Sec. 555. Review process of submissions
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Any citizen of the United States, including a Member or employee of Congress, may submit to the Office an allegation of a violation or any material information regarding an alleged violation, by a Member or employee of Congress of any law (including any regulation), rule, or other standard of conduct applicable to the conduct of such Member or employee in the performance of the duties, or the discharge of the responsibilities, of the Member or employee, subject to subparagraph
(B)and paragraph (4). The Board may not accept citizen submissions regarding the conduct of a Member filed in the— 30 days prior to a primary election for which the Member in question is a candidate; and 60 days prior to a general election for which the Member in question is a candidate. A member of the Board or an employee of the Office may submit an allegation of a violation by a Member or employee of Congress of any law (including any regulation), rule, or other standard of conduct applicable to the conduct of such Member or employee in the performance of the duties, or the discharge of the responsibilities, of the Member or employee. Any submission under paragraph
(1)shall include a signed statement acknowledging that the individual submitting the allegation or material information understands that section 1001 of title 18, United States Code (popularly known as the False Statements Act ), applies to the allegation or information the individual is submitting. The Board shall not accept any submission under paragraph (1)(A) from an individual who has previously violated section 1001 of title 18, United States Code, with respect to this subtitle. Upon receipt of a submission filed under paragraph
(1)or
(2)that meets the requirements of this subsection and that the Office determines contains a material allegation of a violation, or material information, described in paragraph (1)(A), the Office shall refer the submission to the Board for consideration under the review process described in subsection (b). After receiving a submission under subsection (a)(5), 2 or more members of the Board may submit a joint written statement to all members of the Board authorizing the Office to undertake a preliminary review of any alleged violation by a Member or employee of Congress of any law (including any regulation), rule, or other standard of conduct applicable to the conduct of such Member or employee in the performance of the duties, or the discharge of the responsibilities, of the Member or employee, along with a brief description of the specific matter. Not later than 7 business days after receipt of an authorization statement from 2 or more members of the Board under paragraph (1), the Board shall— instruct the Office to initiate a preliminary review of the alleged violation; and provide a written notification of the commencement of the preliminary review, including a statement of the nature of the review, to— the applicable ethics committee; any individual who is the subject of the preliminary review; and the Director of the Office of Public Integrity. At any time, the Board may, by a majority vote, terminate a preliminary review on any ground, including that the matter under review is de minimis in nature. If the Board votes to terminate the preliminary review— the review process under this section is completed and no further actions shall be taken; and the Board— shall notify, in writing, the individual who was the subject of the preliminary review, the Director of the Office of Public Integrity, and the applicable ethics committee, of its decision to terminate the review of the matter; and may, in any case where the Board votes to terminate the preliminary review, send a report, including any findings of the Board, to the applicable ethics committee and to the Director of the Office of Public Integrity. After the preliminary review conducted under paragraph
(2)is completed, the Board shall vote on whether to authorize a second-phase review of the matter under consideration. If there is an affirmative vote of 4 or more members of the Board to authorize the second-phase review, the Board shall authorize the second-phase review process in accordance with subparagraph (B). If a vote to authorize a second-phase review under clause
(i)does not succeed, the review process under this section shall be completed and no further actions shall be taken. The Board— shall notify, in writing, the individual who was the subject of the preliminary review, the Director of the Office of Public Integrity, and the applicable ethics committee, of its decision to authorize a second-phase review of the matter or to terminate the review process; and may, in any case where the Board decides to terminate the review process of the violation under clause (ii), send a report, including any findings of the Board, to the applicable ethics committee and to the Director of the Office of Public Integrity. In any case where a second-phase review is required, the Board shall authorize the Office to commence, and complete, a second-phase review. Upon the completion of any second-phase review, the Board shall— evaluate the review and determine, based on a majority vote, whether— the applicable ethics committee should dismiss the matter that was the subject of such review, which may be made on any ground, including that the matter under review is de minimis in nature; the matter requires further review by the applicable ethics committee; or the applicable ethics committee should take action relating to the matter, including any recommendation for the disciplinary action or sanctions that the committee should take; transmit to the applicable ethics committee a written report that includes— a statement of the nature of the review and the Member or employee of Congress who is the subject of the review, including any alleged violations uncovered in either the preliminary or second-phase review; any recommendations of the Board based on votes conducted under clause (i), or a statement that the matter is unresolved because of a tie vote of the Board or a failure to meet the majority vote threshold established under section 553(c)(3); a description of the number of members voting in the affirmative and in the negative for any action described in clause (i); any findings of the Board, including— any findings of fact; a description of any relevant information that the Board was unable to obtain or witnesses whom the Board was unable to interview, and the reasons therefor; and a citation of any relevant law, regulation, or standard of conduct relating to the violation; and any supporting documentation; transmit to the individual who is the subject of the second-phase review the written report of the Board described in clause (ii); transmit to the Director of the Office of Public Integrity the written report of the Board described in clause (ii), and may include any recommendations for action by the Director that the Board may recommend; and make public, on a website maintained by the Office, the written report of the Board described in clause (ii), unless a majority of the members of the Board vote to withhold the report from the public where public disclosure could compromise the ability of the applicable ethics committee or a law enforcement agency to act on an alleged ethics violation. Upon the completion of any second-phase review, the Board— may, upon a majority vote, reprimand, in writing, the alleged violator for potential violations of the law; in any case where a reprimand under clause
(i)is issued, shall provide a copy of the reprimand to— the presiding officer of the House of Congress in which the alleged violator serves (if such individual is a Member of Congress); or the alleged violator’s employer, if the individual is an employee of Congress; and may make the reprimand available to the public. Notwithstanding any other provision of this subtitle, upon receipt of a written request from an applicable ethics committee that the Board cease its review of any matter and refer such matter to the committee because the committee has voted to open an investigation of such matter by the committee or by an investigatory subcommittee of the committee, the Board shall refer such matter to the committee, cease its preliminary or second-phase review, as applicable, of that matter and so notify any individual who is the subject of the review. In any such case, the Board shall send a written report to the committee containing a statement that, upon the request of that committee, the matter is referred to it for its consideration. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to prevent the Board from sending any information regarding the matter to the Director of the Office of Public Integrity or to other law enforcement agencies. If the applicable ethics committee notifies the Board in writing that it is unable to resolve any matter described in paragraph (1), the Board may begin or continue, as the case may be, a second-phase review of the matter in accordance with subsection (b)(3). Members of the Board or employees of the Office may, during either an initial review or second-phase review— administer oaths; require, by subpoena or otherwise, the attendance and testimony of such witnesses and the production of such books, records, correspondence, accounts, memoranda, papers, documents, tapes, and materials as the Board or the Office considers advisable; take the deposition of witnesses; and conduct general audits of filings under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 ( 2 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.). Any witness interviewed as part of a review under this section shall sign a statement acknowledging that the witness understands that section 1001 of title 18, United States Code (popularly known as the False Statements Act ) applies to the testimony of the witness and to any documents the witness provides. Witnesses appearing before the Office may be paid in the same manner as prescribed by clause 5 of rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act. There shall be no ex parte communications between any member of the Board or employee of the Office and any individual who is the subject of any review by the Board or between any member of the Board and any interested party, and no Member or employee of the Congress may communicate with any member of the Board or employee of the Office regarding any matter under review by the Board except as authorized by the Board. If a person disobeys or refuses to comply with a subpoena, or if a witness refuses to testify to a matter, the Board may recommend to the applicable ethics committee that such person be held in contempt of Congress.
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Sec. 555
Review process of submissions
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