[104th Congress Public Law 177]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]


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[DOCID: f:publ177.104]


[[Page 110 STAT. 1563]]

Public Law 104-177
104th Congress

                                 An Act


 
To amend title 18 of the United States Code to allow members of employee 
     associations to represent their views before the United States 
           Government. <<NOTE:  Aug. 6, 1996 -  [H.R. 782]>> 

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress <<NOTE: Federal Employee 
Representation Improvement Act of 1996.>> assembled,

SECTION 1. <<NOTE: 18 USC 201 note.>> SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Employee Representation 
Improvement Act of 1996''.

SEC. 2. REPRESENTATION BY FEDERAL OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES.

    (a) Extension of Exemption to Prohibition.--Subsection (d) of 
section 205 of title 18, United States Code, is amended to read as 
follows:
    ``(d)(1) Nothing in subsection (a) or (b) prevents an officer or 
employee, if not inconsistent with the faithful performance of that 
officer's or employee's duties, from acting without compensation as 
agent or attorney for, or otherwise representing--
            ``(A) any person who is the subject of disciplinary, 
        loyalty, or other personnel administration proceedings in 
        connection with those proceedings; or
            ``(B) except as provided in paragraph (2), any cooperative, 
        voluntary, professional, recreational, or similar organization 
        or group not established or operated for profit, if a majority 
        of the organization's or groups's members are current officers 
        or employees of the United States or of the District of 
        Columbia, or their spouses or dependent children.

    ``(2) Paragraph (1)(B) does not apply with respect to a covered 
matter that--
            ``(A) is a claim under subsection (a)(1) or (b)(1);
            ``(B) is a judicial or administrative proceeding where the 
        organization or group is a party; or
            ``(C) involves a grant, contract, or other agreement 
        (including a request for any such grant, contract, or agreement) 
        providing for the disbursement of Federal funds to the 
        organization or group.''.

    (b) Application to Labor-Management Relations.--Section 205 of title 
18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(i) Nothing in this section prevents an employee from acting 
pursuant to--
            ``(1) chapter 71 of title 5;
            ``(2) section 1004 or chapter 12 of title 39;
            ``(3) section 3 of the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 
        1933 (16 U.S.C. 831b);

[[Page 110 STAT. 1564]]

            ``(4) chapter 10 of title I of the Foreign Service Act of 
        1980 (22 U.S.C. 4104 et seq.); or
            ``(5) any provision of any other Federal or District of 
        Columbia law that authorizes labor-management relations between 
        an agency or instrumentality of the United States or the 
        District of Columbia and any labor organization that represents 
        its employees.''.

    Approved August 6, 1996.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.R. 782:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

HOUSE REPORTS: No. 104-230 (Comm. on the Judiciary).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD:
                                                        Vol. 141 (1995):
                                    Oct. 24, considered and passed 
                                        House.
                                                        Vol. 142 (1996):
                                    July 25, considered and passed 
                                        Senate, amended.
                                    Aug. 1, House concurred in Senate 
                                        amendment.