Summary#
This bill would add a new subchapter to the federal ethics rules that requires Members of Congress, their spouses, and dependent children to either divest many types of investments or place them into a qualified blind trust.
The bill defines "covered investments" to include securities, commodities, futures, and similar economic interests gained through derivatives or synthetic means. The definition also covers such interests held directly or indirectly through investment funds, trusts (other than qualified blind trusts), employee benefit plans, and certain deferred compensation arrangements. The bill lists exclusions, including diversified mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, U.S. Treasury bills/notes/bonds, compensation from a spouse's or dependent child's main job, and government employee retirement plans.
Key deadlines and requirements in the bill:
- Current Members must certify within 30 days of enactment and, within 120 days, either divest covered investments or place them in an approved qualified blind trust. Limited extensions may be granted, but total extensions cannot exceed 180 days and a single extension cannot exceed 45 days.
- New Members must certify within 30 days after taking office and must divest or place covered investments in a qualified blind trust within 120 days, with similar short extensions allowed.
- While serving, Members, spouses, and dependent children may not acquire covered investments. If a covered investment is inherited, it must be divested or placed in a qualified blind trust within 120 days, subject to similar extension rules.
- Members and related parties may not dissolve a qualified blind trust or control covered investments placed in such a trust until 180 days after leaving office.
Reporting and enforcement:
- Supervising ethics offices must post on their public websites copies of member certifications, qualified blind trust agreements, notices and related documents, schedules of assets placed in trusts, and descriptions of extensions and civil penalties.
- Trustees must give certain written notices to Members and the ethics office (for example, if a trustee learns that an interested party learned trust holdings or if the trust's initial property falls below $1,000).
- Members who are beneficiaries must file the trust agreement, lists of assets transferred to the trust, trustee notices, and notices of dissolution with the ethics office within set timeframes.
- A supervising ethics office must notify Members who fail required filings or placements and may impose civil penalties. The amount of each civil penalty is the monthly equivalent of a Member's annual rate of pay and is imposed 30 days after notice and at least once every 30 days thereafter.
The bill also authorizes supervising ethics offices to collect penalties, establish procedures and forms, issue rules, and publish relevant documents.
What it means for you#
- If you are a Member of Congress, the bill would require you to either sell or place many types of investments owned by you, your spouse, or a dependent child into a qualified blind trust within the set deadlines, and to certify that you have done so.
- If you are a spouse or dependent child of a Member, the same divest-or-trust rules would apply to the covered investments you own.
- If you inherit a covered investment while a Member, you must divest it or place it into a qualified blind trust within 120 days (extensions possible under limits).
- You may not acquire new covered investments while serving as a Member except as provided by the bill (for example, inheritances are covered by the separate rule above).
- Qualified blind trusts and related filings must meet the bill's notice and reporting requirements and will be published by the supervising ethics offices.
Expenses#
No publicly available information on estimated costs to implement or enforce this bill is included in the bill text.
Proponents' View#
No publicly available information.
Opponents' View#
No publicly available information.