Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “No Getting Rich in Congress Act”.
No Getting Rich in Congress Act
A BILL
To require new ethics obligations and restrictions for Members of Congress, their spouse, and dependents, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Restrictions on trade of covered investments
Restrictions— Chapter 131 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
“IV Restrictions on trade of covered investments
“13151. Definitions
“In this subchapter:
“(1) Commodity—The term commodity—
“(A) has the meaning given the term in section 1a of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1a); and
“(B) does not include a precious metal (as defined in section 1027.100 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations).
“(2) Covered individual—The term covered individual means any of the following:
“(A) A Member of Congress as defined in section 13101.
“(B) The President.
“(C) The Vice President.
“(D) A candidate (as defined in section 301 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101)) for nomination for election or for election to the office of President, Vice President, or Senator or Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, Congress, beginning on the date the candidate designates or redesignates a political committee (as required in section 302(e) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30102(e))), and ending on the earlier of—
“(i) the date the candidate announces the suspension of the candidate’s campaign for such nomination or office;
“(ii) the date the candidate withdraws from the election or concedes the election for such nomination or office; or
“(iii) the date the oath of office for such office is given to the candidate.
“(E) A dependent child (as that term is defined in section 13101) or a spouse an individual described in subparagraph (A) through (D) of this paragraph.
“(3) Covered investment—The term covered investment—
“(A) means an investment in a digital asset, a security, a commodity, a future, or any comparable economic interest acquired through synthetic means, such as the use of a derivative, including an option, warrant, or other similar means; and
“(B) does not include—
“(i) a widely held investment fund that is diversified and publicly traded on a national or regional stock exchange;
“(ii) a United States Treasury bill, note, or bond;
“(iii) a State or municipal government bill, note, or bond; or
“(iv) any compensation received by the spouse or dependent child of a covered official from their employer.
“(4) Digital asset—The term digital asset has the meaning given the term in section 6045(g)(3)(D) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 6045(g)(3)(D)).
“(5) Diversified—The term diversified, with respect to an investment fund, means such fund does not have a stated policy of concentrating its investments in any industry, business, single country other than the United States, or bonds of a single State within the United States except for the State in which the Member of Congress resides.
“(6) Future—The term future means a financial contract obligating the buyer to purchase an asset or the seller to sell an asset, such as a physical commodity or a financial investment, at a predetermined future date and price.
“(7) Security—The term security has the meaning given the term in section 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)).
“(8) Supervising ethics office—The term supervising ethics office has the meaning given that term in section 13101.
“13152. Trade of covered investments
“(a) Conduct—Except as described in subsection (b), no covered individual may, directly or indirectly, buy or sell a covered investment, unless such covered investment is located in a qualified blind trust.
“(b) Occupational exception—A covered individual described in section 13151(2)(C) may buy or sell any covered investment if such covered investment is not owned by a covered individual and if such trade is performed as a function of the primary occupation of the spouse or dependent child.
“(c) Disclosure—A covered individual shall provide information or materials on a quarterly basis to the supervising ethics office to ensure that the covered individual is in compliance with the provisions of this subchapter.
“13153. Penalties
“(a) In general—A violation of the restrictions on trading or ownership of covered investments in section 13152 shall be handled as follows:
“(1) With respect to a violation by any individual described in any of subparagraphs (A) through (C) of section 13151(2), at the direction of the supervising ethics office, payment into the Treasury in an amount equal to the sum of—
“(A) the profits of any transaction that violates the provisions of this subchapter; and
“(B) if determined applicable and appropriate by the supervising ethics office, an amount equal to three times the value of the covered investment at issue.
“(2) With respect to any individual described in subparagraph (D) or (E) of section 13151(2), the Attorney General shall assess a civil penalty in an amount equal to the sum of—
“(A) the profits of any transaction that violates the provisions of this subchapter; and
“(B) if determined applicable and appropriate by the Attorney General, an amount equal to three times the value of the covered investment at issue.
“(b) Payment restrictions—A Member of Congress or candidate may not pay any of the penalties under this section by using amounts from the following sources:
“(1) The Members’ Representational Allowance.
“(2) The Senators’ Official Personnel and Office Expense Account.
“(3) Any contribution (as defined in section 301(8) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101(8))) accepted as a candidate, or any other donation received as support for activities of the individual as a holder of Federal office.
“(c) Publication—Each supervising ethics office shall publish on a publicly available website a description of—
“(1) each violation of this subchapter as determined by the supervising ethics office; and
“(2) the penalty assessed by the supervising ethics office with respect to each violation under paragraph (1).”
Clerical amendment— The table of sections for such chapter 131 is amended by adding at the end the following:
Sec. 3 Lifetime ban on former Members of Congress and individuals appointed to advice and consent positions from lobbying on behalf of foreign countries of concern
Section 207 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(m) Restrictions relating to foreign countries of concern
“(1) In general—Any person who is a Member of the House of Representatives, a Senator, or was appointed to a position by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and who knowingly, at any point after that person leaves office—
“(A) represents a foreign country of concern before any officer or employee of the United States Government with the intent to influence a decision of such officer or employee in carrying out his or her official duties, or
“(B) aids or advises a foreign country of concern with the intent to influence a decision of any officer or employee of the United States Government, in carrying out his or her official duties,
“(2) Foreign country of concern defined—In this subsection, the term foreign country of concern means the People’s Republic of China, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic of Iran, or any other country determined to be a country of concern by the Secretary of State.”
Sec. 4 Registration of spouses of senior Federal officials and disclosures relating to lobbying activities
Sense of Congress— It is the sense of Congress that spouses of high-ranking officials—
are afforded unique privileges of access to numerous government officials due to their close personal relationship with a high-ranking official;
often have the ability to influence a policy decision made by a government official to benefit an individual of their choosing, including themselves, or a private entity;
are not covered under the Lobbying Disclosure Act, creating loopholes ripe for exploitation for nefarious purposes, including self-enrichment; and
must be held to a higher level of scrutiny to prevent abuse of or the appearance of abuse of their close proximity to high-ranking officials.
In general—
Registration—
Current officials— Not later than 45 days after the date that guidance is issued under subsection (d), a spouse of any individual who is a covered Federal official on such date shall register with the Secretary of the Senate and Clerk of the House of Representatives.
Future officials— Not later than 45 days after the date that an individual begins service as a covered Federal official after the date that such guidance is issued, the spouse of such official shall register with the Secretary and Clerk.
Exemption— A spouse shall be exempt from this section if the spouse has registered, or is registered, with the Secretary and the Clerk in accordance with section 4 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1603).
Termination— An individual who is a spouse of a covered Federal official shall not be subject to the requirements of this section beginning on the date that is one year after—
the date the applicable Federal official is no longer a covered Federal official; or
the individual is no longer the spouse of a covered Federal official.
Disclosure—
In general— Not later than 20 days after the end of each 3-month period beginning on the first day of January, April, July, and October of each year in which a spouse is registered pursuant to subsection (b), the spouse shall disclose any covered advocacy activities during such quarterly period.
Contents of report— Each quarterly report filed under paragraph (1) shall contain—
the name of the spouse, the name of the client which received such covered advocacy activities, and any changes or updates to the information provided in the initial registration;
for each general issue in which the spouse engaged in covered advocacy activities on behalf of the client during the quarterly period—
a list of the specific issues upon which spouse engaged in covered advocacy activities, including, to the maximum extent practicable, a list of bill numbers and references to specific executive branch actions;
a statement to the Houses of Congress and the Federal agencies contacted by spouse on behalf of the client; and
a description of the interest, if any, of any foreign entity in such covered advocacy activities;
an estimate of any such expenses incurred in connection with covered advocacy activities during the quarterly period; and
for each client, immediately after listing the client, an identification of whether the client—
had an interest before a covered executive branch official (as that term is defined in section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602));
had an interest before a covered legislative branch official (as that term is defined in such section 3); and
if the registrant is a spouse of a Member of Congress, if such client has operations within the congressional district represented by such Member.
Electronic filing required— A report required to be filed under this section shall be filed in electronic form, in addition to any other form that the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House of Representatives may require.
Public disclosure— The Secretary or the Clerk shall make available for public inspection and copying at reasonable times the registrations and reports filed under this section and make such report available for public inspection over the internet as soon as practicable after the report is filed.
Guidance— Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives shall issue guidance on the implementation of this section. Such guidance shall provide for the following:
Guidance and assistance on the registration and reporting requirements of this section and common standards, rules, and procedures for compliance with this section.
Relevant administrative procedures to allow electronic filing of any registration or reporting required under this section and public disclosure of such electronic filings.
Procedures for—
reviewing and verifying the accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of registration and reports;
notifying (in writing) any spouse of a covered Federal official that the spouse may be in noncompliance with this section; and
notifying the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia that a spouse may be in noncompliance with this section if the spouse has been notified under subparagraph (B) and has failed to provide an appropriate response within the 60-day period after such notice.
Any other requirements necessary to carry out this section.
Penalties—
Civil penalty— Whoever knowingly fails to—
remedy a defective registration within 60 days after notice of notice of such a defect by the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House of Representatives; or
comply with any other provision of this section;
Criminal penalty— Whoever knowingly and corruptly fails to comply with any provision of this section shall be imprisoned for not more than 5 years or fined under title 18, United States Code, or both.
Definitions— In this section—
the term covered advocacy activity means any support provided to or work on behalf of a client for the preferred outcome of a client, including legislative or executive branch actions, which is done outside of reasonable advocacy work, such as—
any utilization of contacts made available due to the service of the covered Federal official;
any support provided to or work on behalf of a client completed by the spouse over 2 or more quarterly periods; and
any activity that qualifies as a lobbying contact (as that term is defined in section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602)); and
the term covered Federal official means a—
a Senator or a Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress; and
any individual occupying a position in the Federal Government for which appointment is required to be made by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
Sec. 5 Prohibition with respect to serving on corporate boards for Members of Congress or spouses of Members of Congress
Prohibition— Except as provided under subsection (b), a Member of Congress or the spouse of a Member of Congress may not serve as an officer or member of any board of any for-profit association, corporation, or other similar for-profit entity.
Exception—
In general— If the spouse of a Member of Congress serves as an officer or member of any board of an entity described in subsection (a) prior to the date of the enactment of this Act or prior to the date that the individual’s spouse began serving as a Member of Congress, the spouse—
may serve out the reminder of the duration of the board term held as of the date of the enactment of this Act, which may include as an officer of such board;
may not seek an officer position during the term described in subparagraph (A); and
may not serve out an additional board term, including as an officer, after the conclusion of the term described in subparagraph (A) for as long as their respective spouse serves as a Member of Congress.
Disclosure requirements—
In general— If the spouse of a Member of Congress continues to serve on a board pursuant to paragraph (1), the spouse shall submit a report to the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives disclosing such service not later than 20 days after the end of the quarterly period beginning on the first day of January, April, July, and October of each year.
Report— The report required under subparagraph (A) shall include the following:
The details of the individual’s service as an officer or member of any board of any for-profit association, corporation, or other entity.
A description of any lobbying activity carried out by the for-profit association, corporation, or other entity during that quarter, and if the spouse engaged in such activity.
Public disclosure— The Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House of Representatives, as the case may be, shall publicly disclose on their electronic website in a timely fashion any such report filed under subparagraph (A).
Member of Congress defined— In this section, the term Member of Congress means a Senator or Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress.
Sec. 6 Disclosure requirements with respect to gifts received by spouse of Members of Congress
Requirements with respect to House of Representatives— Clause 5 of rule XXV of the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended—
in paragraph (c)—
in subparagraph (1)(A), by inserting “, including a covered relative,” after “or employee of the House”;
in subparagraph (2), by inserting “, including a covered relative,” after “or employee of the House”; and
in subparagraph (3), by inserting “, including a covered relative,” after “or employee of the House”;
in paragraph (d), by inserting “, including a covered relative,” after “or employee of the House”;
in paragraph (e)—
in subparagraph (1), by inserting “, including a covered relative,” after “or employee of the House”;
in subparagraph (2), by inserting “, including a covered relative,” after “or employee of the House”;
in subparagraph (3), by inserting “, including a covered relative,” after “or employee of the House”; and
in subparagraph (4), by inserting “, including a covered relative,” after “or employees of the House”;
in paragraph (f)—
in subparagraph (1), by inserting “, including a covered relative,” after “or employee of the House”;
in subparagraph (2), by inserting “, including a covered relative,” after “Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee”; and
in subparagraph (2)(C), by inserting “, including a covered relative,” after “Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner”; and
in paragraph (g)—
in subparagraph (2), by striking “and” at the end;
in subparagraph (3), by striking the semicolon and inserting “; and”; and
by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
Application to Senate— For purposes of rule XXXV of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the requirements under paragraphs 2(c), 2(d), 2(e), 4(a), and 4(b) of such rule, including the information required to be disclosed under such paragraphs, shall apply to and include, as the case may be, an individual who is legally married to a Member of the Senate, but does not apply to or include such an individual if the individual is a lobbyist registered under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.).