    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 29, Number 3 (Monday, January 25, 1993)]
    [Pages 77-82]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Executive Order 12834--Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Appointees

     January 20, 1993

        By the authority vested in me as President of the United States by
    the Constitution and laws of the United States of America, including
    section 301 of title 3, United States Code, and sections 3301 and 7301
    of title 5, United States Code, it is hereby ordered as follows:
        Section 1. Ethics Pledges. (a) Every senior appointee in every
    executive agency appointed on or after January 20, 1993, shall sign, and
    upon signing shall be contractually committed to, the following pledge
    (``senior appointee pledge'') upon becoming a senior appointee:
        ``As a condition, and in consideration, of my employment in the
    United States Government in a senior appointee position invested with
    the public trust, I commit myself to the following obligations, which I
    understand are binding on me and are enforceable under law:
        ``1. I will not, within five years after the termination of my
    employment as a senior appointee in any executive agency in which I am
    appointed to serve, lobby any officer or employee of that agency.
        ``2. In the event that I serve as a senior appointee in the
    Executive Office of the President (`EOP'), I also will not, within five
    years after I cease to be a senior appointee in the EOP, lobby any
    officer or employee of any other executive agency with respect to which
    I had personal and substantial responsibility as a senior appointee in
    the EOP.
        ``3. I will not, at any time after the termination of my employment
    in the United States Government, engage in any activity on behalf of any
    foreign government or foreign political party which, if undertaken on
    January 20, 1993, would require me to register under the Foreign Agents
    Registration Act of 1938, as amended.
        ``4. I will not, within five years after termination of my personal
    and substantial participation in a trade negotiation, represent, aid or
    advise any foreign government, foreign political party or foreign
    business entity with the intent to influence a decision of any officer
    or employee of any executive agency, in carrying out his or her official
    duties.
        ``5. I acknowledge that the Executive order entitled `Ethics
    Commitments by Executive Branch Appointees,' issued by the President on
    January 20, 1993, which I have read before signing this document,
    defines certain of the terms applicable to the foregoing obligations and
    sets forth the methods for enforcing them. I expressly accept the
    provisions of that Executive order as a part of this agreement and as
    binding on me. I understand that the terms of this pledge are in
    addition to any statutory or other legal restrictions applicable to me
    by virtue of Federal Government service.''
        (b) Every trade negotiator who is not a senior appointee and is
    appointed to a position in an executive agency on or after January 20,
    1993, shall (prior to personally and substantially participating in a
    trade negotia-

    [[Page 78]]

    tion) sign, and upon signing be contractually committed to, the
    following pledge (``trade negotiator pledge''):
        ``As a condition, and in consideration, of my employment in the
    United States Government as a trade negotiator, which is a position
    invested with the public trust, I commit myself to the following
    obligations, which I understand are binding on me and are enforceable
    under law:
        ``1. I will not, within five years after termination of my personal
    and substantial participation in a trade negotiation, represent, aid or
    advise any foreign government, foreign political party or foreign
    business entity with the intent to influence a decision of any officer
    or employee of any executive agency, in carrying out his or her official
    duties.
        ``2. I acknowledge that the Executive order entitled `Ethics
    Commitments by Executive Branch Appointees,' issued by the President on
    January 20, 1993, which I have read before signing this document,
    defines certain of the terms applicable to the foregoing obligations and
    sets forth the methods for enforcing them. I expressly accept the
    provisions of that Executive order as a part of this agreement and as
    binding on me. I understand that the terms of this pledge are in
    addition to any statutory or other legal restrictions applicable to me
    by virtue of Federal Government service.''
        Sec. 2. Definitions. As used herein and in the pledges:
        (a) ``Senior appointee'' means every full-time, non-career
    Presidential, Vice-presidential or agency head appointee in an executive
    agency whose rate of basic pay is not less than the rate for level V of
    the Executive Schedule (5 U.S.C. 5316) but does not include any person
    appointed as a member of the senior foreign service or solely as a
    uniformed service commissioned officer.
        (b) ``Trade negotiator'' means a full-time, non-career Presidential,
    Vice-presidential or agency head appointee (whether or not a senior
    appointee) who personally and substantially participates in a trade
    negotiation as an employee of an executive agency.
        (c) ``Lobby'' means to knowingly communicate to or appear before any
    officer or employee of any executive agency on behalf of another (except
    the United States) with the intent to influence official action, except
    that the term ``lobby'' does not include:
            (1) communicating or appearing on behalf of and as an officer or
          employee of a State or local government or the government of the
          District of Columbia, a Native American tribe or a United States
          territory or possession;
            (2) communicating or appearing with regard to a judicial
          proceeding, or a criminal or civil law enforcement inquiry,
          investigation or proceeding (but not with regard to an
          administrative proceeding) or with regard to an administrative
          proceeding to the extent that such communications or appearances
          are made after the commencement of and in connection with the
          conduct or disposition of a judicial proceeding;
            (3) communicating or appearing with regard to any government
          grant, contract or similar benefit on behalf of and as an officer
          or employee of:
                    (A) an accredited, degree-granting institution of higher
                education, as defined in section 1201(a) of title 20, United
                States Code; or
                    (B) a hospital; a medical, scientific or environmental
                research institution; or a charitable or educational
                institution; provided that such entity is a not-for-profit
                organization exempted from Federal income taxes under
                sections 501(a) and 501(c)(3) of title 26, United States
                Code;
            (4) communicating or appearing on behalf of an international
          organization in which the United States participates, if the
          Secretary of State certifies in advance that such activity is in
          the interest of the United States;
            (5) communicating or appearing solely for the purpose of
          furnishing scientific or technological information, subject to the
          procedures and conditions applicable under section 207(j)(5) of
          title 18, United States Code; or
            (6) giving testimony under oath, subject to the conditions
          applicable under section 207(j)(6) of title 18, United States
          Code.
        (d) ``On behalf of another'' means on behalf of a person or entity
    other than the indi-

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    vidual signing the pledge or his or her spouse, child or parent.
        (e) ``Administrative proceeding'' means any agency process for
    rulemaking, adjudication or licensing, as defined in and governed by the
    Administrative Procedure Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. 551, et seq.).
        (f) ``Executive agency'' and ``agency'' mean ``Executive agency'' as
    defined in section 105 of title 5, United States Code, except that the
    term includes the Executive Office of the President, the United States
    Postal Service and the Postal Rate Commission and excludes the General
    Accounting Office. As used in paragraph 1 of the senior appointee
    pledge, ``executive agency'' means the entire agency in which the senior
    appointee is appointed to serve, except that:
            (1) with respect to those senior appointees to whom such
          designations are applicable under section 207(h) of title 18,
          United States Code, the term means an agency or bureau designated
          by the Director of the Office of Government Ethics under section
          207(h) as a separate department or agency at the time the senior
          appointee ceased to serve in that department or agency; and
            (2) a senior appointee who is detailed from one executive agency
          to another for more than sixty days in any calendar year shall be
          deemed to be an officer or employee of both agencies during the
          period such person is detailed.
        (g) ``Personal and substantial responsibility'' ``with respect to''
    an executive agency, as used in paragraph 2 of the senior appointee
    pledge, means ongoing oversight of, or significant ongoing decision-
    making involvement in, the agency's budget, major programs or personnel
    actions, when acting both ``personally'' and ``substantially'' (as those
    terms are defined for purposes of sections 207 (a) and (b) of title 18,
    United States Code).
        (h) ``Personal and substantial participation'' and ``personally and
    substantially participates'' mean acting both ``personally'' and
    ``substantially'' (as those terms are defined for purposes of sections
    207(a) and (b) of title 18, United States Code) as an employee through
    decision, approval, disapproval, recommendation, the rendering of
    advice, investigation or other such action.
        (i) ``Trade negotiation'' means a negotiation that the President
    determines to undertake to enter into a trade agreement with one or more
    foreign governments, and does not include any action taken before that
    determination.
        (j) ``Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended'' means
    sections 611-621 of title 22, United States Code.
        (k) ``Foreign government'' means ``the government of a foreign
    country,'' as defined in section 1(e) of the Foreign Agents Registration
    Act of 1938, as amended (22 U.S.C. 611(e)).
        (l) ``Foreign political party'' has the same meaning as that term in
    section 1(f) of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended
    (22 U.S.C. 611(f)).
        (m) ``Foreign business entity'' means a partnership, association,
    corporation, organization or other combination of persons organized
    under the laws of or having its principal place of business in a foreign
    country.
        (n) Terms that are used herein and in the pledges, and also used in
    section 207 of title 18, United States Code, shall be given the same
    meaning as they have in section 207 and any implementing regulations
    issued or to be issued by the Office of Government Ethics, except to the
    extent those terms are otherwise defined in this order.
        Sec. 3. Waiver. (a) The President may grant to any person a waiver
    of any restrictions contained in the pledge signed by such person if,
    and to the extent that, the President certifies in writing that it is in
    the public interest to grant the waiver.
        (b) A waiver shall take effect when the certification is signed by
    the President.
        (c) The waiver certification shall be published in the Federal
    Register, identifying the name and executive agency position of the
    person covered by the waiver and the reasons for granting it.
        (d) A copy of the waiver certification shall be furnished to the
    person covered by the waiver and filed with the head of the agency in
    which that person is or was appointed to serve.
        Sec. 4. Administration. (a) The head of every executive agency shall
    establish for that

    [[Page 80]]

    agency such rules or procedures (conforming as nearly as practicable to
    the agency's general ethics rules and procedures, including those
    relating to designated agency ethics officers) as are necessary or
    appropriate:
            (1) to ensure that every senior appointee in the agency signs
          the senior appointee pledge upon assuming the appointed office or
          otherwise becoming a senior appointee;
            (2) to ensure that every trade negotiator in the agency who is
          not a senior appointee signs the trade negotiator pledge prior to
          personally and substantially participating in a trade negotiation;
            (3) to ensure that no senior appointee or trade negotiator in
          the agency personally and substantially participates in a trade
          negotiation prior to signing the pledge; and
            (4) generally to ensure compliance with this order within the
          agency.
        (b) With respect to the Executive Office of the President, the
    duties set forth in section 4(a), above, shall be the responsibility of
    the White House Counsel or such other official or officials to whom the
    President delegates those duties.
        (c) The Director of the Office of Government Ethics shall:
            (1) subject to the prior approval of the White House Counsel,
          develop a form of the pledges to be completed by senior appointees
          and trade negotiators and see that the pledges and a copy of this
          Executive order are made available for use by agencies in
          fulfilling their duties under section 4(a) above;
            (2) in consultation with the Attorney General or White House
          Counsel, when appropriate, assist designated agency ethics
          officers in providing advice to current or former senior
          appointees and trade negotiators regarding the application of the
          pledges; and
            (3) subject to the prior approval of the White House Counsel,
          adopt such rules or procedures (conforming as nearly as
          practicable to its generally applicable rules and procedures) as
          are necessary or appropriate to carry out the foregoing
          responsibilities.
        (d) In order to promote clarity and fairness in the application of
    paragraph 3 of the senior appointee pledge:
            (1) the Attorney General shall, within six months after the
          issuance of this order, publish in the Federal Register a
          ``Statement of Covered Activities,'' based on the statute,
          applicable regulations and published guidelines, and any other
          material reflecting the Attorney General's current interpretation
          of the law, describing in sufficient detail to provide adequate
          guidance the activities on behalf of a foreign government or
          foreign political party which, if undertaken as of January 20,
          1993, would require a person to register as an agent for such
          foreign government or political party under the Foreign Agents
          Registration Act of 1938, as amended; and
            (2) the Attorney General's ``Statement of Covered Activities''
          shall be presumed to be the definitive statement of the activities
          in which the senior appointee agrees not to engage under paragraph
          3 of the pledge.
        (e) A senior appointee who has signed the senior appointee pledge is
    not required to sign the pledge again upon appointment to a different
    office, except that a person who has ceased to be a senior appointee,
    due to termination of employment in the executive branch or otherwise,
    shall sign the senior appointee pledge prior to thereafter assuming
    office as a senior appointee.
        (f) A trade negotiator who is not also a senior appointee and who
    has once signed the trade negotiator pledge is not required to sign the
    pledge again prior to personally and substantially participating in a
    subsequent trade negotiation, except that a person who has ceased
    employment in the executive branch shall, after returning to such
    employment, be obligated to sign a pledge as provided herein
    notwithstanding the signing of any previous pledge.
        (g) All pledges signed by senior appointees and trade negotiators,
    and all waiver certifications with respect thereto, shall be filed with
    the head of the appointee's agency for permanent retention in the
    appointee's official personnel folder or equivalent folder.

    [[Page 81]]

        Sec. 5. Enforcement. (a) The contractual, fiduciary and ethical
    commitments in the pledges provided for herein are enforceable by any
    legally available means, including any or all of the following:
    debarment proceedings within any affected executive agency or judicial
    civil proceedings for declaratory, injunctive or monetary relief.

        (b) Any former senior appointee or trade negotiator who is
    determined, after notice and hearing, by the duly designated authority
    within any agency, to have violated his or her pledge not to lobby any
    officer or employee of that agency, or not to represent, aid or advise a
    foreign entity specified in the pledge with the intent to influence the
    official decision of that agency, may be barred from lobbying any
    officer or employee of that agency for up to five years in addition to
    the five-year time period covered by the pledge.

            (1) The head of every executive agency shall, in consultation
          with the Director of the Office of Government Ethics, establish
          procedures to implement the foregoing subsection, which shall
          conform as nearly as practicable to the procedures for debarment
          of former employees found to have violated section 207 of title
          18, United States Code (1988 ed.), set forth in section 2637.212
          of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations (revised as of January 1,
          1992).

            (2) Any person who is debarred from lobbying following an agency
          proceeding pursuant to the foregoing subsection may seek judicial
          review of the administrative determination, which shall be subject
          to established standards for judicial review of comparable agency
          actions.

        (c) The Attorney General is authorized:

            (1) upon receiving information regarding the possible breach of
          any commitment in a signed pledge, to request any appropriate
          federal investigative authority to conduct such investigations as
          may be appropriate; and

            (2) upon determining that there is a reasonable basis to believe
          that a breach of a commitment has occurred or will occur or
          continue, if not enjoined, to commence a civil action against the
          former employee in any United States District Court with
          jurisdiction to consider the matter.
        (d) In such civil action, the Attorney General is authorized to
    request any and all relief authorized by law, including but not limited
    to:
            (1) such temporary restraining orders and preliminary and
          permanent injunctions as may be appropriate to restrain future,
          recurring or continuing conduct by the former employee in breach
          of the commitments in the pledge he or she signed; and
            (2) establishment of a constructive trust for the benefit of the
          United States, requiring an accounting and payment to the United
          States Treasury of all money and other things of value received
          by, or payable to, the former employee arising out of any breach
          or attempted breach of the pledge signed by the former employee.
        Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) No prior Executive orders are
    repealed by this order. To the extent that this order is inconsistent
    with any provision of any prior Executive order, this order shall
    control.
        (b) If any provision of this order or the application of such
    provision is held to be invalid, the remainder of this order and other
    dissimilar applications of such provision shall not be affected.
        (c) Except as expressly provided in section 5(b)(2) of this order,
    nothing in the pledges or in this order is intended to create any right
    or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law by a party
    against the United States, its agencies, its officers, or any person.
                                                William J. Clinton
    The White House,
    January 20, 1993.

    [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 12:29 p.m., January 21,
    1993]

    Note: This Executive order was published in the Federal Register on
    January 22.

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