[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- 

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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

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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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