H.R. 2494 — Introduced in House

I 115th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 2494 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 17, 2017Mr. Espaillat (for himself, Mr. Cohen, and Mr. McGovern) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform A BILL To amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to require the President to place any financial conflicts of interest into a blind trust, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Drain the Swamp and the President’s Assets Act. 2. Placement of President’s financial conflicts of interest into blind trust (a) In general Title I of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (Public Law 95–521) is amended by inserting after section 111 the following: 112. The President: placement of financial conflicts of interest into blind trust (a) In general Beginning on the date that is 30 days after the date that the President first assumes office, the President may not hold any asset that would otherwise be considered a disqualifying financial interest under section 208 of title 18, United States Code, if the President were subject to such section. (b) Blind trust (1) In general The President may place any asset covered by subsection (a) into a blind trust (as that term is defined in section 102(f)(3)). (2) Divestiture Not later than 30 days after any such asset is placed in a blind trust, the trustee or other entity who is involved in the management or control of the blind trust shall divest the blind trust of such asset. . (b) Application The amendment made by subsection (a) shall apply to any President assuming office on or after the date of enactment of this Act. 3. Violations A violation of the amendment made by this Act shall constitute a high crime and misdemeanor for the purposes of article II, section 4 of the Constitution of the United States.