H.R. 745 — what changed
Executive Branch Comprehensive Ethics Enforcement Act of 2019
From Introduced in House to Reported in House. 2 sections amended between Introduced in House and Reported in House.
Sec. 4 Duties of Director of the Office of Government Ethics
changed
In general— Section 402(b) 402(a) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended—amended by striking “, in consultation with the Office of Personnel Management,”.
added
Responsibilities of the Director— Section 402(b) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended—
renumbered
was (2)(3)
in paragraph (1)—
added
by striking “developing, in consultation with the Attorney General and the Office of Personnel Management, rules and regulations to be promulgated by the President or the Director” and inserting “developing and promulgating rules and regulations”; and
removed
by striking “developing, in consultation” and inserting “consulting”;
removed
by striking “Management, rules, and regulations to be promulgated by the President or the Director,” and inserting “Management for input on the promulgation of rules and regulations to be promulgated by the Director”; and
renumbered
was (2)(3)(4)
by striking “title II” and inserting “title I”;
renumbered
was (2)(4)
by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:
“(2) providing mandatory education and training programs for designated agency ethics officials, which may be delegated to each agency or the White House Counsel as deemed appropriate by the Director;”
renumbered
was (2)(5)
in paragraph (3), by striking “title II” and inserting “title I”;
renumbered
was (2)(6)
in paragraph (4), by striking “problems” and inserting “issues”;
added
in paragraph (6)—
added
by striking “issued by the President or the Director”; and
added
by striking “problems” and inserting “issues”;
removed
in paragraph (6), by striking “problems” and inserting “issues”;
renumbered
was (2)(8)
in paragraph (7)—
renumbered
was (2)(8)(2)
by striking “, when requested,”; and
renumbered
was (2)(8)(3)
by striking “conflict of interest problems” and inserting “conflicts of interest, as well as other ethics issues”;
renumbered
was (2)(9)
in paragraph (9)—
added
by striking “ordering” and inserting “receiving allegations of violations of this Act or regulations of the Office of Government Ethics and, when necessary, investigating an allegation to determine whether a violation occurred, and ordering”; and
removed
by striking “ordering” and inserting “receiving allegations of violations of this Act and, when necessary, investigating an allegation to determine whether a violation occurred, and ordering”; and
renumbered
was (2)(9)(3)
by inserting before the semi-colon the following: “, and recommending appropriate disciplinary action”;
renumbered
was (2)(10)
in paragraph (12)—
renumbered
was (2)(10)(2)
by striking “evaluating, with the assistance of” and inserting “promulgating, with input from”;
renumbered
was (2)(10)(3)
by striking “the need for”; and
renumbered
was (2)(10)(4)
by striking “conflict of interest and ethical problems” and inserting “conflict of interest and ethics issues”;
renumbered
was (2)(11)
in paragraph (13)—
renumbered
was (2)(11)(2)
by striking “with the Attorney General” and inserting “with the Inspectors General and the Attorney General”;
renumbered
was (2)(11)(3)
by striking “violations of the conflict of interest laws” and inserting “conflict of interest issues and allegations of violations of ethics laws and regulations and this Act”; and
renumbered
was (2)(11)(4)
by striking “, as required by section 535 of title 28, United States Code”;
renumbered
was (2)(12)
in paragraph (14), by striking “and” at the end;
renumbered
was (2)(13)
in paragraph (15)—
added
by striking “, in consultation with the Office of Personnel Management,”;
renumbered
was (2)(13)(2)
by striking “title II” and inserting “title I”; and
renumbered
was (2)(13)(3)
by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and
renumbered
was (2)(14)
by adding at the end the following:
“(16) directing and providing final approval, when determined appropriate by the Director, for designated agency ethics officials regarding the resolution of conflicts of interest as well as any other ethics issues under the purview of this Act in individual cases; and
“(17) reviewing and approving, when determined appropriate by the Director, any recusals, exemptions, or waivers from the conflicts of interest and ethics laws, rules, and regulations and making approved recusals, exemptions, and waivers made publicly available by the relevant agency available in a central location on the official website of the Office of Government Ethics.”
added
Written procedures— Paragraph (1) of section 402(d) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended—
added
by striking “, by the exercise of any authority otherwise available to the Director under this title,”;
added
by striking “the agency is”; and
added
by inserting after “filed by” the following: “, or written documentation of recusals, waivers, or ethics authorizations relating to,”.
removed
Written procedures— Section 402(d) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended in paragraph (1)—
removed
by striking “, by the exercise of any authority otherwise available to the Director under this title,”; and
removed
by striking “the agency is”.
renumbered
was (4)
Corrective actions— Section 402(f) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended—
renumbered
was (4)(3)
in paragraph (1)—
renumbered
was (4)(3)(2)
in clause (i) of subparagraph (A), by striking “of such agency”; and
added
in subparagraph (B), by inserting before the period at the end “and determine that a violation of this Act has occurred and issue appropriate administrative or legal remedies as prescribed in paragraph (2)”;
removed
in subparagraph (B), by inserting at the end before the period the following: “and determine that a violation of this Act has occurred and issue appropriate administrative or legal remedies as prescribed in paragraph (2)”;
renumbered
was (4)(4)
in paragraph (2)—
renumbered
was (4)(4)(2)
in subparagraph (A)—
renumbered
was (4)(4)(2)(2)
in clause (ii)—
added
in subclause (I)—
added
by inserting “to the President or the President’s designee if the matter involves employees of the Executive Office of the President or” after “may recommend”;
added
by striking “and” at the end; and
removed
in subclause (I), by inserting “to the President or the President’s designee if the matter involves employees of the Executive Office of the President or” after “may recommend”; and
renumbered
was (4)(4)(2)(2)(3)
in subclause (II)—
renumbered
was (4)(4)(2)(2)(3)(2)
by inserting “President or” after “determines that the”; and
renumbered
was (4)(4)(2)(2)(3)(3)
by adding “and” at the end;
renumbered
was (4)(4)(2)(3)
in subclause (II) of clause (iii)—
added
by striking “notify, in writing,” and inserting “advise the President or order”;
added
by inserting “to take appropriate disciplinary action including reprimand, suspension, demotion, or dismissal against the officer or employee (provided, however, that any order issued by the Director shall not affect an employee’s right to appeal a disciplinary action under applicable law, regulation, collective bargaining agreement, or contractual provision).” after “employee’s agency”; and
added
by striking “of the officer’s or employee’s noncompliance, except that, if the officer or employee involved is the agency head, the notification shall instead be submitted to the President; and”; and
removed
by striking “notify in writing,” and inserting “advise the President in writing or order”;
removed
by inserting “take appropriate disciplinary action including reprimand, suspension, demotion, or dismissal against the officer or employee” after “employee’s agency”;
removed
by striking “of the officer’s or employee’s noncompliance, except that, if the officer or employee involved is the agency head, the notification shall instead be submitted to the President and Congress and”; and
removed
by striking “; and” at the end and inserting a period; and
renumbered
was (4)(4)(2)(4)
by striking clause (iv);
renumbered
was (4)(4)(3)
in subparagraph (B)(i)—
renumbered
was (4)(4)(3)(2)
by striking “subparagraph (A)(iii) or (iv)” and inserting “subparagraph (A)”;
renumbered
was (4)(4)(3)(3)
by inserting “(I) ” before “In order to”; and
renumbered
was (4)(4)(3)(4)
by adding at the end the following:
“(II)
“(aa) The Director may secure directly from any agency information necessary to enable the Director to carry out this Act. Upon request of the Director, the head of such agency shall furnish that information to the Director.
“(bb) The Director may require by subpoena the production of all information, documents, reports, answers, records, accounts, papers, and other data in any medium and documentary evidence necessary in the performance of the functions assigned by this Act, which subpoena, in the case of refusal to obey, shall be enforceable by order of any appropriate United States district court.”
renumbered
was (4)(4)(4)
in subparagraph (B)(ii)(I)—
renumbered
was (4)(4)(4)(2)
by striking “Subject to clause (iv) of this subparagraph, before” and inserting “Before”; and
renumbered
was (4)(4)(4)(3)
by striking “subparagraphs (A) (iii) or (iv)” and inserting “subparagraph (A)(iii)”;
renumbered
was (4)(4)(5)
in subparagraph (B)(iii), by striking “Subject to clause (iv) of this subparagraph, before” and inserting “Before”; and
renumbered
was (4)(4)(6)
in subparagraph (B)(iv)—
renumbered
was (4)(4)(6)(2)
by striking “title 2” and inserting “title I”; and
added
by striking “section 206” and inserting “section 106”; and
added
in paragraph (4), by striking “(iv),”.
removed
by striking “section 206” and inserting “section 104”;
removed
in paragraph (4), by striking “(iv),”; and
removed
by striking paragraph (5) and inserting the following:
removed
“(5)
removed
“(A) The Office of Government Ethics shall provide, on the official website of the Office, public access to records made available by agencies of all conflicts of interest and ethics laws, rules and regulations, recusals, waivers and exemptions, ethics advisory opinions, ethics agreements of senior executive branch personnel and employee certificates of divestiture, financial disclosure reports, compliance reviews, enforcement actions, and any other public records concerning conflicts of interest and ethics records for the executive branch required by law.
removed
“(B) All financial disclosure reports and records related to conflict of interest waivers and other records of ethics determinations deemed public information by the Director or by law shall be made available to the public either by internet link to such information if publicly available, or at no charge on the website of the Office of Government Ethics in a searchable, sortable, and downloadable format, and at reasonable fees for reproduction of paper documents at the Office of Government Ethics.”
renumbered
was (5)
Definitions— Section 402 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(g) For purposes of this title—
“(1) the term “agency” shall include the Executive Office of the President; and
“(2) the term “officer or employee” shall include any individual occupying a position, providing any official services, or acting in an advisory capacity, in the White House or the Executive Office of the President.
“(h) In this title, a reference to the head of an agency shall include the President or the President’s designee.
“(i) The Director shall not be required to obtain the prior approval, comment, or review of any officer or agency of the United States, including the Office of Management and Budget, before submitting to Congress, or any committee or subcommittee thereof, any information, reports, recommendations, testimony, or comments, if such submissions include a statement indicating that the views expressed therein are those of the Director and do not necessarily represent the views of the President.”
Sec. 5 Agency Ethics Officials Training and Duties
added
In general— Section 403 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended—
added
in subsection (a), by adding a period at the end of the matter following paragraph (2); and
added
by adding at the end the following:
added “(c)
added “(1) All designated agency ethics officials and alternate designated agency ethics officials shall register with the Director as well as with the appointing authority of the official.
added “(2) The Director shall provide ethics education and training to all designated and alternate designated agency ethics officials in a time and manner deemed appropriate by the Director.
added “(3) Each designated agency ethics official and each alternate designated agency ethics official shall biannually attend ethics education and training, as provided by the Director under paragraph (2).
added “(d) Each Designated Agency Ethics Official, including the Designated Agency Ethics Official for the Executive Office of the President—
added “(1) shall provide to the Director, in writing, in a searchable, sortable, and downloadable format, all approvals, authorizations, certifications, compliance reviews, determinations, directed divestitures, public financial disclosure reports, notices of deficiency in compliance, records related to the approval or acceptance of gifts, recusals, regulatory or statutory advisory opinions, waivers, including waivers under section 207 or 208 of title 18, United States Code, and any other records designated by the Director, unless disclosure is prohibited by law;
added “(2) shall, for all information described in paragraph (1) that is permitted to be disclosed to the public under law, make the information available to the public by publishing the information on the website of the Office of Government Ethics, providing a link to download an electronic copy of the information, or providing printed paper copies of such information to the public; and
added “(3) may charge a reasonable fee for the cost of providing paper copies of the information pursuant to paragraph (2).
added “(e)
added “(1) For all information that is provided by an agency to the Director under paragraph (1) of subsection (d), the Director shall make the information available to the public in a searchable, sortable, downloadable format by publishing the information on the website of the Office of Government Ethics or providing a link to download an electronic copy of the information.
added “(2) The Director may, upon request, provide printed paper copies of the information published under paragraph (1) and charge a reasonable fee for the cost of printing such copies.”
added
Repeal— Section 408 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is hereby repealed.
removed
Section 403 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
removed
“(c)
removed
“(1) All designated agency ethics officials and alternate designated agency ethics officials shall register with, and report to, the Director as well as with the appointing authority of the official.
removed
“(2) The Director shall provide ethics education and training to all designated and alternate designated agency ethics officials in a time and manner deemed appropriate by the Director.
removed
“(d)
removed
“(1) The head of each agency shall ensure that all records and information provided to the Director under this Act shall be provided, to the greatest extent practicable, in a searchable, sortable, and downloadable format.
removed
“(2) The head of each agency shall post on the official website of the agency each recusal, waiver, exemption, ethics advisory opinion, ethics agreement, and certificate of divestiture issued by the agency under this Act and its implanting regulations.”