[Senate Report 118-210]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 488
118th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 118-210
_______________________________________________________________________
ROYALTY TRANSPARENCY ACT
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
to accompany
S. 3664
TO REQUIRE EXECUTIVE BRANCH EMPLOYEES TO
REPORT CERTAIN ROYALTIES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
September 9, 2024.--Ordered to be printed
______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
49-010 WASHINGTON : 2024
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
GARY C. PETERS, Michigan, Chairman
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware RAND PAUL, Kentucky
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada MITT ROMNEY, Utah
JON OSSOFF, Georgia RICK SCOTT, Florida
RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri
LAPHONZA R. BUTLER, California ROGER MARSHALL, Kansas
David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
Alan S. Kahn, Chief Counsel
Lena C. Chang, Director of Governmental Affairs
Emily I. Manna, Professional Staff Member
William E. Henderson III, Minority Staff Director
Christina N. Salazar, Minority Chief Counsel
Andrew J. Hopkins, Minority Counsel
Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
Calendar No. 488
118th Congress} { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 118-210
======================================================================
ROYALTY TRANSPARENCY ACT
_______
September 9, 2024.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Peters, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 3664]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 3664) to require
executive branch employees to report certain royalties, and for
other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably
thereon with an amendment in the nature of a substitute and
recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................2
III. Legislative History..............................................4
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported.............5
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................6
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................7
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............8
I. Purpose and Summary
S. 3664, the Royalty Transparency Act, would require
individuals who file financial disclosures, both publicly and
confidentially, to report on royalty payments received as part
of their federal service. Further, the bill would require
certain federal advisory committee members, who currently file
confidential ethics disclosures, to file public financial
disclosures. The bill would also provide a mechanism by which
the Government Accountability Office (GAO) can determine that
additional federal advisory committees must file public
financial disclosures, if their public health recommendations
were fully or partially implemented within the past 10 years.
The Royalty Transparency Act also would require any agency that
provides a financial disclosure waiver for a confidential filer
to provide a justification for the waiver to Congress. The bill
would add processes for agencies to produce both public and
confidential financial disclosures to Members of Congress upon
request. The bill also would require the Federal Acquisition
Regulatory Council and the Office of Management and Budget to
update regulations to ensure royalty payments are considered
during conflict-of-interest reviews for federal contracts and
grants.
II. Background and Need for the Legislation
The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 requires certain
federal employees to file financial disclosures and limits
their outside employment and ability to lobby.\1\ Currently,
the Ethics in Government Act requires over 26,000 federal
employees to publicly file their financial disclosures, making
them available for public inspection.\2\ Public filers consist
of: the President, Vice President, Schedule C political
appointees, and, among others, each individual occupying a
position classified at a base rate of pay above GS-15 or, if
the individual is not on the general schedule, a position above
120% of the base rate of pay of a GS-15.\3\
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\1\Ethics in Government Act of 1978, Pub. L. 95-521; see also Mark
Davies, Steven Leventhal & Thomas Mullaney, An Abbreviated History of
Government Ethics Laws--Part II, NYSBA Municipal Lawyer, (Vol. 27, No.
3) (Fall 2013).
\2\U.S. Office of Government Ethics, Public Financial Disclosure--
Frequently Asked Questions, (March 13, 2024)(https://www.oge.gov/web/
OGE.nsf/accessdocs_disclosure-faq) (last accessed Mar. 15, 2024).
\3\5 U.S.C. Sec. 13103(f).
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The Ethics in Government Act also requires nearly 400,000
federal employees and special government employees to file
confidential ethics disclosures annually.\4\ While supervising
ethics offices determine which individuals are required to file
a confidential financial disclosure, the Office of Government
Ethics (OGE) also sets criteria for which individuals must file
confidential reports.\5\ Presently, these include:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\U.S. Office of Government Ethics, Results from the Annual Agency
Ethics Program Questionnaire CY22 (https://www.oge.gov/web/OGE.nsf/0/
5B534A41B1EC4551852589D000597DFF/$FILE/
Annual%20Questionnaire%20Summary%20Report%20(CY%202022).pdf).
\5\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
employees whose rate of pay is below GS-15;
if not on the General Schedule, then a pay
rate below 120% of pay of a GS-15;
special government employees, as defined in
18 U.S.C. Sec. 202;\6\ and
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\6\5 CFR Sec. 2634.904(a)(2); see also, U.S. Office of Government
Ethics, Confidential Financial Disclosure Guide: OGE Form 450 (Oct.
2023) (https://www.oge.gov/web/OGE.nsf/0/
11AF3BE8C3A7F42A85258A6200572AC9/$FILE/
Confidential%20Fin%20Disc%20Guide%
202023%20Accessible.pdf).
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employees who participate personally and
substantially on--
contracting or procurement;
administering or monitoring
grants;
regulating or auditing any non-
federal entity; or
other activities in which the
final agency decision or action will have a
direct and substantial economic effect on any
non-federal entity.\7\
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\7\5 CFR Sec. 2634.904(a)(1); see also Confidential Financial
Disclosure Guide, supra note. 7 at 7-8.
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The public financial disclosure reports provide broad
insights into the financial situation of federal employees,
including their income, spouse's income, dependent children's
income, and other financial interests such as real estate,
investments, and outside payments.\8\
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\8\See, U.S. Office of Government Ethics, Introduction: Public
Financial Disclosure Guide (Jan 2024) (https://www.oge.gov/web/
278eguide.nsf) (last accessed Mar. 15, 2024).
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The Ethics in Government Act made key advances for
transparency in the executive branch, however deficiencies
remain. Under current law, it is mandatory that federal
employees, who are inventors or co-inventors, receive a portion
of royalties paid to the federal government from licensing
their federal inventions.\9\ Under current law, royalty
payments an individual or their spouse receive as part of their
federal employment are not reported as outside income.\10\
Agencies know how much each individual is receiving in
royalties as part of their employment because the agencies are
responsible for passing these royalties along.\11\ But agencies
currently interpret this information as being protected from
disclosure to both the public and Congress.\12\
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\9\15 U.S.C. Sec. 3710c, Distribution of royalties received by
Federal agencies.
\10\15 U.S.C. Sec. 3710c.
\11\Benjamin Mueller, After Long Delay, Moderna Pays N.I.H. for
Covid Vaccine Technique, New York Times (Feb. 23, 2023), https://
www.nytimes.com/2023/02/23/science/moderna-covid-vaccine-patent-
nih.html; see also, NIH Royalties: FY2022 & FY2023, Open the Books
(Jun. 2, 2024), https://www.openthebooks.com/nih-royalties-fy2022--
fy2023/; and 15 U.S.C. Sec. 3710c, supra n.9.
\12\See, Letter to Acting Director Lawrence Tabak, National
Institutes Of Health From Senators Rand Paul, Ron Johnson, James
Lankford, Rick Scott, And Josh Hawley (Jun. 1, 2022), https://
www.paul.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/HSGAC-Royalties-Letter-
to-NIH-June-2022.pdf; and Letter from Tara Schwetz, Ph.D., National
Institutes of Health to Senator Rand Paul (Dec. 29, 2022) (record on
file with the Committee).
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On June 1, 2022, Ranking Member Paul, joined by four
members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs Committee sent a letter requesting documents to be
produced by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) relating to
royalties NIH employees and special government employees
received during the COVID-19 pandemic.\13\ Under U.S. Code,
``[a]n Executive agency . . . on request of the Committee on
Governmental Affairs of the Senate, or any five members
thereof, shall submit any information requested.''\14\ NIH
refused to provide royalties information in response to this
request, arguing that information on royalty payments from non-
government entities constitutes confidential business
information, and that royalty payments made by the federal
government are considered part of an employee's salary and thus
not required to be disclosed.\15\
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\13\Letter from Members of the Senate Homeland Sec. and Gov't
Affairs Comm. to Lawrence Tabak, Acting Dir., National Institutes of
Health (Jun. 1, 2022) (https://www.paul.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/
2024/03/HSGAC-Royalties-Letter-to-NIH-June-2022.pdf).
\14\5 U.S.C. 2954, Information to committees of Congress on
request.
\15\See, Letter from Tara Schwetz, Ph.D., supra n.12.
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Federal advisory committees, most of whom are comprised of
private citizens serving as special government employees, are
responsible for advising the President, Cabinet members, and
senior members of the administration. As of 2024, there are
currently 1,026 federal advisory committees that provide
recommendations to agencies and policymakers across the federal
government.\16\ When certain committees' recommendations are
regularly adopted, especially in full, they could be perceived
by members of the public as de facto policy making entities.
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\16\General Services Administration, Federal Advisory Committee
Database (https://www.facadatabase.gov) (accessed May 6, 2024).
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For example, over the lifetime of the Advisory Committee on
Immunization Practices (ACIP), 100% of their recommendations
have been fully implemented by the Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS).\17\ ACIP's review process examines
current scientific evidence and recommends vaccines that are
already licensed or authorized by the Food and Drug
Administration.\18\ ACIP is not an outlier in having a high
number of its recommendations fully adopted.
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\17\General Services Administration, Federal Advisory Committee
Database: Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (2024) (https://
www.facadatabase.gov/FACA/s/FACACommittee/a10t0000001gzveAAA/
com000761).
\18\Id.
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These committees also receive little to no congressional
and public oversight for the royalty payments their members
receive, since they generally only file confidential financial
disclosures.\19\ Due to the confidential nature of these
reports there is no transparency outside of agency ethics
officials reviewing the disclosures for conflicts of
interest.\20\
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\19\Results from the Annual Agency Ethics Program Questionnaire
CY22, supra n.4.
\20\Confidential Financial Disclosure Guide, supra n.6 at 7-8.
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S. 3664 attempts to improve oversight and transparency by
requiring agencies to: disclose information about royalties
that agency personnel receive; produce largely unredacted
documents to Members of Congress, and publicly release the
financial disclosures of certain federal advisory committee
members.
III. Legislative History
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced S. 3664, the Royalty
Transparency Act, on January 25, 2024. The bill was referred to
the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
The Committee considered S. 3664 at a business meeting on
March 6, 2024. At the business meeting, Senator Paul offered a
substitute amendment, as well as a modification to the
substitute amendment. The Paul substitute amendment, as
modified, changed the scope of federal advisory committees in
the bill required to make their financial disclosure reports
public to a specific list of ten committees, as well as
additional committees identified by GAO that issue public
health recommendations to an agency or the president. The
reporting requirements for committees selected by GAO sunset
five years after enactment. The modified substitute also
creates a notification requirement to Congress when a financial
disclosure waiver or exemption is granted by an agency and
clarifies what information agencies may redact when producing
ethics disclosures to Members of Congress. It also requires
agencies to produce reports on the number of individuals who
file confidential financial disclosures, the number of Special
Government Employees they have, any other relevant information;
and requires information about confidential filers who received
royalties to be published on agency websites. Lastly, it
modifies the organizational conflict of interest section to
require the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council and the
Office of Management and Budget to update regulations to
account for the potential conflicts of interest that royalty
payments may create for federal grants and contracts.
The Committee adopted the modification to the Paul
substitute amendment, and the Paul substitute, by unanimous
consent with Senators Peters, Carper, Hassan, Rosen, Ossoff,
Butler, Paul, Johnson, Lankford, Scott, Hawley, and Marshall
present. The bill, as amended by the Paul substitute amendment,
as modified, was ordered reported favorably by roll call vote
of 12 yeas to 0 nays, with Senators Peters, Carper, Hassan,
Rosen, Ossoff, Butler, Paul, Johnson, Lankford, Scott, Hawley,
and Marshall voting in the affirmative. Senators Sinema and
Blumenthal voted yea by proxy and for the record only. Senator
Romney voted nay by proxy and for the record only.
The bill, as amended, was ordered reported favorably by
voice vote, with Senators Peters, Hassan, Sinema, Rosen,
Padilla, Ossoff, Blumenthal, Lankford, and Hawley present.
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported
Section 1. Short title
Provides the short title of the bill as the ``Royalty
Transparency Act.''
Section 2. Financial disclosure reports of Executive Branch employees
Subsection (a)(1) modifies the list of individuals who are
required to file public ethics filings to include members of
certain Federal Advisory Committees and members of additional
committees identified by the Governmental Accountability Office
as issuing recommendations to an agency or the President on
public health.
Subsection (a)(2) sunsets the reporting requirements for
any of the additional federal advisory committees identified by
GAO 5 years after the enactment of this Act and replaces it
with any possible successor advisory committees for those
identified in subparagraphs (A) through (J) of 5 U.S.C.
13103(f)(13) as added by this act.
Subsection (b)(1) requires reporting to the Senate
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the
House Committee on Oversight and Accountability on waivers
granted under 5 U.S.C. 13103, including a justification for
granting the waiver.
Subsection (b)(2) requires reporting to the Senate
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the
House Committee on Oversight and Accountability on exemptions
to ethics requirements issued under paragraph (1) or (3) of
subsection (b) of section 208 of Title 18 of the United States
Code or under part 2640 of Title 5 of the Code of Federal
Regulations, or any successor regulation.
Subsection (c) amends 5 U.S.C. 13104(a)(1) to require
royalties received by officers and employees of the executive
branch, their spouses, or dependents as a result of their
governmentservice to be disclosed in their public ethics
filings, including the amount or value and original source of such
payments.
Subsection (d) requires agencies to publish public
financial disclosure reports, including information regarding
royalties received as a result of government service, on their
websites. Second, it requires agencies to provide unredacted
copies of public financial disclosure reports upon request by a
Member of Congress within 30 days with only social security
numbers redacted. The subsection also eliminates the
requirement for a written request for obtaining public
financial disclosure reports.
Subsection (e) first clarifies that any royalties received
in the course of a confidential filer's duties, including the
source and amount or value, shall be included in their
confidential disclosure report. Second, copies of confidential
ethics reports must be available to Members of Congress upon
request, no later than 30 days following a request. Third, it
requires agencies with confidential filers to produce a report
to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs and the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability
within 60 days and annually thereafter with the number of
individuals who filed disclosures, the number of Special
Government Employees who file confidential ethics reports, and
other relevant information determined by the director of the
Office of Government Ethics. Finally, it requires agencies
within 180 days of enactment and annually thereafter to publish
a report on their website with the names of individuals who are
confidential filers and receive a royalty, and the source and
amount or value of the royalty received by such individuals.
Section 3. Preventing organizational conflicts of interest in Federal
Acquisition
Subsection (a) requires the Federal Acquisition Regulatory
Council and the Office of Management and Budget to update or
enact any regulations to ensure royalty payments include
conflict-of-interest reviews for contractors or grantees.
Subsection (b) provides that not later than 1 year after
enactment, and annually thereafter, each agency that conducts
conflict of interest reviews shall report to the Senate
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the
House Committee on Oversight and Accountability on identified
cases of royalty payments creating conflicts of interest and
steps taken to mitigate those cases.
Section 4. Severability
This section provides a severability clause for the Act, so
if any portion of the Act or any amendment made by the Act is
held unconstitutional, the remainder of the Act and the
amendments made by the Act shall still be enforceable.
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact
Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has
considered the regulatory impact of this bill and determined
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional
Budget Office's statement that the bill contains no
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs
on state, local, or tribal governments.
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
S. 3664 would require financial disclosure reports filed by
staff in the executive branch agencies to include information
about royalties received by those employees and would require
people who serve on public health advisory committees to file
such reports. The bill would require the Government
Accountability Office to publish a list each year of the
committees whose members would be required to file those
reports. All executive branch agencies also would be required
to report to the Congress each year concerning the financial
disclosure reports and to post that information online.
Finally, the bill would direct the Federal Acquisition
Regulatory Council and the Office of Management and Budget to
ensure that information regarding royalties from the financial
disclosure reports is reviewed within federal procurement
processes.
The costs of the legislation, detailed in Table 1, fall
within budget functions 550 (health) and 800 (general
government).
Using information from the affected agencies, CBO estimates
that the cost of implementing the bill would total $15 million
over the 2024-2029 period. Any related spending would be
subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
TABLE 1.--ESTIMATED INCREASES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION UNDER S. 3664
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By fiscal year, millions of dollars--
-------------------------------------------------------
2024 -
2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2029
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated Authorization................................. 0 3 3 3 3 3 15
Estimated Outlays....................................... 0 3 3 3 3 3 15
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CBO estimates that the cost of providing annual reports to
the Congress from the 143 executive branch agencies would total
$10 million. In addition, CBO estimates that the public health
advisory committees would need the equivalent of 12 full-time
ethics officers, at an average annual cost of $85,000, to
process the significantly greater volume of financial
disclosure reports required under the bill. In total, CBO
estimates, the costs of hiring and retaining those employees
would be $5 million over the 2024-2029 period.
Using information about similar provisions, CBO estimates
that the costs for the Government Accountability Office, the
Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council, and the Office of
Management and Budget to implement the bill's requirements
would total less than $500,000 over the 2024-2029 period.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Sean Dunbar. The
estimate was reviewed by Chad Chirico, Director of Budget
Analysis.
Phillip L. Swagel,
Director, Congressional Budget Office.
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in brackets, new matter is
printed in italic, and existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
UNITED STATES CODE
* * * * * * *
TITLE 5--GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION AND EMPLOYEES
* * * * * * *
PART IV--ETHICS REQUIREMENTS
* * * * * * *
CHAPTER 131--ETHICS IN GOVERNMENT
* * * * * * *
SUBCHAPTER I--FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL PERSONNEL
* * * * * * *
SEC. 13103. PERSONS REQUIRED TO FILE
* * * * * * *
(f) Individuals Required To File.--The officers and
employees referred to in subsections (a), (d), and (e) are--
(1) * * *
(2) * * *
(3) * * *
(4) * * *
(5) * * *
(6) * * *
(7) * * *
(8) * * *
(9) * * *
(10) * * *
(11) a judicial officer as defined in section 13101
of this title[; and];
(12) a judicial employee as defined in section 13101
of this title[.]; and
** Effective on the date of enactment **
(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.
** Effective 5 years after the date of enactment **
(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.]
(K) a successor to a committee described in
subparagraphs (A) through (J) of this
paragraph.
(g) * * *
(h) * * *
(i) Request for Waiver.--The supervising ethics office for
each branch may grant a publicly available request for a waiver
of any reporting requirement under this section for an
individual who is expected to perform or has performed the
duties of the individual's office or position less than 130
days in a calendar year, but only if [the supervising ethics
office determines] the supervising ethics office--that--
(1) determines
[(1)](A) such individual is not a full-time
employee of the Government;
[(2)](B) such individual is able to provide
services specially needed by the Government;
[(3)](C) it is unlikely that the individual's
outside employment or financial interests will
create a conflict of interest; and
[(4)](D) public financial disclosure by such
individual is not necessary in the
circumstances[.]; and
(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.
** Effective on the date of enactment **
[(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.
** Effective 5 years after the date of enactment **
[(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.]
** Effective on the date of enactment **
* * * * * * *
SEC. 13104. CONTENTS OF REPORTS
(a) * * *
(1) Income.--
(A) In general.--The source, type, and amount
or value of income (other than income referred
to in subparagraph (B)) from any source (other
than from current employment by the United
States Government, subject to paragraph (C)),
and the source, date, and amount of honoraria
from any source, received during the preceding
calendar year, aggregating $200 or more in
value and, effective January 1, 1991, the
source, date, and amount of payments made to
charitable organizations in lieu of honoraria,
and the reporting individual shall
simultaneously file with the applicable
supervising ethics office, on a confidential
basis, a corresponding list of recipients of
all such payments, together with the dates and
amounts of such payments.
(B) * * *
(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 1303(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.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 13107. CUSTODY OF AND PUBLIC ACCESS TO REPORTS
(a) * * *
(b) Inspection of Reports.--
(1) In general.--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 30 days after
any report is received under this subchapter by such
agency or office or by the Clerk or the Secretary of
the Senate, as the case may be, permit inspection of
such report by or furnish a copy of such report to any
person requesting such inspection or copy 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. With respect to
any report required to be filed by May 15 of any year,
such report shall, notwithstanding section 12 of the
Stevenson-Wydler Technology Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C.
3710a) and section 209 of title 35, be made available
for public inspection and, in the case of an agency or
office, published on the internet website of the agency
or office, as the case may be 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 13103(g) of this title. The
agency, office, Clerk, or Secretary of the Senate, as
the case 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) Procedure for requesting reports.--
Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a report may not be made
available under this section to any person nor may any
copy of the report 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)](2) Judicial employees and officers.--
(A) * * *
(B) * * *
(C) * * *
(D) * * *
(E) * * *
(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.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 13109. CONFIDENTIAL REPORTS AND OTHER ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
(a) * * *
(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.
[(b)](f) * * *
[(c)](g) * * *
* * * * * * *
TITLE 18--CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
* * * * * * *
PART I--CRIMES
* * * * * * *
CHAPTER 11--BRIBERY, GRAFT, AND CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
* * * * * * *
SEC. 208. ACTS AFFECTING A PERSONAL FINANCIAL INTERST
* * * * * * *
(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.
* * * * * * *