[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2291 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2291
To amend section 7342 of title 5, United States Code, to require
agencies to submit to the Office of Government Ethics and the
Department of State the compiled listing of certain statements relating
to the receipt and disposition of foreign gifts and decorations, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 24, 2025
Mr. Donalds (for himself and Mr. Golden of Maine) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend section 7342 of title 5, United States Code, to require
agencies to submit to the Office of Government Ethics and the
Department of State the compiled listing of certain statements relating
to the receipt and disposition of foreign gifts and decorations, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Gift Accountability, Reporting, and
Disclosures Act'' or the ``GARD Act''.
SEC. 2. RECEIPT AND DISPOSITION OF FOREIGN GIFTS AND DECORATIONS.
(a) Revisions to the Process Requiring Compilation of Statements by
Federal Employees.--Section 7342 of title 5, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) by redesignating subparagraph (G) as
subparagraph (H);
(ii) by inserting after subparagraph (F)
the following new subparagraph:
``(G) a candidate as defined in section 301 of the
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101)
for nomination or election to the office of President,
Vice President, or Member of Congress;'';
(iii) in subparagraph (H) (as resdesignated
in clause (i))--
(I) by striking ``(F)'' and
inserting ``(G)'' in each place it
occurs; and
(II) by striking ``a dependent
(within the meaning of section 152 of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986)''
and inserting: ``a relative (as defined
in section 13101)''; and
(B) in paragraph (2)--
(i) in subparagraph (B), by striking the
``and'' at the end;
(ii) in subparagraph (C), by adding at the
end ``and''; and
(iii) by adding at the end the following
new subparagraph:
``(D) any individual or entity that is not a United
States citizen, a permanent resident alien, or an
entity organized under the laws of the United States or
any jurisdiction within the United States;'';
(C) in paragraph (6)--
(i) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``;
and'';
(ii) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as
subparagraph (G); and
(iii) by inserting after subparagraph (C),
the following new subparagraphs:
``(D) the Federal Electoral Commission, for
candidates in an election for President, Vice
President, and Member of Congress, except as provided
in subparagraphs (E) and (F);
``(E) the Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate,
for a candidate in an election for the Federal office
of Senator who is serving as a Senator;
``(F) the Committee on Standards of Official
Conduct of the House of Representatives, for a
candidate in an election for the Federal office of
Member of the House of Representatives who is serving
as a Member; and'';
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking the ``or'' at the
end;
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the
end and inserting ``; or''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
``(3) accept a gift from a country of concern as designated
by the Secretary of State.'';
(3) in subsection (c)(3), by inserting ``terminating the
official use of a gift under subparagraph (B) or'' before
``accepting travel'';
(4) in subsection (f)--
(A) paragraph (1)--
(i) by striking ``January 31'' and
inserting ``May 15'';
(ii) by inserting ``Office of Government
Ethics and the'' before ``Secretary of State'';
(iii) by striking ``State who shall'' and
inserting ``State. The Secretary of State
shall''; and
(iv) by striking the period and inserting
at the end ``within 30 days after May 15 of the
filing year.'';
(B) in paragraph (2)--
(i) in subparagraph (B), by striking
``brief'';
(ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``,
if known,'';
(iii) by amending subparagraph (E) to read
as follows:
``(E) the estimated fair market value in the United
States of the gift at the time of acceptance as
determined by retail prices, price of comparable items,
or appraisal;'';
(iv) by redesignating subparagraph (F) as
subparagraph (G);
(v) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the
following:
``(F) the Personal Property Management Foreign Gift
Inventory Control Number (PPM) of gifts transferred to
the Government Services Administration and any internal
gift tracking number relevant to the current location
and final disposition of the gift; and''; and
(vi) by amending subparagraph (G), as
redesignated under clause (iv), to read as
follows:
``(G) current location and final disposition of the
gift using any of the following descriptions:
``(i) Purchased by recipient.
``(ii) Deposited with the National Archives
and Records Administration.
``(iii) Retained for official use by
agency.
``(iv) Approved by employing agency for
official use by employee.
``(v) Transferred according to agency
policy.
``(vi) Processed according to agency
guidance.'';
(C) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking ``brief''; and
(D) in paragraph (4)--
(i) in subparagraph (A)--
(I) by striking ``delete'' and
inserting ``redact''; and
(II) by inserting ``Office of
Government Ethics and the'' after ``in
writing to the''; and
(ii) in subparagraph (B), by inserting
``Office of Government Ethics and the'' after
``provided to the'';
(5) in subsection (g)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) by striking ``Each employing agency
shall'' and inserting ``Each employing agency,
or a designated agency ethics official as
defined in section 13101, and in coordination
with the Office of Government Ethics, shall'';
and
(ii) by inserting ``the Office of
Government Ethics and'' before ``the Secretary
of State'';
(B) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph
(3); and
(C) by adding after paragraph (1) the following new
paragraph:
``(3) Each employing agency--
``(A) shall impose a $200 late fee for any employee who
files a statement 30 days after the date on which such
statement is required to be submitted; and
``(B) may waive the fee described in subparagraph (A) if a
determination is made by the employing agency, or a designated
agency ethics official as defined in section 13101, that an
employee has good cause for the late submission.''; and
(6) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(l) Not later than 120 days after enactment of the GARD Act, each
employing agency shall adapt systems to enable public access to the
listings under this section in a manner similar to the public access of
financial disclosure reports required under chapter 131.''.
(b) Application.--The amendments by this Act shall apply to any
individual required to submit a statement under section 7342 of title
5, United States Code, within 30 days after the date of enactment of
this Act.
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