Sec. 103. Conflicts of interest law expansions
1,103 words·~5 min read·
/bill/115/s/3357/is/section-103·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Section 208 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: In this subsection, the term Executive agency has the meaning given the term in section 101 of the Anti-Corruption and Public Integrity Act . No officer or employee of an Executive agency may own or trade any individual stock, bond, commodity, future, and other form of security, including an interest in a hedge fund, a derivative, option, or other complex investment vehicle if the Director of the Office of Public Integrity (or the designated agency ethics official of the agency that employs the individual) determines that the value of the stock or security may be directly influenced by an action of the Executive agency.
Subparagraph
(A)shall not apply to— a widely held investment fund described in section 102(f)(8) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 ( 5 App. U.S.C. 102(f)(8) ), if such investment meets the requirements described in section 105(b)(2) of the Anti-Corruption and Public Integrity Act ; shares of Settlement Common Stock issued under section 7(g)(1)(A) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act ( 43 U.S.C. 1606(g)(1)(A) ); or shares of Settlement Common Stock, as defined in section 3 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act ( 43 U.S.C. 1602 ). Whoever violates subparagraph
(A)shall be punished as provided in section 216. The Director of the Office of Public Integrity may waive subparagraph
(A)for an officer or employee of an Executive agency on a case-by-case basis if the Director— determines that there is no possibility for, or the appearance of, a conflict of interest; or approves a plan for necessary recusals that ensures that no conflict of interest exists. Except as provided in subparagraphs
(B)and (C), each officer and employee of any Executive agency shall be recused from, and may not in any way attempt to use their official position to influence, any particular matter, including an adjudication, procurement, or rulemaking, that the officer or employee knows is likely to have a direct and predictable effect on the financial interest of— any person for whom the officer or employee had, during the previous 4-year period, served as an officer, director, trustee, general partner, agent, attorney, consultant, contractor, employee, or direct competitor; or any organization other than a political organization described in section 527(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 in which the employee is an active participant. This paragraph shall not apply to— the President; the Vice President; any individual in a position on any level of the Executive Schedule under subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 5; any individual appointed to a position in an Executive agency by and with the advice and consent of the Senate; an officer or employee who served as an officer, director, trustee, general partner, agent, attorney, consultant, contractor, or employee of a tribal organization (as defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act ( 25 U.S.C. 5304 )) or an intertribal consortium of federally recognized Indian tribes with respect to a matter that is likely to have a direct and predictable effect on the financial interest of the tribal organization or intertribal consortium; or any individual who receives a waiver under subparagraph (C). The Director of Public Integrity may waive the requirements of this paragraph for any officer or employee (except individuals described in clause (iii)(III)). Officers and employees may only apply to the Director of Public Integrity for a waiver under this subparagraph if the individual agrees to comply with the Conflicts of Interest Rules for Senior Government Officials in subsections
(a)and
(c)of section 105 of the Anti-Corruption and Public Integrity Act . A waiver made under this subparagraph— shall be made publicly available and searchable; shall include a justification sent to Congress for why the waiver is in the national interest; and may not be granted if the individual received a waiver under section 102(a)(1)(C) of the Anti-Corruption and Public Integrity Act . The Director of Public Integrity may deny a waiver under this subparagraph for any reason. . Except as provided in paragraph (5), no senior government official in the legislative branch (including Members of Congress) may own or trade any individual stock, bonds, commodity, future, and other form of security, including an interest in a hedge fund, a derivative, option, or other complex investment vehicle. No officer or employee of a committee of either House of Congress may maintain, own, or trade any substantial holdings (including individual stocks and securities) which may be directly affected by the actions of the committee for which the individual works, unless the Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate or the Committee on Ethics of the House of Representatives, as applicable, approves of such holdings in writing after consultation with the supervisor of the officer or employee and the Office of Congressional Ethics. No Member, officer, or employee of a committee or Member of either House of Congress may knowingly use his or her official position to introduce or aid the progress or passage of legislation, a principal purpose of which is to further only his or her pecuniary interest, only the pecuniary interest of his or her immediate family, or only the pecuniary interest of a limited class of persons or enterprises, when he or she, or his or her immediate family, or enterprises controlled by them, are members of the affected class. An officer or employee of a committee or Member of either House of Congress, who is not a senior government employee covered by paragraph (1), shall be in violation of paragraph
(3)if— the officer or employee owns or trades individual stocks or securities; and the value of such stocks or securities may be influenced by actions taken by the individual in his or her official position, as determined by the Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate or the Committee on Ethics of the House of Representatives, as applicable, in consultation with the Office of Congressional Ethics. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prevent an employee or officials of a Member of Congress or a Member of Congress from owning— a widely held investment fund described in section 102(f)(8) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 ( 5 App. U.S.C. 102(f)(8) ), if the investment meets the requirements described in section 105(b)(2); shares of Settlement Common Stock issued under section 7(g)(1)(A) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act ( 43 U.S.C. 1606(g)(1)(A) ); or shares of Settlement Common Stock, as defined in section 3 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act ( 43 U.S.C. 1602 ).
Connectionstraces to 3
Traces to 3 documents
Citation graph
cites case law
Cites 3Cited by 0 across 0 sources