[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 108 (Monday, June 29, 2026)]
[House]
[Page H4319]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
H.R. 7007
Offered By: Mr. Raskin
Amendment No. 1: Strike all after the enacting clause and
insert the following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``No Corrupt Agreements
Requiring Taxpayer Expenditures Benefitting Lawbreakers and
Assorted Non-Prosecution Covenants, Handouts, and Emoluments
Act of 2026'' or the ``NO CARTE BLANCHE Act of 2026''.
SEC. 2. RESTRICTION ON FEDERAL FUNDS IN CONNECTION WITH
TRUMP, ET AL. V. IRS, ET AL.
No Federal funds may be used to create or make payments to
fund the compensation fund created by the settlement
agreement entered into on May 18, 2026, in connection with
the disposition of Trump, et al. v. IRS, et al., Civil Action
No. 1:26-cv-20609-KMW, before the U.S. District Court for the
Southern District of Florida.
SEC. 3. RESTRICTION ON CERTAIN PAYMENTS FOR COMPROMISE
SETTLEMENTS OR AWARDS.
Section 1304 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``(e) A compromise settlement or award may not be paid to--
``(1) the President or Vice President;
``(2) the parent, spouse, child, or spouse of a child of
the President or Vice President;
``(3) a presidentially-owned entity;
``(4) any member of the cabinet;
``(5) any individual who is employed by the Executive
Office of the President who is paid at a rate of basic pay
equivalent to or exceeding the GS-15 level;
``(6) a political appointee; and
``(7) an individual who served in a position described
under paragraph (4), (5), or (6) during the period for which
the President who appointed such individual is in Office,
including any period after such individual leaves such a
position.
``(f) A compromise settlement or award may not be paid with
respect to a claim alleging harm resulting from an
investigation, prosecution, or conviction for an offense
related to--
``(1) the January 6, 2021, attack on the United States
Capitol; or
``(2) the same facts or circumstances as a civil action
filed against the United States that was dismissed with
prejudice.
``(g)(1) Not later than 30 days after the date on which a
payment of more than $100,000 is made for a compromise
settlement or award in accordance with this section, or a
series of compromise settlement or award payments reaches a
total of more than $100,000 within the previous 4 years, and
notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of
the Treasury shall report to the Chair and Ranking Members of
the Committees on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives and the Senate, the following:
``(A) The name of the plaintiff or awardee of such
settlement or award.
``(B) The type of judgment for which the settlement or
award was made.
``(C) The name of each attorney representing the plaintiff
or awardee.
``(D) The name of each agency involved in the claim and the
name of each official approving such settlement or award.
``(E) A brief description of the facts and circumstances
that gave rise to the settlement or award and the authority
authorizing such settlement or award.
``(2) The Secretary of the Treasury shall provide notice to
the Committees on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives and of the Senate prior to certifying a
payment for a compromise settlement or award in accordance
with this section if that payment--
``(A) is of more than $250,000 to be made for a compromise
settlement or award in accordance with this section;
``(B) amounts to a total of more than $250,000 in payments
for a series of compromise settlements or awards over the
previous 4 years; or
``(C) is to be made on the basis of imminent litigation or
suit against the United States, or against its agencies or
officials upon obligations or liabilities of the United
States.
``(3) A payment for which a notice is required to be
submitted under paragraph (2) may not be made for a period of
120 days after the date on which such notice is received.
``(h) In the case that a compromise settlement or award is
made in violation of subsection (e) or (f), the Attorney
General may bring a civil action against a plaintiff or
awardee who received a settlement or award in violation of
subsection (e) or (f) in an appropriate district court for
injunctive relief and repayment of such settlement or award.
``(i) Nothing in this section, or an amendment made by this
section, shall be construed to prohibit Congress from
appropriating funds for a payment prohibited by this section
on an individual per claim basis.
``(j) A settlement or award made on or after January 20,
2025, (including any settlement or award entered into prior
to the date of the enactment of this subsection) shall be
subject to the requirements of subsections (e) through (h).
``(k) The Secretary of the Treasury may not establish a
compensation fund, or approve a payment to such a fund, and
no Federal funds may be used by the Secretary to so establish
such a fund or approve such a payment--
``(1) pursuant to a compromise settlement with the
President; or
``(2) if such payment would be in violation of subsection
(e) or (f) if made from the Judgment Fund.
``(l) In this section--
``(1) the term `presidentially-owned entity' means a
corporation, association, partnership, limited liability
company, limited liability partnership, other legal entity,
or sole proprietorship in which the President or Vice
President has an ownership stake, except that such term does
not include an entity in which more than 100 people have an
ownership stake and the President or Vice President, as
applicable, holds no more than five percent in a beneficial
ownership stake and that--
``(A) issues securities registered with the Securities and
Exchange Commission pursuant to section 12 of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78l);
``(B) is an investment company registered pursuant to
section 8 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C.
80a-8) that does not have a stated policy of concentrating
the investments of the investment company in any industry,
business, single country other than the United States, or
bonds of a single State within the United States; or
``(C) is a unit investment trust, as defined in section 4
of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-4)
that--
``(i) is a regulated investment company, as defined in
section 851 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and
``(ii) does not have a stated policy of concentrating the
investments of the investment company in any industry,
business, single country other than the United States, or
bonds of a single State within the United States; and
``(2) the term `political appointee' shall have the meaning
given such term in section 9803 of title 5.''.
SEC. 4. COMPROMISE SETTLEMENTS.
(a) In General.--Chapter 161 of title 28, United States
Code, is amended by inserting after section 2414 the
following:
``Sec. 2414a. Compromise settlements between the President
and the United States
``(a) Invalidity.--In the case of any administrative claim,
civil action, or other claim against the United States filed
by the President (including a claim or civil action filed by
an individual who assumed the Office of the President while
such claim is pending), any covered agreement to resolve such
claim or action is void ab initio unless such covered
agreement is the subject of a court order giving it effect. A
court of the United States may not issue such an order
unless--
``(1) the President, if no such civil action has been
filed, files a civil action before the court and files the
proposed terms of the covered agreement with the court; and
``(2) the court conducts a hearing on the proposed terms of
the covered agreement, with presentation of evidence by the
parties, and thereafter enters the order giving effect to the
terms of the covered agreement, that includes explicit
findings of the court that--
``(A) the parties to the action are adverse;
``(B) the action was not brought to force a covered
agreement with the United States;
``(C) the United States made a good faith effort to explore
available defenses to the claims at issue and has a
reasonable legal basis for its decision to enter into the
covered agreement;
``(D) the covered agreement is not--
``(i) collusive; or
``(ii) the perpetration of a fraud on the court; and
``(E) the covered agreement is in the interest of justice.
``(b) Covered Agreement Defined.--In this section, the term
`covered agreement' means any settlement agreement, consent
decree, compromise settlement, or other agreement to resolve
an administrative claim, civil action, or other claim against
the United States.
``(c) Applicability.--This section shall apply to any
covered agreement between the President and the United States
concluded before, on, or after the date of enactment of this
section.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter
161 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by inserting
after the item related to section 2414 the following:
``2414a. Compromise settlements between the President and the United
States.''.