HR7852-119

What This Bill Does

The No Getting Rich in Congress Act prohibits members of Congress, the President, Vice President, covered federal candidates, and their spouses and dependent children from directly or indirectly buying or selling securities, digital assets, commodities, futures, derivatives, and comparable interests unless held in a qualified blind trust. It excludes diversified publicly traded funds, federal and state or local government debt, precious metals from its commodity definition, and spouse or dependent employment compensation.

Covered candidates enter the regime when designating a political committee and leave upon suspension, withdrawal, concession, or taking office. Quarterly information must go to the supervising ethics office. The text's occupational exception refers only to the Vice President, while describing trades performed as the primary occupation of a spouse or dependent in investments not owned by a covered individual, an unusually narrow and potentially mistaken cross-reference.

For members, the President, and Vice President, the ethics office can order payment of transaction profit plus, when appropriate, three times the investment value. DOJ imposes the same structure on candidates, spouses, and dependents. Members and candidates cannot use official accounts or campaign and officeholder donations to pay. Violations and penalties are public. The penalty section mentions trading or ownership violations, although the operative section prohibits buying or selling rather than continued ownership, creating another mismatch.

Former members and former Senate-confirmed presidential appointees face a lifetime criminal ban on knowingly representing, aiding, or advising China, North Korea, Russia, Iran, or another State-designated country with intent to influence a federal decision. It does not bar all foreign work, domestic lobbying, or activity lacking the specified intent.

Spouses of members and Senate-confirmed officials must register within 45 days after implementation guidance or the official begins service, report covered advocacy quarterly, identify clients, issues, contacts, foreign interests, expenses, and client government interests, and remain covered for one year after office or marriage ends. Spouses already registered under the Lobbying Disclosure Act are exempt. The broad definition reaches use of official contacts and work over two or more quarters, but excludes undefined "reasonable advocacy work."

House and Senate offices must issue guidance within 180 days, support electronic public filing, verify reports, notify deficient filers, and refer unresolved cases after 60 days. The penalty text has a dangling clause for a knowing failure and then clearly authorizes up to five years and a fine only for knowing and corrupt noncompliance, creating uncertainty about ordinary knowing violations.

Members and spouses cannot serve as officers or board members of for-profit entities. A spouse already serving may finish the current term, cannot seek an officer role during it, and cannot serve another term while married to a member; the text provides no equivalent transition for a member. Continuing spouses report quarterly. Congressional gift rules are extended to spouses, except spouses registered under the Lobbying Disclosure Act.

Who Benefits and How

Voters, ethics offices, investigators, and watchdogs gain conflict restrictions and public records. Diversified funds and blind-trust providers remain lawful investment channels. U.S. national-security agencies gain a permanent tool against influence work for countries of concern.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Officeholders, candidates, spouses, and dependents lose trading choices and face quarterly proof and large penalties. Former officials lose covered foreign work. Senior-official spouses face broad registration and criminal exposure. Corporate boards lose covered members, while ethics offices, DOJ, congressional clerks, and prosecutors bear administration and interpretation of drafting conflicts.

Key Provisions

• Prohibits covered investment trading outside blind trusts.
• Covers members, the President, and Vice President.
• Covers federal candidates, spouses, and dependents.
• Exempts diversified publicly traded funds and government debt.
• Requires quarterly compliance materials.
• Requires disgorgement of transaction profits.
• Authorizes an additional three-times-value penalty.
• Prohibits official or campaign funds from paying penalties.
• Requires public violation and penalty records.
• Establishes a lifetime country-of-concern lobbying ban.
• Requires senior-official spouse registration.
• Requires quarterly public advocacy reports.
• Exempts spouses already registered as lobbyists.
• Extends spouse coverage for one year after official status ends.
• Bars congressional corporate-board service.
• Allows a limited existing spouse board term.
• Extends congressional gift rules to spouses.
• Leaves trade-versus-ownership and penalty-text conflicts.