[House Report 117-199]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
117th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session } { 117-199
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COURTHOUSE ETHICS AND TRANSPARENCY ACT
_______
December 1, 2021.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Nadler, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 5720]
The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the
bill (H.R. 5720) to amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978
to provide for a periodic transaction reporting requirement for
Federal judicial officers and the online publication of
financial disclosure reports of Federal judicial officers, and
for other purposes, having considered the same, reports
favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that the
bill as amended do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
Purpose and Summary.............................................. 2
Background and Need for the Legislation.......................... 3
Hearings......................................................... 6
Committee Consideration.......................................... 6
Committee Votes.................................................. 6
Committee Oversight Findings..................................... 6
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures and Congressional
Budget Office Cost Estimate.................................... 6
Duplication of Federal Programs.................................. 7
Performance Goals and Objectives................................. 7
Advisory on Earmarks............................................. 7
Section-by-Section Analysis...................................... 7
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 7
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all that follows after the enacting clause and insert
the following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Courthouse Ethics and Transparency
Act''.
SEC. 2. PERIODIC TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ONLINE PUBLICATION OF
FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE REPORTS OF FEDERAL JUDICIAL
OFFICERS.
(a) Periodic Transaction Reporting Requirement for Federal Judicial
Officers.--
(1) In general.--Section 103(l) of the Ethics in Government
Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(11) Each judicial officer.''.
(2) Effective date.--The amendment made by paragraph (1)
shall apply to applicable transactions occurring on or after
the date that is 90 days after the date of enactment of this
Act.
(b) Online Publication of Financial Disclosure Reports of Federal
Judicial Officers.--Section 105 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978
(5 U.S.C. App.) is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as subsections
(d) and (e), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
``(c) Online Publication of Financial Disclosure Reports of Judicial
Officers.--
``(1) Establishment of database.--Not later than 180 days
after the date of enactment of the Courthouse Ethics and
Transparency Act, the Administrative Office of the United
States Courts shall establish a searchable internet database to
enable public access to any report required to be filed by a
judicial officer under this title.
``(2) Availability.--Not later than 90 days after the date on
which a report is required to be filed under this title by a
judicial officer, the Administrative Office of the United
States Courts shall make the report available on the database
established under paragraph (1) in a full-text searchable,
sortable, and downloadable format for access by the public.
``(3) Redaction.--Any report made available on the database
established under paragraph (1) shall not contain any
information that is redacted in accordance with subsection
(b)(3).''.
(c) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--
(1) Section 103(l) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5
U.S.C. App.) (as amended by subsection (a)(1)) is amended--
(A) in paragraph (9), by striking ``, as defined
under section 109(12)''; and
(B) in paragraph (10), by striking ``, as defined
under section 109(13)''.
(2) Section 105 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5
U.S.C. App.) (as amended by subsection (b)) is amended--
(A) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ``be
revealing'' and inserting ``by revealing''; and
(B) in subsection (b)--
(i) in paragraph (1)--
(I) in the first sentence, by
striking ``be,,'' and inserting
``be,''; and
(II) in the third sentence, by
striking ``may be may'' and inserting
``may be, may''; and
(ii) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking
``described in section 109(8) or 109(10) of
this Act'' and inserting ``who is a judicial
officer or a judicial employee''.
(3) Section 107(a)(1) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978
(5 U.S.C. App) is amended in the last sentence by striking
``and (d)'' and inserting ``and (e)''.
Purpose and Summary
H.R. 5720, the ``Courthouse Ethics and Transparency Act,''
closes two loopholes exempting federal judicial officers from
key provisions of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, as
amended by the STOCK Act of 2012. First, H.R. 5720 extends the
STOCK Act's requirement that senior government officials
disclose securities transactions in excess of $1,000 within 30
to 45 days to judicial officers. Second, H.R. 5720 requires the
Administrative Office of the United States Courts to make all
judicial financial disclosure reports available in a publicly
accessible online database in a full-text searchable, sortable,
and downloadable format not later than 90 days after the
reports are required to be filed.
These reforms will make disclosure reports easier for the
public to monitor and analyze, which would allow for increased
transparency to better effectuate the purposes of the Ethics in
Government Act of 1978--``to preserve and promote the integrity
of public officials and institutions''--as well as the
principal federal judicial recusal statute, 28 U.S.C. Sec.
455.\1\
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\1\See Ethics in Government Act of 1978, Pub. L. No. 95-521, 92
Stat. 1824 (1978) (``An Act . . . to implement certain reforms in the
operation of the Federal Government and to preserve and promote the
integrity of public officials and institutions, and for other
purposes.'').
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Background and Need for the Legislation
A. Recent Evidence of Violations of the Federal Judicial
Disqualification Statute
Federal law prohibits judges and justices from hearing
cases in which they or their families have a ``legal or
equitable interest, however small'' in order to promote
confidence in the judiciary.\2\ However, according to the Wall
Street Journal, since 2010, more than 130 federal judges failed
to recuse themselves from 685 court cases involving companies
in which they or their families had a financial interest, and
approximately two-thirds of the judges' rulings were decided in
favor of the party in which they or their families held an
interest.\3\
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\2\28 U.S.C. Sec. 455(d)(4); see also James V. Grimaldi, Coulter
Jones & Joe Palazzolo, 131 Federal Judges Broke the Law by Hearing
Cases Where They Had a Financial Interest, Wall St. J. (Sept. 28, 2021,
9:07 a.m.), https://www.wsj.com/articles/131-federal-judges-broke-the-
law-by-hearing-cases-where-they-had-a-financial-interest-11632834421.
\3\Grimaldi et al., supra note 2.
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In 173 cases, the judges' financial interests exceeded
$15,000, and, of those cases, 21 totaled over $50,000.\4\
Sixty-one judges or their families traded shares of companies
while ruling on cases in which those companies were parties.\5\
When questioned about these violations by the Wall Street
Journal, responses by the judges ranged from blaming court
clerks and misspellings that went undetected by the judiciary's
conflict-screening software to only having minor roles in the
cases and not having a role in the trading since the stocks
were in a managed account or trust.\6\ Of the 61 judges whose
brokers or family members actively traded shares of the parties
in their courtrooms as their lawsuits were progressing, many
made several thousands of dollars in profits on those
trades.\7\
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\4\Id.
\5\Id.
\6\Id.
\7\Coulter Jones, Joe Palazzolo & James V. Grimaldi, Federal Judges
or Their Brokers Traded Stocks of Litigants During Cases, Wall St. J.
(Oct. 15, 2021, 9:59 a.m.), https://www.wsj.com/articles/federal-
judges-brokers-traded-stocks-of-litigants-during-cases-walmart-pfizer-
11634306192.
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The Wall Street Journal's investigation followed a number
of previous reports over the past two decades that judges had
failed to recuse in cases where they had a financial
conflict.\8\ Additionally, one expert explained to the
Committee that the Journal's findings are:
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\8\See, e.g., Benjamin B. Johnson & John Newby Parton, Judges
Breaking the Law: An Empirical Study of Financially Interested Judges
Deciding Cases, 99 N.C. L. Rev. 1, 2 (2020); Reity O'Brien, Kytja Weir,
and Chris Young, Federal Judges Plead Guilty, Ctr. for pub. integrity
(Apr. 28, 2014), https://publicintegrity.org/2014/04/28/14630/federal-
judges-plead-guilty; Joe Stephens, Ethics Lapses by Federal Judges
Persist, Review Finds, Wash. Post (Apr. 18, 2006), https://
www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2006/04/18/ethics-lapses-by-
federal-judges-persist-review-finds-span-classbankheadviolations-
involve-stock-holdings-and-free-tripsspan/8cf1b306-7dbd-4d20-a75c-
868f1a546466/.
surely a major undercount: The Journal's work focused
on district and appellate court judges, and excluded
magistrate and bankruptcy judges; their work focused
mainly on individual stock holdings, to the exclusion
of the many other types of investments judges can hold;
and their work was based on case captions (e.g.,
``Albatross v. Loon''), not full party lists, which
would expose numerous other parties--and conflicts--in
a case.\9\
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\9\Judicial Ethics and Transparency: The Limits of Existing
Statutes and Rules: Hearing Before the Subcomm. on Cts., Intell. Prop.,
and the Internet of the H. Comm. on the Judiciary, 117th Cong. (2021)
(statement for the record of Michael Lissner, Exec. Dir., Free L.
Project at 4).
B. Applicable Law
1. Periodic Transaction Reports
The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 requires most high-
level government officials in all branches, including judicial
officers and judicial employees, to file annual financial
disclosure reports.\10\ Federal officials other than judicial
officers and employees must also supplement the disclosures
provided by their annual filings with interim disclosures if
they have made significant changes to their financial holdings.
Under the STOCK Act, legislative and executive branch officials
must file Periodic Transaction Reports (PTRs) disclosing
transactions involving stocks, bonds, and other securities that
exceed $1,000 within 45 (and in some cases, 30) days of the
transaction.\11\
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\10\See 5 U.S.C. App. Sec. 102; Sec. 109(10) of the Ethics in
Government Act of 1978 defines ``judicial officer'' to include the
Chief Justice and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, as well as
the ``judges of'' the courts of appeals (which includes circuit judges)
and the district courts (which includes district judges and bankruptcy
judges), as well as a list of Article I courts. When this language was
enacted, district judges comprised the only ``judges of . . . the
district courts.'' The remaining senior judicial branch officials are
``judicial employees'' under Sec. 109(8).
\11\5 U.S.C. App. Sec. 103(1).
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H.R. 5720 applies these same requirements to all judicial
officers.
2. Public Access to Financial Disclosure Reports
Pursuant to the 2012 STOCK Act, Legislative Branch
financial disclosure reports are readily available online, as
are the President's, the Vice President's, and all executive
officials compensated at level I and II of the Executive
Schedule (generally, all Cabinet officials, Deputy Secretaries,
and the heads of most executive and independent agencies).\12\
But this STOCK Act disclosure requirement does not apply to
judicial officers and employees.
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\12\See generally STOCK Act, Pub. L. No. 112-105 (2012) (codified
as amended at 5 U.S.C. App. 4 Sec. 101).
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Instead, pursuant to the Ethics in Government Act, judicial
officers' and employees' financial disclosures must merely be
provided to ``any person'' who requests them.\13\ In the
absence of an explicit statutory mandate to act quickly or
employ prevailing technology, the Judicial Conference of the
United States has implemented a process under which obtaining
judicial branch financial disclosures can take months or even
years.\14\
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\13\5 U.S.C. Sec. 105(b)(1).
\14\See generally Judicial Ethics and Transparency: The Limits of
Existing Statutes and Rules, supra note 9; See A U.S. Gov't
Accountability Off., GAO-18-406, Federal Judiciary: The Administrative
Office of the U.S. Courts Should Ensure Financial Disclosure Redaction
Reports Are Submitted to Congress Annually (2018), https://www.gao.gov/
assets/700/692168.pdf; see also William Palin, Free Law Project Creates
the First Online Database of Federal Judicial Financial Disclosures,
Free L. Project (Sept. 28, 2021), https://free.law/2021/09/28/
announcing-federal-financial-disclosures (``We expect to receive and
process the majority of the 2019 disclosures in the coming weeks.'').
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The current process for obtaining judicial branch financial
disclosure reports works as follows. First, a request form must
be submitted to the Administrative Office of the United States
Courts (AOUSC). Second, the justice or judge whose financial
disclosure report has been requested is notified of the request
and of the identity of the requester.\15\ Third, the justice or
judge may then propose redactions to the copy of their
financial disclosure report to be provided to the requester;
these proposed redactions are then evaluated by AOUSC staff.
These request-specific redactions are in addition to the
redactions judges are permitted to make when they initially
file their financial disclosure reports (officials in other
branches are not permitted to make such redactions).\16\
Fourth, if a justice or judge objects to providing the
requester with the report, that objection is evaluated by a
committee of the Judicial Conference.\17\ Finally, the
disclosures are given to the requester in either hard copy or
on a thumb drive.\18\ Although financial disclosures are
generally submitted in a text-searchable format, the copies on
the thumb drive were until this year provided in an image
format the renders the disclosures unsearchable.\19\
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\15\Federal Judiciary: The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
Should Ensure Financial Disclosure Redaction Reports Are Submitted to
Congress Annually, supra note 14.
\16\See Admin. Off. of the U.S. Cts., Comm. on Fin. Disclosure,
Filing Instructions for Judicial Officers and Employees (Feb. 2021),
available at https://fixthecourt.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/
Instructions-to-file-FDs-for-2021.pdf (``[F]ilers should consider
whether to request redaction at the beginning of the calendar year when
their report is filed, instead of waiting until their report is
requested.''); see also Coulter Jones, James V. Grimaldi & Joe
Palazzolo, How the Journal Found Judge's Violations of Law on
Conflicts, Wall St. J. (Sept. 28, 2021, 8:56 a.m.), https://
www.wsj.com/articles/how-the-journal-found-judges-violations-of-law-on-
conflicts-
11632833775?mod=article_relatedinline&mod=article_relatedinline.
\17\Guide to Judiciary Policy, Vol. 2D, Ch. 1: Overview, U.S. CTS.
(2021), https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/guide-vol02d.pdf.
\18\Request for Examination of Report Filed by A Judicial Officer
or Judicial Employee, U.S. Cts. (2019), https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/
default/files/ao010a.pdf.
\19\See 5 U.S.C. App. 4 Sec. 105(b)(1).
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H.R. 5720 would make financial disclosures available online
within 90 days of the date they must be filed.
C. Impact of the Current Judicial Financial Disclosure System on
Judicial Recusal
The deficiencies in the current financial disclosure system
make it difficult for litigants and the public to assess
whether a judge or justice is in compliance with their
statutory and ethical recusal requirements. Both the fact that
judges are exempt from the periodic disclosure report
provisions of the STOCK Act as well as the long delays in the
request process for annual financial disclosure reports prevent
litigants from requesting and receiving relevant financial
information in enough time to alert a justice or judge that
they must recuse themselves at an early stage of the case, or
to challenge the judge's decision not to do so. In addition,
the request process itself alerts the justice or judge that a
litigant is seeking his or her financial disclosure report; in
practice, this notification process can have a substantial
chilling effect, deterring litigants from seeking such
disclosures lest they upset the justice or judge overseeing
their case.
D. Intended Operation of H.R. 5720
H.R. 5720 is intended to strengthen existing measures meant
to ensure the appearance of impartiality that is essential to
judicial legitimacy. Requirements for the disclosure of
personal financial interests, in addition to strict
requirements for recusal in the event of a conflict with those
financial interests, help to assure litigants that their cases
will be heard by a neutral, disinterested arbiter and resolved
on their individual merits, which increases public acceptance
of the outcomes of our judicial system. The goal of this bill
is to better enable litigants, the public, and the press to
hold judges accountable and ensure that judges are not deciding
cases in which they are prohibited by federal law from being
involved. Requiring judges to file their financial disclosures
shortly after their high-dollar securities transactions and
guaranteeing public access to those disclosures will increase
transparency, justice, and fairness and bring members of the
judicial branch into parity with members of the executive and
legislative branches.
Hearings
For the purposes of clause 3(c)(6)(A) of House Rule XIII,
the following hearing was used to develop H.R. 5720. On October
26, 2021, the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property,
and the Internet held a hearing on ``Judicial Ethics and
Transparency: The Limits of Existing Statutes and Rules.''
Committee Consideration
On November 17, 2021, the Committee met in open session and
ordered H.R. 5720, favorably reported with amendment, by a
voice vote, a quorum being present.
Committee Votes
In accordance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that no
recorded vote occurred during the Committee's consideration of
H.R. 5720.
Committee Oversight Findings
In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that the
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the
descriptive portions of this report.
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures and Congressional Budget
Office Cost Estimate
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section
308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and with respect
to requirements of clause (3)(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives and section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has requested
but not received a cost estimate for this bill from the
Director of Congressional Budget Office. The Committee has
requested but not received from the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office a statement as to whether this bill
contains any new budget authority, spending authority, credit
authority, or an increase or decrease in revenues or tax
expenditures.
Duplication of Federal Programs
No provision of H.R. 5720 establishes or reauthorizes a
program of the federal government known to be duplicative of
another federal program, a program that was included in any
report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress
pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139, or a program
related to a program identified in the most recent Catalog of
Federal Domestic Assistance.
Performance Goals and Objectives
The Committee states that, pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
goal of H.R. 5720 is to empower individuals to ensure that
judges and justices are abiding by the requirements of federal
law and to enhance compliance with existing disclosure and
recusal obligations intended to safeguard judicial
impartiality.
Advisory on Earmarks
In accordance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, H.R. 5720 does not contain any
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff
benefits as defined in clause 9(d), 9(e), or 9(f) of rule XXI.
Section-by-Section Analysis
The following discussion describes the bill as reported by
the Committee.
Sec. 1. Short Title. Section 1 sets forth the short title
of the bill as the ``Courthouse Ethics and Transparency Act.''
Sec. 2. Periodic Transaction Reports and Online Publication
of Financial Disclosure Reports of Federal Judicial Officers.
Section 2(a) amends section 103(l) of the Ethics in Government
Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.), which requires covered officials
to report securities transactions that exceed $1,000 within 30
to 45 days, to include judicial officers. The requirements of
this subsection apply to all applicable transactions occurring
90 days after the enactment of H.R. 5720.
Section 2(b) amends section 105 of the Ethics in Government
Act of 1978 to require that, not later than 180 days after
enactment of H.R. 5720, all financial disclosure reports of
judicial officers be made available in a publicly accessible,
searchable online database established by the Administrative
Office of the United States Courts. Reports must be made
available on the database not later than 90 days after they are
required to be filed and must be available in a full-text
searchable, sortable, and downloadable format. Section 2(b)
also provides that any reports posted in the publicly
accessible database shall not contain any redacted information.
Section 2(c) makes technical and conforming amendments to
the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to reflect the substantive
amendments made in sections 2(a) and 2(b).
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, H.R. 5720 as reported, are shown as follows:
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italics, and existing law in which no
change is proposed is shown in roman):
ETHICS IN GOVERNMENT ACT OF 1978
* * * * * * *
TITLE I--FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL PERSONNEL
* * * * * * *
FILING OF REPORTS
Sec. 103. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section,
the reports required under this title shall be filed by the
reporting individual with the designated agency ethics official
at the agency by which he is employed (or in the case of an
individual described in section 101(e), was employed) or in
which he will serve. The date any report is received (and the
date of receipt of any supplemental report) shall be noted on
such report by such official.
(b) The President, the Vice President, and independent
counsel and persons appointed by independent counsel under
chapter 40 of title 28, United States Code, shall file reports
required under this title with the Director of the Office of
Government Ethics.
(c) Copies of the reports required to be filed under this
title by the Postmaster General, the Deputy Postmaster General,
the Governors of the Board of Governors of the United States
Postal Service, designated agency ethics officials, employees
described in section 105(a)(2)(A) or (B), 106(a)(1)(A) or (B),
or 107(a)(1)(A) or (b)(1)(A)(i), of title 3, United States
Code, candidates for the office of President or Vice President
and officers and employees in (and nominees to) offices or
positions which require confirmation by the Senate or by both
Houses of Congress other than individuals nominated to be
judicial officers and those referred to in subsection (f) shall
be transmitted to the Director of the Office of Government
Ethics. The Director shall forward a copy of the report of each
nominee to the congressional committee considering the
nomination.
(d) Reports required to be filed under this title by the
Director of the Office of Government Ethics shall be filed in
the Office of Government Ethics and, immediately after being
filed, shall be made available to the public in accordance with
this title.
(e) Each individual identified in section 101(c) who is a
candidate for nomination or election to the Office of President
or Vice President shall file the reports required by this title
with the Federal Election Commission.
(f) Reports required of members of the uniformed services
shall be filed with the Secretary concerned.
(g) Each supervising ethics office shall develop and make
available forms for reporting the information required by this
title.
(h)(1) The reports required under this title shall be filed
by a reporting individual with--
(A)(i)(I) the Clerk of the House of Representatives,
in the case of a Representative in Congress, a Delegate
to Congress, the Resident Commissioner from Puerto
Rico, an officer or employee of the Congress whose
compensation is disbursed by the Chief Administrator
Officer of the House of Representatives, an officer or
employee of the Architect of the Capitol, United States
Capitol Police, the United States Botanic Garden, the
Congressional Budget Office, the Government Printing
Office, the Library of Congress, or the Copyright
Royalty Tribunal (including any individual terminating
service, under section 101(e), in any office or
position referred to in this subclause), or an
individual described in section 101(c) who is a
candidate for nomination or election as a
Representative in Congress, a Delegate to Congress, or
the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico; and
(II) the Secretary of the Senate, in the case of a
Senator, an officer or employee of the Congress whose
compensation is disbursed by the Secretary of the
Senate, an officer or employee of the General
Accounting Office, the Office of Technology Assessment,
or the Office of the Attending Physician (including any
individual terminating service, under section 101(e),
in any office or position referred to in this
subclause), or an individual described in section
101(c) who is a candidate for nomination or election as
a Senator; and
(ii) in the case of an officer or employee of the
Congress as described under section 101(f)(10) who is
employed by an agency or commission established in the
legislative branch after the date of the enactment of
the Ethics Reform Act of 1989--
(I) the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk
of the House of Representatives, as the case
may be, as designated in the statute
establishing such agency or commission; or
(II) if such statute does not designate such
committee, the Secretary of the Senate for
agencies and commissions established in even
numbered calendar years, and the Clerk of the
House of Representatives for agencies and
commissions established in odd numbered
calendar years; and
(B) the Judicial Conference with regard to a judicial
officer or employee described under paragraphs (11) and
(12) of section 101(f) (including individuals
terminating service in such office or position under
section 101(e) or immediately preceding service in such
office or position).
(2) The date any report is received (and the date of receipt
of any supplemental report) shall be noted on such report by
such committee.
(i)(1) A copy of each report filed under this title by a
Member or an individual who is a candidate for the office of
Member shall be sent by the Clerk of the House of
Representatives or Secretary of the Senate, as the case may be,
to the appropriate State officer designated under section
316(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 of the
State represented by the Member or in which the individual is a
candidate, as the case may be, within the 30-day period
beginning on the day the report is filed with the Clerk or
Secretary.
(2) The requirements of paragraph (1) do not apply to any
report filed under this title which is filed electronically and
for which there is online public access, in accordance with the
systems developed by the Secretary and Sergeant at Arms of the
Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives under
section 8(b) of the STOCK Act.
(j)(1) A copy of each report filed under this title with the
Clerk of the House of Representatives shall be sent by the
Clerk to the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct of the
House of Representatives within the 7-day period beginning on
the day the report is filed.
(2) A copy of each report filed under this title with the
Secretary of the Senate shall be sent by the Secretary to the
Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate within the 7-day
period beginning on the day the report is filed.
(k) In carrying out their responsibilities under this title
with respect to candidates for office, the Clerk of the House
of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate shall avail
themselves of the assistance of the Federal Election
Commission. The Commission shall make available to the Clerk
and the Secretary on a regular basis a complete list of names
and addresses of all candidates registered with the Commission,
and shall cooperate and coordinate its candidate information
and notification program with the Clerk and the Secretary to
the greatest extent possible.
(l) Not later than 30 days after receiving notification of
any transaction required to be reported under section
102(a)(5)(B), but in no case later than 45 days after such
transaction, the following persons, if required to file a
report under any subsection of section 101, subject to any
waivers and exclusions, shall file a report of the transaction:
(1) The President.
(2) The Vice President.
(3) Each officer or employee in the executive branch,
including a special Government employee as defined in
section 202 of title 18, United States Code, who
occupies a position classified above GS-15 of the
General Schedule or, in the case of positions not under
the General Schedule, for which the rate of basic pay
is equal to or greater than 120 percent of the minimum
rate of basic pay payable for GS-15 of the General
Schedule; each member of a uniformed service whose pay
grade is at or in excess of O-7 under section 201 of
title 37, United States Code; and each officer or
employee in any other position determined by the
Director of the Office of Government Ethics to be of
equal classification.
(4) Each employee appointed pursuant to section 3105
of title 5, United States Code.
(5) Any employee not described in paragraph (3) who
is in a position in the executive branch which is
excepted from the competitive service by reason of
being of a confidential or policymaking character,
except that the Director of the Office of Government
Ethics may, by regulation, exclude from the application
of this paragraph any individual, or group of
individuals, who are in such positions, but only in
cases in which the Director determines such exclusion
would not affect adversely the integrity of the
Government or the public's confidence in the integrity
of the Government.
(6) The Postmaster General, the Deputy Postmaster
General, each Governor of the Board of Governors of the
United States Postal Service and each officer or
employee of the United States Postal Service or Postal
Regulatory Commission who occupies a position for which
the rate of basic pay is equal to or greater than 120
percent of the minimum rate of basic pay payable for
GS-15 of the General Schedule.
(7) The Director of the Office of Government Ethics
and each designated agency ethics official.
(8) Any civilian employee not described in paragraph
(3), employed in the Executive Office of the President
(other than a special government employee) who holds a
commission of appointment from the President.
(9) A Member of Congress[, as defined under section
109(12)].
(10) An officer or employee of the Congress[, as
defined under section 109(13)].
(11) Each judicial officer.
* * * * * * *
CUSTODY OF AND PUBLIC ACCESS TO REPORTS
Sec. 105. (a) Each agency, each supervising ethics office in
the executive or judicial branch, the Clerk of the House of
Representatives, and the Secretary of the Senate shall make
available to the public, in accordance with subsection (b),
each report filed under this title with such agency or office
or with the Clerk or the Secretary of the Senate, except that--
(1) this section does not require public availability
of a report filed by any individual in the Office of
the Director of National Intelligence, the Central
Intelligence Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency,
the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, or the
National Security Agency, or any individual engaged in
intelligence activities in any agency of the United
States, if the President finds or has found that, due
to the nature of the office or position occupied by
such individual, public disclosure of such report
would, [be revealing] by revealing the identity of the
individual or other sensitive information, compromise
the national interest of the United States; and such
individuals may be authorized, notwithstanding section
104(a), to file such additional reports as are
necessary to protect their identity from public
disclosure if the President first finds or has found
that such filing is necessary in the national interest;
and
(2) any report filed by an independent counsel whose
identity has not been disclosed by the division of the
court under chapter 40 of title 28, United States Code,
and any report filed by any person appointed by that
independent counsel under such chapter, shall not be
made available to the public under this title.
(b)(1) Except as provided in the second sentence of this
subsection, each agency, each supervising ethics office in the
executive or judicial branch, the Clerk of the House of
Representatives, and the Secretary of the Senate shall, within
thirty days after any report is received under this title by
such agency or office or by the Clerk or the Secretary of the
Senate, as the case may [be,,] be, permit inspection of such
report by or furnish a copy of such report to any person
requesting such inspection or copy. With respect to any report
required to be filed by May 15 of any year, such report shall
be made available for public inspection within 30 calendar days
after May 15 of such year or within 30 days of the date of
filing of such a report for which an extension is granted
pursuant to section 101(g). The agency, office, Clerk, or
Secretary of the Senate, as the case [may be may] may be, may
require a reasonable fee to be paid in any amount which is
found necessary to recover the cost of reproduction or mailing
of such report excluding any salary of any employee involved in
such reproduction or mailing. A copy of such report may be
furnished without charge or at a reduced charge if it is
determined that waiver or reduction of the fee is in the public
interest.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a report may not be made
available under this section to any person nor may any copy
thereof be provided under this section to any person except
upon a written application by such person stating--
(A) that person's name, occupation and address;
(B) the name and address of any other person or
organization on whose behalf the inspection or copy is
requested; and
(C) that such person is aware of the prohibitions on
the obtaining or use of the report.
Any such application shall be made available to the public
throughout the period during which the report is made available
to the public.
(3)(A) This section does not require the immediate and
unconditional availability of reports filed by an individual
[described in section 109(8) or 109(10) of this Act] who is a
judicial officer or a judicial employee if a finding is made by
the Judicial Conference, in consultation with United States
Marshals Service, that revealing personal and sensitive
information could endanger that individual or a family member
of that individual.
(B) A report may be redacted pursuant to this paragraph
only--
(i) to the extent necessary to protect the individual
who filed the report or a family member of that
individual; and
(ii) for as long as the danger to such individual
exists.
(C) The Administrative Office of the United States Courts
shall submit to the Committees on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives and of the Senate and the Senate Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the House
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform an annual report
with respect to the operation of this paragraph including--
(i) the total number of reports redacted pursuant to
this paragraph;
(ii) the total number of individuals whose reports
have been redacted pursuant to this paragraph;
(iii) the types of threats against individuals whose
reports are redacted, if appropriate;
(iv) the nature or type of information redacted;
(v) what steps or procedures are in place to ensure
that sufficient information is available to litigants
to determine if there is a conflict of interest;
(vi) principles used to guide implementation of
redaction authority; and
(vii) any public complaints received relating to
redaction.
(D) The Judicial Conference, in consultation with the
Department of Justice, shall issue regulations setting forth
the circumstances under which redaction is appropriate under
this paragraph and the procedures for redaction.
(E) This paragraph shall expire on December 31, 2027, and
apply to filings through calendar year 2027.
(c) Online Publication of Financial Disclosure Reports of
Judicial Officers.--
(1) Establishment of database.--Not later than 180
days after the date of enactment of the Courthouse
Ethics and Transparency Act, the Administrative Office
of the United States Courts shall establish a
searchable internet database to enable public access to
any report required to be filed by a judicial officer
under this title.
(2) Availability.--Not later than 90 days after the
date on which a report is required to be filed under
this title by a judicial officer, the Administrative
Office of the United States Courts shall make the
report available on the database established under
paragraph (1) in a full-text searchable, sortable, and
downloadable format for access by the public.
(3) Redaction.--Any report made available on the
database established under paragraph (1) shall not
contain any information that is redacted in accordance
with subsection (b)(3).
[(c)] (d)(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to obtain or
use a report--
(A) for any unlawful purpose;
(B) for any commercial purpose, other than by news
and communications media for dissemination to the
general public;
(C) for determining or establishing the credit rating
of any individual; or
(D) for use, directly or indirectly, in the
solicitation of money for any political, charitable, or
other purpose.
(2) The Attorney General may bring a civil action against any
person who obtains or uses a report for any purpose prohibited
in paragraph (1) of this subsection. The court in which such
action is brought may assess against such person a penalty in
any amount not to exceed $10,000. Such remedy shall be in
addition to any other remedy available under statutory or
common law.
[(d)] (e)(1) Any report filed with or transmitted to an
agency or supervising ethics office or to the Clerk of the
House of Representatives or the Secretary of the Senate
pursuant to this title shall be retained by such agency or
office or by the Clerk of the House of Representatives or the
Secretary of the Senate, as the case may be.
(2) Such report shall be made available to the public--
(A) in the case of a Member of Congress until a date
that is 6 years from the date the individual ceases to
be a Member of Congress; and
(B) in the case of all other reports filed pursuant
to this title, for a period of 6 years after receipt of
the report.
(3) After the relevant time period identified under paragraph
(2), the report shall be destroyed unless needed in an ongoing
investigation, except that in the case of an individual who
filed the report pursuant to section 101(b) and was not
subsequently confirmed by the Senate, or who filed the report
pursuant to section 101(c) and was not subsequently elected,
such reports shall be destroyed 1 year after the individual
either is no longer under consideration by the Senate or is no
longer a candidate for nomination or election to the Office of
President, Vice President, or as a Member of Congress, unless
needed in an ongoing investigation or inquiry.
* * * * * * *
CONFIDENTIAL REPORTS AND OTHER ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
Sec. 107. (a)(1) Each supervising ethics office may require
officers and employees under its jurisdiction (including
special Government employees as defined in section 202 of title
18, United States Code) to file confidential financial
disclosure reports, in such form as the supervising ethics
office may prescribe. The information required to be reported
under this subsection by the officers and employees of any
department or agency shall be set forth in rules or regulations
prescribed by the supervising ethics office, and may be less
extensive than otherwise required by this title, or more
extensive when determined by the supervising ethics office to
be necessary and appropriate in light of sections 202 through
209 of title 18, United States Code, regulations promulgated
thereunder, or the authorized activities of such officers or
employees. Any individual required to file a report pursuant to
section 101 shall not be required to file a confidential report
pursuant to this subsection, except with respect to information
which is more extensive than information otherwise required by
this title. Subsections (a), (b), [and (d)] and (e) of section
105 shall not apply with respect to any such report.
(2) Any information required to be provided by an individual
under this subsection shall be confidential and shall not be
disclosed to the public.
(3) Nothing in this subsection exempts any individual
otherwise covered by the requirement to file a public financial
disclosure report under this title from such requirement.
(b) The provisions of this title requiring the reporting of
information shall supersede any general requirement under any
other provision of law or regulation with respect to the
reporting of information required for purposes of preventing
conflicts of interest or apparent conflicts of interest. Such
provisions of this title shall not supersede the requirements
of section 7342 of title 5, United States Code.
(c) Nothing in this Act requiring reporting of information
shall be deemed to authorize the receipt of income, gifts, or
reimbursements; the holding of assets, liabilities, or
positions; or the participation in transactions that are
prohibited by law, Executive order, rule, or regulation.
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