H.R. 5063 — Introduced in House

I 114th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 5063 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 26, 2016 Mr. Goodlatte (for himself, Mr. Peterson, Mr. Marino, Mr. Sensenbrenner, Mr. Smith of Texas, Mr. Issa, Mr. King of Iowa, Mr. Franks of Arizona, Mr. Gohmert, Mr. Chaffetz, Mr. Labrador, Mr. Farenthold, Mr. Collins of Georgia, Mrs. Mimi Walters of California, Mr. Buck, Mr. Ratcliffe, Mr. Trott, Mr. Bishop of Michigan, and Mr. Duffy) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To limit donations made pursuant to settlement agreements to which the United States is a party, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act of 2016. 2. Limitation on donations made pursuant to settlement agreements to which the United States is a party (a) Limitation on required donations An official or agent of the Government may not enter into a settlement agreement on behalf of the United States, or enforce such a settlement agreement, if that agreement includes a term requiring that any donation be made to any person by any party (other than the United States) to such agreement. (b) Penalty Any official or agent of the Government who violates subsection (a), shall be subject to the same penalties that would apply in the case of a violation of section 3302 of title 31, United States Code. (c) Definitions In this section: (1) Settlement agreement The term settlement agreement means a settlement agreement resolving a civil action or potential civil action. (2) Donation The term donation does not include any payment by a party to provide restitution for or otherwise remedy the actual harm (including to the environment), directly and proximately caused by the alleged conduct of the party, that is the basis for the settlement agreement.