)--
       (i) by inserting ``, or an employee of a committee of 
     either House of Congress, a joint committee of the Congress, 
     or an individual

[[Page H826]]

     Member of Congress,'' after ``any branch of the Government''; 
     and
       (ii) by inserting ``, or in the case of an employee in a 
     position in the legislative branch, with the consent of the 
     supervising Member of Congress'' after ``with the consent of 
     the head of the agency'';
       (2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following:
       ``(b) The Administrator shall expend funds for the 
     provision of services and facilities under this section--
       ``(1) in connection with any obligation incurred by the 
     President-elect or Vice-President-elect, or after the 
     inauguration of the President-elect as President and the 
     inauguration of the Vice-President-elect as Vice President 
     incurred by the President or Vice President, during the 
     period--
       ``(A) beginning on the day after the date of the general 
     elections held to determine the electors of the President and 
     Vice President under section 1 or 2 of title 3, United States 
     Code; and
       ``(B) ending on the date that is 60 days after the date of 
     such inauguration; and
       ``(2) without regard to whether the President-elect, Vice-
     President-elect, President, or Vice President submits to the 
     Administrator a request for payment regarding services or 
     facilities before the end of such period.'';
       (3) in subsection (h)(2)(B)(ii), by striking ``computers'' 
     and inserting ``information technology''; and
       (4) By adding at the end the following:
       ``(i) Memorandums of Understanding.--
       ``(1) In general.--Not later than September 1 of a year 
     during which a Presidential election occurs, the 
     Administrator shall, to the maximum extent practicable, enter 
     into a memorandum of understanding with each eligible 
     candidate, which shall include, at a minimum, the conditions 
     for the administrative support services and facilities 
     described in subsection (a).
       ``(2) Existing resources.--To the maximum extent 
     practicable, a memorandum of understanding entered into under 
     paragraph (1) shall be based on memorandums of understanding 
     relating to previous Presidential transitions.
       ``(3) Transition representative.--
       ``(A) Designation of representative for inquiries.--Each 
     memorandum of understanding entered into under this 
     subsection shall designate a representative of the eligible 
     candidate to whom the Administrator shall direct any 
     inquiries or legal instruments regarding the records of the 
     eligible candidate that are in the custody of the 
     Administrator.
       ``(B) Change in transition representative.--The designation 
     of a new individual as the transition representative of an 
     eligible candidate shall not require the execution of a new 
     memorandum of understanding under this subsection.
       ``(C) Termination of designation.--The designation of a 
     transition representative under a memorandum of understanding 
     shall terminate--
       ``(i) not later than September 30 of the year during which 
     the inauguration of the President-elect as President and the 
     inauguration of the Vice-President-elect as Vice President 
     occurs; or
       ``(ii) before the date described in clause (i), upon 
     request of the President-elect or the Vice-President-elect 
     or, after such inauguration, upon request of the President or 
     the Vice President.
       ``(4) Amendments.--Any amendment to a memorandum of 
     understanding entered into under this subsection shall be 
     agreed to in writing.
       ``(5) Prior notification of deviation.--Each party to a 
     memorandum of understanding entered into under this 
     subsection shall provide written notice, except to the extent 
     prohibited under another provision of law, not later than 3 
     days before taking any action that deviates from the terms 
     and conditions agreed to in the memorandum of understanding.
       ``(6) Definition.--In this subsection, the term `eligible 
     candidate' has the meaning given that term in subsection 
     (h)(4).''.
       (b) Agency Transitions.--Section 4 of the Presidential 
     Transition Act of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)--
       (A) in paragraph (3), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (B) by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (5); and
       (C) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
       ``(4) the term `nonpublic information'--
       ``(A) means information from the Federal Government that a 
     member of a transition team obtains as part of the employment 
     of the member that such member knows or reasonably should 
     know has not been made available to the general public; and
       ``(B) includes information that a member of the transition 
     team knows or reasonably should know--
       ``(i) is exempt from disclosure under section 552 of title 
     5, United States Code, or otherwise protected from disclosure 
     by law; and
       ``(ii) is not authorized by the appropriate government 
     agency or officials to be released to the public; and'';
       (2) in subparagraphs (C) and (D) of subsection (e)(3), by 
     inserting ``serving in a career position'' after ``senior 
     representative'';
       (3) by striking subsection (f)(2) and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(2) Acting officers.--Not later than September 15 of a 
     year during which a Presidential election occurs, and in 
     accordance with subchapter III of chapter 33 of title 5, 
     United States Code, the head of each agency shall ensure that 
     a succession plan is in place for each senior noncareer 
     position in the agency.''; and
       (4) in subsection (g)--
       (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``November 1'' and 
     inserting ``October 1''; and
       (B) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(3) Ethics plan.--
       ``(A) In general.--Each memorandum of understanding under 
     paragraph (1) shall include an agreement that the eligible 
     candidate will implement and enforce an ethics plan to guide 
     the conduct of the transition beginning on the date on which 
     the eligible candidate becomes the President-elect.
       ``(B) Contents.--The ethics plan shall include, at a 
     minimum--
       ``(i) a description of the ethics requirements that will 
     apply to all members of the transition team, including any 
     specific requirement for transition team members who will 
     have access to nonpublic or classified information;
       ``(ii) a description of how the transition team will--

       ``(I) address the role on the transition team of--

       ``(aa) lobbyists registered under the Lobbying Disclosure 
     Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) and individuals who were 
     former lobbyists registered under that Act; and
       ``(bb) persons registered under the Foreign Agents 
     Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 611 et seq.), foreign 
     nationals, and other foreign agents;

       ``(II) prohibit a transition team member with conflicts of 
     interest similar to those applicable to Federal employees 
     under section 2635.402(a) and section 2635.502(a) of title 5, 
     Code of Federal Regulations, related to current or former 
     employment, affiliations, clients, or investments, from 
     working on particular matters involving specific parties that 
     affect the interests of such member; and
       ``(III) address how the covered eligible candidate will 
     address his or her own conflicts of interest during a 
     Presidential term if the covered eligible candidate becomes 
     the President-elect;

       ``(iii) a Code of Ethical Conduct, which each member of the 
     transition team will sign and be subject to, that reflects 
     the content of the ethics plans under this paragraph and at a 
     minimum requires transition team members to--

       ``(I) seek authorization from transition team leaders or 
     their designees before seeking, on behalf of the transition, 
     access to any nonpublic information;
       ``(II) keep confidential any nonpublic information provided 
     in the course of the duties of the member with the transition 
     and exclusively use such information for the purposes of the 
     transition; and
       ``(III) not use any nonpublic information provided in the 
     course of transition duties, in any manner, for personal or 
     private gain for the member or any other party at any time 
     during or after the transition; and

       ``(iv) a description of how the transition team will 
     enforce the Code of Ethical Conduct, including the names of 
     the members of the transition team responsible for 
     enforcement, oversight, and compliance.
       ``(C) Publicly available.--The transition team shall make 
     the ethics plan described in this paragraph publicly 
     available on the internet website of the General Services 
     Administration the earlier of--
       ``(i) the day on which the memorandum of understanding is 
     completed; or
       ``(ii) October 1.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney) and the gentleman from North 
Carolina (Mr. Meadows) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from New York.


                             General Leave

  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous 
consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to 
revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the 
measure before us.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as 
much time as I may consume.
  The Presidential Transition Enhancement Act would make a number of 
important changes to the transition process when a new President is 
elected.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Senators Johnson and Carper for their 
hard work on this issue.
  Many of the provisions in the bill before us today were introduced in 
the House by our late chairman, Elijah Cummings, in the Transition Team 
Ethics Improvement Act.
  Most importantly, the bill would strengthen the ethics requirements 
for transition team members.
  The Government Accountability Office issued a report in 2017 about 
President Trump's Presidential transition.

[[Page H827]]

GAO reported that the Trump transition team required team members to 
sign an ethics code of conduct but failed to designate a transition 
team member responsible for enforcing it.
  Ethics plans are important for Presidential transitions because 
Presidents-elect often hire transition team members who work in the 
private sector, but unlike Federal employees, private-sector employees 
are not subject to Federal ethics laws.
  This bill would require eligible Presidential candidates to agree to 
enforce ethics plans during the transition period. The bill includes 
core elements of what those ethics plans should include, such as a 
description of how the transition team will address participation by 
lobbyists and individuals working for foreign governments.
  The bill would also require that transition teams make the ethics 
plans they adopt publicly available. It also includes provisions to 
ensure that nonpublic information remains confidential and is not used 
in any way for personal gain.
  The bill would clarify the responsibility of the General Services 
Administration during a transition by requiring a memorandum of 
understanding between the agency and the Presidential transition team. 
Finally, the bill would allow GSA to provide transition services for up 
to 60 days after an inauguration.
  These provisions would help ensure smoother transitions than we have 
had in the past.
  I am very glad this is a bipartisan bill. The Senate approved this 
bill without any opposition.
  The peaceful transition of power from one party to another is a 
cornerstone of our democratic system. We must do all we can to ensure 
the integrity of that process.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this 
important legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in support of S. 394, the Presidential Transition Enhancement 
Act of 2019.
  First, Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Chairman Johnson for taking 
a serious look at the needed ethics reform. The Senate has developed 
this legislative package in a bipartisan manner, something that we 
would be well served in this House to do.
  At the beginning of Congress, I think the Democrats introduced H.R. 
1, which was a grab bag of unrelated Democrat messaging bills. One 
section of H.R. 1 was really directed at the President of the United 
States and his administration without really addressing serious ethics 
reforms.
  S. 394, on the other hand, is an honest ethics reform package. The 
bipartisan support in the Senate shows that ethics reform does not need 
to be a partisan exercise.
  I would suggest Senator Johnson's bill addresses a number of 
ambiguities about how agencies work with Presidential transition teams 
that were identified by the Trump transition team. For example, 
agencies and the Presidential transition team should come to an 
agreement about the use and disclosure of transition team records.
  The bill also establishes a requirement for a transition team's 
ethics plan. The plan would include consideration of how conflicts of 
interest would be addressed by members of the transition team and the 
President-elect.
  I hope that we can use this for our future benefit as we work 
together in a bipartisan manner to make sure that ethics are addressed 
and stop politicizing ethics reforms.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of 
this bill, S. 394, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, S. 394.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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