,,ii #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #adia ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,april #aj1 #bjbe,ms4 ,warren 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,schumer1 ,mr4 ,peters1 ,mr4 ,lujn1 ,mr4 ,merkley1 ,mr4 ,blumenthal1 ,mr4 ,van ,hollen1 ,ms4 ,hirono1 ,mr4 ,padilla1 ,mr4 ,schiff1 ,mr4 ,welch1 and ,mr4 ,kelly7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,homeland ,security and ,governmental ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to amend title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code1 to modify the definition of special ,government employee1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,,sge ,ethics ,enforcement ,reform ,act of #bjbe or the ,,seer ,act #bjbe4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,some special ,government employees have substantial financial conflicts of interest due to their other business activities while in ,federal service4 7#b7 ,special ,government employees are subject to the criminal conflict-of-interest statute applicable to full-time ,government employees1 section #bjh of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code4 ,however1 ,federal employees1 including special ,government employees1 do not have to resolve conflicts under that provision if the relevant work does not constitute a particular matter4 7#c7 ,unlike senior executive branch employees under chapter #aca of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 the vast majority of special ,government employees are not required to make their financial disclosure reports public1 thus concealing from the public their potential financial conflicts of interest4 7#d7 ,the vast majority of special ,government employees in the ,federal ,government serve on advisory committees and have a limited role in ,government decision-making4 ,but a select number of special ,government employees have assumed authority within the ,federal ,government commensurate with a senior or very senior full-time ,federal employee4 7#e7 ,the executive branch has not notified the public or ,congress when it uses special ,government employees to perform high-level responsibilities4 7#f7 ,the executive branch has permitted employees to retain special ,government employee status beyond the statutory limit of #acj days during any period of #cfe consecutive days4 #c4 ,conflicts of interest ,title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended-- 7#a7 in section #bjb7;a71 in the first sentence1 by inserting and who has been designated as a special ,government employee on a ,notification of ,personnel ,action 7,standard ,form #ej or equivalent7 of the officer or employee1 after basis12 and 7#b7 in section #bjh-- 7,a7 in subsection 7a7-- 7i7 by striking 7a7 ,except and inserting 7a77#a7 ,except2 and 7ii7 by adding at the end the following3 7#b7 ,in the case of a special ,government employee who is not on an advisory committee or who serves as the chair or vice chair of an advisory committee1 paragraph 7#a7 shall apply to a discrete and identifiable component of a matter that on its own would constitute a particular matter in which1 to the knowledge of the special ,government employee1 the organization in which the special ,government employee is serving as officer1 director1 trustee1 general partner1 or employee has a financial interest4 2 7,b7 in subsection 7b7-- 7i7 in paragraph 7#a71 by inserting 1 with the concurrence of a designated official at the ,office of ,government ,ethics if the officer or employee is a special ,government employee1 after such official2 and 7ii7 in paragraph 7#c71 by inserting 1 other than the chair or vice chair of the committee1 after committee2 7,c7 in subsection 7d7-- 7i7 in paragraph 7#a71 in the first sentence1 by striking ,upon and inserting ,except as provided in paragraph 7#b71 upon2 7ii7 by redesignating paragraph 7#b7 as paragraph 7#c72 and 7iii7 by inserting after paragraph 7#a7 the following3 7#b7 ,in the case of a special ,government employee who is not serving on an advisory committee within the meaning of chapter #aj of title #e or a special ,government employee who is serving as chair or vice chair on such an advisory committee1 any waiver or exemption granted under subsection 7b77#a7 shall be proactively made publicly available via a searchable online database not later than #ad days after the date on which the waiver is issued4 4 #d4 ,restriction on communications with agencies 7a7 ,definition ,in this section1 the term large company means-- 7#a7 any for-profit company that has greater than an average of #a1jjj1jjj1jjj in market capitalization or revenue for the previous #c-year period2 7#b7 any ,federal contractor that received greater than #ajj1jjj1jjj in annual revenue from the ,federal ,government during the previous #c-year period2 and 7#c7 any for-profit company that exerts monopolistic or monopsonistic control over a significant share of the market in its particular industry1 as defined by regulation by the ,director of the ,office of ,government ,ethics1 in consultation with the ,attorney ,general4 7b7 ,restriction ,no special ,government employee1 as defined in section #bjb of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code1 who is not on an advisory committee or a chair or vice chair on an advisory committee may have direct or indirect communications in their official capacity with an agency or office that contracts with1 regulates1 or has a pending enforcement action against a large company-- 7#a7 that the special ,government employee owns2 or 7#b7 for which the special ,government employee serves as a senior executive or director4 7c7 ,regulations ,the ,office of ,government ,ethics shall promulgate regulations carrying out this section1 including to define ownership of a large company4 #e4 ,database of special ,government employees ,section #aajc of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7d7 7#a7 ,in this subsection1 the term covered individual-- 7,a7 means an individual who is a special ,government employee who is not serving on an advisory committee2 and 7,b7 does not include an individual described in paragraph 7#a7 or 7#b7 of section #acajg7;a74 7#b7 ,the ,director1 in coordination with the ,office of ,government ,ethics1 shall maintain to the extent technically practicable1 keep current1 and make available to the public over the internet1 without a fee or other access charge1 in a searchable1 sortable1 and downloadable manner1 an electronic database that contains the name of each covered individual1 a rolling tally of the number of days the person has served as a special ,government employee1 and a description of why the individual was designated as a special ,government employee rather than a regular employee4 4 #f4 ,financial disclosure requirements of special ,government employees ,title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended-- 7#a7 in section #acajc7;f7-- 7,a7 in paragraph 7#h71 by striking 7other than a special ,government employee72 7,b7 in paragraph 7#aa71 by striking and at the end2 7,c7 in paragraph 7#ab71 by striking the period at the end and inserting 2 and2 and 7,d7 by adding at the end the following3 7#ac7 ,a special ,government employee who-- 7,a7 is not serving on an advisory committee or is serving as a chair or vice chair on an advisory committee2 and 7,b7 is not serving in a position classified as a general schedule position at the ,,gs-#i level or below1 with limited responsibilities1 closely supervised by a career ,federal employee4 7#ad7 ,for any special ,government employee claiming an exemption from filing a public report this subsection1 the relevant agency ethics officer shall review to ensure the exemption may be properly applied to that special ,government employee4 2 and 7#b7 in section #acaji7;a77#a71 by inserting 1 except as provided in section #acajc7;f77#ac71 after title #ah74 #g4 ,modifications of online access to certain financial disclosure statements and related forms ,section #a7;a77#b7 of the ,act entitled ,an ,act to modify the requirements under the ,,stock ,act regarding online access to certain financial disclosure statements and related forms1 approved ,april #ae1 #bjac 7#e ,u4,s4,c4 #acajg note7 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7,f7 ,any special ,government employee of the executive branch who-- 7i7 is not serving on an advisory committee or is serving as a chair or vice chair on an advisory committee2 or 7ii7 is not serving in a position classified as a general schedule position at the ,,gs-#i level or below1 with limited responsibilities1 closely supervised by a career ,federal employee4 4 #h4 ,special ,government employee rule 7a7 ,in general ,except as provided in subsection 7b71 in the case of a special ,government employee1 as defined in section #bjb of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code1 who has served in their department or agency for more than #fj days during the immediately preceding period of #cfe consecutive days1 all ,federal ethics rules shall apply to such special ,government employee to the same extent that such rules apply to regular ,government employees4 7b7 ,exception ,in the case of a special ,government employee1 as defined in section #bjb of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code1 who has served in their department or agency for more than #acj during the immediately preceding period of #cfe consecutive days1 section #bji of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code1 and subchapter ,,iii of chapter #aca of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 shall apply to such special ,government employee to the same extent that the section applies to regular ,government employees1 except that such section #bji shall apply whether the special ,government employee serves with or without pay4