Requires the head of a Federal office or agency to report to the Archivist any information regarding a presidential gift.
Requires the Archivist to: (1) make inventory information available to the public; (2) disclose to the public additional information regarding each gift from any person who makes presidential gifts in a year having a cumulative value of $100 or more; and (3) report to specified congressional committees on each disposition of a gift other than a gift from a relative or a gift having a value of less than $100.
Amends the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to prohibit the President and any spouse from: (1) accepting any gift of stock in a corporation or any gift certificate; (2) accepting gifts from a single source in a year having a cumulative value greater than $1,000, except a personalized, honorific award; (3) accepting any gift beginning on the date of a presidential election occurring during the President's term and ending on the date of the beginning of the next presidential term, unless the President is reelected for that next term; or (4) soliciting or coordinating, or seeking another to solicit or coordinate, the making of any gift to the President or spouse. Requires any gift wrongfully accepted to be returned or to become property of the United States and not deposited in a presidential archival depository. Makes this section inapplicable with respect to gifts from a foreign government or a relative.
[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1623 Introduced in House (IH)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1623
To amend title 44, United States Code, to direct the Archivist of the
United States to maintain an inventory of all gifts received from
domestic sources for the President, the Executive Residence at the
White House, or a Presidential archival depository.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 3, 2003
Mr. Ose introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Government Reform
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 44, United States Code, to direct the Archivist of the
United States to maintain an inventory of all gifts received from
domestic sources for the President, the Executive Residence at the
White House, or a Presidential archival depository.
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 ``Presidential Gifts Accountability
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) There is no clear accountability for Presidential
gifts, since multiple lists of such gifts are separately
maintained by different Federal agencies, including by the
White House Gifts Unit, the National Park Service, and the
National Archives and Records Administration.
(2) House Report 107-768, ``Problems with the Presidential
Gifts System'', presents additional information about the
complexity of and problems with the current system.
(3) The lack of a consolidated record of the receipt,
administration, and disposition of Presidential gifts creates
confusion about the status of some of those gifts.
(4) Requiring the National Archives and Records
Administration to maintain an inventory of Presidential gifts
would eliminate such confusion and ensure accountability.
SEC. 3. INVENTORY OF PRESIDENTIAL GIFTS.
(a) In General.--Chapter 22 of title 44, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 2208. Inventory of Presidential gifts
``(a) The Archivist shall maintain a current inventory of all
Presidential gifts.
``(b) The inventory shall include, with respect to each
Presidential gift, the following information:
``(1) The date of receipt by the Federal Government.
``(2) A description.
``(3) The estimated cost or appraised value.
``(4) The donor.
``(5) Any indication of whether the intent of the donor was
to make the gift to the United States or to the President
personally.
``(6) The current location and status of the gift,
including identification of the Federal agency or other person
having control of the gift.
``(c) The head of a Federal office or agency, including any unit in
the Executive Office of the President, having possession of any record
containing information regarding the receipt, location, control, or
disposition of a Presidential gift shall, upon receipt of such
information, report such information to the Archivist in accordance
with regulations issued by the Archivist under this section.
``(d)(1) The Archivist shall make available to the public, upon
request, any information in the inventory maintained under this
section.
``(2)(A) With respect to each Presidential gift in a year from any
person who makes Presidential gifts in the year having a cumulative
value of $100 or more, the Archivist shall disclose to the public by
not later than May 15 of the succeeding year the following information:
``(i) The date of receipt by the Federal Government.
``(ii) A description.
``(iii) The estimated cost or appraised value.
``(iv) The donor and the donor's employer.
``(v) The circumstance under which the gift was made.
``(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply with respect to any gift
from a foreign government (as that term is defined in section 7342(a)
of title 5).
``(e) The Archivist shall report to the Committee on Governmental
Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Government Reform of the
House of Representatives each disposition of a Presidential gift other
than a gift having a value of less than $100.
``(f)(1) The Archivist shall issue regulations implementing this
section.
``(2) The Archivist may not issue any nonbinding guidance for
purposes of this section.
``(g) In this section:
``(1) The term `gift' has the meaning that term has under
section 109 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978.
``(2) The term `Presidential gift'--
``(A) subject to subparagraph (B), means any gift
to or for the benefit of--
``(i) the President personally, the spouse
of the President, or any dependent child of the
President;
``(ii) the President in his or her official
capacity;
``(iii) the Executive Residence at the
White House; or
``(iv) a Presidential archival depository
(as that term is used in chapter 21); and
``(B) does not include a gift from a relative of an
individual to whom the gift is made.
``(3) The term `relative', with respect to an individual--
``(A) means another individual--
``(i) who is related to the individual
concerned, as father, mother, son, daughter,
brother, sister, uncle, aunt, great aunt, great
uncle, first cousin, nephew, niece, husband,
wife, grandfather, grandmother, grandson,
granddaughter, father-in-law, mother-in-law,
son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law,
sister-in-law, stepfather, stepmother, stepson,
stepdaughter, stepbrother, stepsister, half
brother, half sister, or
``(ii) who is the grandfather or
grandmother of the spouse of the individual
concerned; and
``(B) includes the fiance or fiancee of the
individual concerned.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 22 of
title 44, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``2208. Inventory of Presidential gifts.''.
SEC. 4. RESTRICTIONS RELATING TO GIFTS TO THE PRESIDENT OR SPOUSE OF
THE PRESIDENT.
Title I of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 App. U.S.C.) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``restrictions relating to gifts to the president or spouse of the
president.
``Sec. 112. (a) The President, and the spouse of the President, may
not--
``(1) accept any gift of stock in a corporation or any gift
certificate;
``(2) accept gifts from a single source in a year having a
cumulative value greater than $1,000, except a personalized,
honorific award;
``(3) accept any gift in the period beginning on the date
of any presidential election occurring in the President's term
of office and ending on the date of the beginning of the next
presidential term of office, unless the President is reelected
to serve as President for that next term;
``(4) solicit or coordinate the making of any gift to the
President or the spouse of the President; or
``(5) seek to have any other person solicit or coordinate
the making of any gift to the President or the spouse of the
President.
``(b) An individual elected as President, and the spouse of the
individual, may not accept any gift in the period beginning on the date
of the election of the individual as President and ending on the date
of the beginning of the next presidential term of office.
``(c) Any gift that a President, individual elected as President,
or spouse is prohibited from accepting under this section--
``(1) shall be returned to the person making the gift, by
not later than 90 days after the date the gift is made; or
``(2) if not returned within that period--
``(A) shall be the property of the United States;
and
``(B) shall not be deposited in a Presidential
archival depository, as that term is used in chapter 21
of title 44, United States Code.
``(d) This section does not apply with respect to any gift from a
foreign government (as that term is defined in section 7342(a) of title
5) or from a relative of an individual to whom the gift is made.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E684)
Referred to the House Committee on Government Reform.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and the Census.
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