NW Kentucky News

WASHINGTON—House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) today introduced the Presidential Ethics Reform Act, a federal ethics reform bill aimed at enhancing transparency and enabling robust congressional oversight. The legislation mandates the disclosure of conflicts of interest while in office, as well as foreign payments, expensive gifts, loan transactions, and tax returns for presidents and vice presidents during specific periods before, during, and after their tenure.

The bill also extends these disclosure requirements to immediate family members who receive foreign payments, expensive gifts, or loans or who use official travel for personal business.

“The Presidential Ethics Reform Act is landmark bipartisan legislation that delivers the transparency and accountability the American people deserve to ensure our public offices are not for sale. Influence peddling is a cottage industry in Washington and we’ve identified deficiencies in current law that have led to a culture of corruption. By creating this bipartisan legislation to provide greater transparency to the financial interactions related to the office of the president and vice-president, we can ensure that moving forward American presidents, vice presidents, and their family members cannot profit from their proximity to power,” said Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.).

“The American people deserve nothing less than full honesty and transparency from presidents and vice presidents. Our bipartisan Presidential Ethics Reform Act would let Americans view the tax returns, gifts, and other conflicts of interest of a president, vice president, and their families, empowering the public to evaluate our leaders’ behavior for themselves. By boosting transparency and requiring additional financial disclosures, Congress can shine a light on improper conduct in the Executive Branch—or be confident that none occurred. These reforms will help restore Americans’ trust in government and strengthen our democracy,” said Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.).

The key provisions of the Presidential Ethics Reform Act include:

- Requiring presidents and vice presidents to disclose payments or items of value from foreign sources received by themselves or immediate family members within two years before taking office, during time in office, and for two years after leaving office.

- Mandating disclosure of conflicts of interest upon taking office and throughout time in office.

- Necessitating disclosure of gifts valued at more than $10,000 received by immediate family members within two years before taking office, during time in office, and for two years after leaving office.

- Requiring disclosure of loans or loan repayments made by an immediate family member or received by an immediate family member from any source (except commercial loans) over $10,000 within two years before taking office, during time in office, and for two years after leaving office.

- Mandating disclosure when immediate family members accompany the president or vice president on official travel for business purposes.

- Requiring tax return disclosures for the two years preceding time in office, during time in office, and for two years following departure from office.

Read the bill text here.