31 U.S.C. § 1352 — Limitation on use of appropriated funds

Page 185 TITLE 31—MONEY AND FINANCE § 1352 Budget and transferred all functions of the Bureau to the President. Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2004—Pub. L. 108–447 inserted at end ‘‘A copy of each report shall also be transmitted to the Comptroller General on the same date the report is transmitted to the President and Congress.’’ § 1352. Limitation on use of appropriated funds to influence certain Federal contracting and financial transactions (a)(1) None of the funds appropriated by any Act may be expended by the recipient of a Fed- eral contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agree- ment to pay any person for influencing or at- tempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Mem- ber of Congress in connection with any Federal action described in paragraph (2) of this sub- section. (2) The prohibition in paragraph (1) of this subsection applies with respect to the following Federal actions: (A) The awarding of any Federal contract. (B) The making of any Federal grant. (C) The making of any Federal loan. (D) The entering into of any cooperative agreement. (E) The extension, continuation, renewal, amendment, or modification of any Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agree- ment. (b)(1) Each person who requests or receives a Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement from an agency or requests or re- ceives from an agency a commitment providing for the United States to insure or guarantee a loan shall file with that agency, in accordance with paragraph (4) of this subsection— (A) a written declaration described in para- graph (2) or (3) of this subsection, as the case may be; and (B) copies of all declarations received by such person under paragraph (5). (2) A declaration filed by a person pursuant to paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection in connection with a Federal contract, grant, loan, or coopera- tive agreement shall contain— (A) the name of any registrant under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 who has made lobbying contacts on behalf of the person with respect to that Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement; and (B) a certification that the person making the declaration has not made, and will not make, any payment prohibited by subsection (a). (3) A declaration filed by a person pursuant to paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection in connection with a commitment providing for the United States to insure or guarantee a loan shall con- tain the name of any registrant under the Lob- bying Disclosure Act of 1995 who has made lob- bying contacts on behalf of the person in con- nection with that loan insurance or guarantee. (4) A person referred to in paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection shall file a declaration referred to in that paragraph— (A) with each submission by such person that initiates agency consideration of such person for award of a Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement, or for grant of a commitment providing for the United States to insure or guarantee a loan; (B) upon receipt by such person of a Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agree- ment or of a commitment providing for the United States to insure or guarantee a loan, unless such person previously filed a declara- tion with respect to such contract, grant, loan, cooperative agreement or commitment pursuant to clause (A); and (C) at the end of each calendar quarter in which there occurs any event that materially affects the accuracy of the information con- tained in any declaration previously filed by such person in connection with such Federal contract, grant, loan, cooperative agreement, loan insurance commitment, or loan guaranty commitment. (5) Any person who requests or receives from a person referred to in paragraph (1) of this sub- section a subcontract under a Federal contract, a subgrant or contract under a Federal grant, a contract or subcontract to carry out any pur- pose for which a particular Federal loan is made, or a contract under a Federal cooperative agreement shall be required to file with the per- son referred to in such paragraph a written dec- laration referred to in clause (A) of such para- graph. (6) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget, after consulting with the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Rep- resentatives, shall issue guidance for agency im- plementation of, and compliance with, the re- quirements of this section. (c)(1) Any person who makes an expenditure prohibited by subsection (a) of this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less than $10,000 and not more than $100,000 for each such expenditure. (2)(A) Any person who fails to file or amend a declaration required to be filed or amended under subsection (b) of this section shall be sub- ject to a civil penalty of not less than $10,000 and not more than $100,000 for each such failure. (B) A filing of a declaration of a declaration amendment on or after the date on which an ad- ministrative action for the imposition of a civil penalty under this subsection is commenced does not prevent the imposition of such civil penalty for a failure occurring before that date. For the purposes of this subparagraph, an ad- ministrative action is commenced with respect to a failure when an investigating official deter- mines in writing to commence an investigation of an allegation of such failure. (3) Sections 3803 (except for subsection (c)), 3804, 3805, 3806, 3807, 3808, and 3812 of this title shall be applied, consistent with the require- ments of this section, to the imposition and col- lection of civil penalties under this subsection. (4) An imposition of a civil penalty under this subsection does not prevent the United States from seeking any other remedy that the United States may have for the same conduct that is the basis for the imposition of such civil pen- alty. Page 186 TITLE 31—MONEY AND FINANCE § 1352 (d)(1)(A) Subsection (a)(1) of this section does not apply in the case of a payment of reasonable compensation made to an officer or employee of a person requesting or receiving a Federal con- tract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement to the extent that the payment is for agency and legislative liaison activities not directly related to a Federal action referred to in subsection (a)(2) of this section. (B) Subsection (a)(1) of this section does not prohibit any reasonable payment to a person in connection with, or any payment of reasonable compensation to an officer or employee of a per- son requesting or receiving, a Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement or an ex- tension, continuation, renewal, amendment, or modification of a Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement if the payment is for professional or technical services rendered di- rectly in the preparation, submission, or nego- tiation of any bid, proposal, or application for that Federal contract, grant, loan, or coopera- tive agreement or for meeting requirements im- posed by or pursuant to law as a condition for receiving that Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement. (C) Nothing in this paragraph shall be con- strued as permitting the use of appropriated funds for making any payment prohibited in or pursuant to any other provision of law. (2) The reporting requirement in subsection (b) of this section shall not apply to any person with respect to— (A) payments of reasonable compensation made to regularly employed officers or em- ployees of a person requesting or receiving a Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement or a commitment providing for the United States to insure or guarantee a loan; (B) a request for or receipt of a contract (other than a contract referred to in clause (C)), grant, cooperative agreement, sub- contract (other than a subcontract referred to in clause (C)), or subgrant that does not ex- ceed $100,000; and (C) a request for or receipt of a loan, or a commitment providing for the United States to insure or guarantee a loan, that does not exceed $150,000, or the single family maximum mortgage limit for affected programs, which- ever is greater, including a contract or sub- contract to carry out any purpose for which such a loan is made. (e) The Secretary of Defense may exempt a Federal action described in subsection (a)(2) from the prohibition in subsection (a)(1) when- ever the Secretary determines, in writing, that such an exemption is in the national interest. The Secretary shall transmit a copy of each such written exemption to Congress imme- diately after making such determination. (f) The head of each Federal agency shall take such actions as are necessary to ensure that the provisions of this section are vigorously imple- mented and enforced in such agency. (g) As used in this section: (1) The term ‘‘recipient’’, with respect to funds received in connection with a Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agree- ment— (A) includes the contractors, subcontrac- tors, or subgrantees (as the case may be) of the recipient; but (B) does not include an Indian tribe, tribal organization, or any other Indian organiza- tion eligible to receive Federal contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, or loans from an agency but only with respect to ex- penditures that are by such tribe or organi- zation for purposes specified in subsection (a) and are permitted by other Federal law. (2) The term ‘‘agency’’ has the same mean- ing provided for such term in section 552(f) of title 5, and includes a Government corpora- tion, as defined in section 9101(1) of this title. (3) The term ‘‘person’’— (A) includes an individual, corporation, company, association, authority, firm, part- nership, society, State, and local govern- ment, regardless of whether such entity is operated for profit or not for profit; but (B) does not include an Indian tribe, tribal organization, or any other Indian organiza- tion eligible to receive Federal contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, or loans from an agency but only with respect to ex- penditures by such tribe or organization that are made for purposes specified in sub- section (a) and are permitted by other Fed- eral law. (4) The term ‘‘State’’ means a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a territory or possession of the United States, an agency or instrumentality of a State, and a multi-State, regional, or interstate entity having govern- mental duties and powers. (5) The term ‘‘local government’’ means a unit of government in a State and, if char- tered, established, or otherwise recognized by a State for the performance of a governmental duty, the following entities: (A) A local public authority. (B) A special district. (C) An intrastate district. (D) A council of governments. (E) A sponsor group representative organi- zation. (F) Any other instrumentality of a local government. (6)(A) The terms ‘‘Federal contract’’, ‘‘Fed- eral grant’’, ‘‘Federal cooperative agreement’’ mean, respectively— (i) a contract awarded by an agency; (ii) a grant made by an agency or a direct appropriation made by law to any person; and (iii) a cooperative agreement entered into by an agency. (B) Such terms do not include— (i) direct United States cash assistance to an individual; (ii) a loan; (iii) loan insurance; or (iv) a loan guaranty. (7) The term ‘‘Federal loan’’ means a loan made by an agency. Such term does not in- clude loan insurance or a loan guaranty. (8) The term ‘‘reasonable payment’’ means, with respect to professional and other tech- Page 187 TITLE 31—MONEY AND FINANCE § 1352 1 See References in Text note below. nical services, a payment in an amount that is consistent with the amount normally paid for such services in the private sector. (9) The term ‘‘reasonable compensation’’ means, with respect to a regularly employed officer or employee of any person, compensa- tion that is consistent with the normal com- pensation for such officer or employee for work that is not furnished to, not funded by, or not furnished in cooperation with the Fed- eral Government. (10) The term ‘‘regularly employed’’, with re- spect to an officer or employee of a person re- questing or receiving a Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement or a commitment providing for the United States to insure or guarantee a loan, means an officer or employee who is employed by such person for at least 130 working days within one year immediately preceding the date of the submis- sion that initiates agency consideration of such person for receipt of such contract, grant, loan, cooperative agreement, loan insurance commitment, or loan guaranty commitment. (11) The terms ‘‘Indian tribe’’ and ‘‘tribal or- ganization’’ have the meaning provided in sec- tion 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b).1 (Added Pub. L. 101–121, title III, § 319(a)(1), Oct. 23, 1989, 103 Stat. 750; amended Pub. L. 101–512, title III, § 320, Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1977; Pub. L. 103–272, § 4(f)(1)(F), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1362; Pub. L. 104–65, § 10, Dec. 19, 1995, 109 Stat. 700; Pub. L. 104–66, title III, § 3001(b), Dec. 21, 1995, 109 Stat. 734; Pub. L. 104–106, div. A, title X, § 1064(c), div. D, title XLIII, § 4301(a)(2), Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 445, 656.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, referred to in subsec. (b)(2)(A), (3), is Pub. L. 104–65, Dec. 19, 1995, 109 Stat. 691, which is classified principally to chapter 26 (§ 1601 et seq.) of Title 2, The Congress. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1601 of Title 2 and Tables. Section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu- cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b), referred to in subsec. (g)(11), was classified to section 450b of Title 25, Indians, prior to editorial reclassification as section 5304 of Title 25. CODIFICATION Another section 1352 was renumbered section 1353 of this title. AMENDMENTS 1996—Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 104–106, § 4301(a)(2), which directed amendment of par. (2) by inserting ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the end of subpar. (A) and by striking out subpar. (C), was not executed because subsec. (b)(2) did not contain a subpar. (C) subsequent to amendment by Pub. L. 104–65, § 10(a)(1). See 1995 Amendment note below. Subsec. (b)(6)(A). Pub. L. 104–106, § 1064(c)(1), which di- rected insertion of ‘‘(other than the Secretary of De- fense and Secretary of a military department)’’ after ‘‘The head of each agency’’, could not be executed be- cause subsec. (b)(6) did not contain a subpar. (A) subse- quent to amendment by Pub. L. 104–65, § 10(a)(3). See 1995 Amendment note below. Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 104–106, § 1064(c)(2), which di- rected the insertion of ‘‘(other than in the case of the Department of Defense or a military department)’’ after ‘‘paragraph (3) of this subsection’’, could not be executed because subsec. (d)(1) did not contain phrase ‘‘paragraph (3) of this subsection’’ subsequent to amendment by Pub. L. 104–65, § 10(b). See 1995 Amend- ment note below. 1995—Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 104–65, § 10(a)(1), added subpars. (A) and (B) and struck out former subpars. (A) to (C) which read as follows: ‘‘(A) a statement setting forth whether such person— ‘‘(i) has made any payment with respect to that Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agree- ment, using funds other than appropriated funds, which would be prohibited by subsection (a) of this section if the payment were paid for with appro- priated funds; or ‘‘(ii) has agreed to make any such payment; ‘‘(B) with respect to each such payment (if any) and each such agreement (if any)— ‘‘(i) the name and address of each person paid, to be paid, or reasonably expected to be paid; ‘‘(ii) the name and address of each individual per- forming the services for which such payment is made, to be made, or reasonably expected to be made; ‘‘(iii) the amount paid, to be paid, or reasonably ex- pected to be paid; ‘‘(iv) how the person was paid, is to be paid, or is reasonably expected to be paid; and ‘‘(v) the activity for which the person was paid, is to be paid, or is reasonably expected to be paid; and ‘‘(C) a certification that the person making the dec- laration has not made, and will not make, any payment prohibited by subsection (a).’’ Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 104–65, § 10(a)(2), substituted ‘‘shall contain the name of any registrant under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 who has made lobbying contacts on behalf of the person in connection with that loan insurance or guarantee.’’ for ‘‘shall con- tain—’’ and struck out subpars. (A) and (B) which read as follows: ‘‘(A) a statement setting forth whether such person— ‘‘(i) has made any payment to influence or attempt to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Con- gress, or an employee of a Member of Congress in con- nection with that loan insurance or guaranty; or ‘‘(ii) has agreed to make any such payment; and ‘‘(B) with respect to each such payment (if any) and each such agreement (if any), the information de- scribed in paragraph (2)(B) of this subsection.’’ Subsec. (b)(6), (7). Pub. L. 104–65, § 10(a)(3), redesig- nated par. (7) as (6), and struck out former par. (6) which directed head of each agency to collect and com- pile detailed information on any unappropriated pay- ments under Federal contracts, and report such infor- mation to the appropriate congressional officer or com- mittee. Subsecs. (d) to (h). Pub. L. 104–65, § 10(b), and Pub. L. 104–66, § 3001(b), amended section identically, redesig- nating subsecs. (e) to (h) as (d) to (g), respectively, and striking out former subsec. (d) which directed the In- spector General or official of each agency to submit an- nual reports to Congress on the compliance of each agency with the requirements imposed by this section. 1994—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 103–272, § 4(f)(1)(F)(i), sub- stituted ‘‘(c)(1) Any person’’ for ‘‘(C)(1) Any person’’. Subsec. (e)(1)(C). Pub. L. 103–272, § 4(f)(1)(F)(ii), sub- stituted ‘‘appropriated’’ for ‘‘appropirated’’ and in- serted period at end. Subsec. (h)(7). Pub. L. 103–272, § 4(f)(1)(F)(iii), inserted periods after ‘‘agency’’ and ‘‘guaranty’’. 1990—Subsec. (e)(2)(C). Pub. L. 101–512 inserted ‘‘or the single family maximum mortgage limit for affected programs, whichever is greater,’’ after ‘‘$150,000,’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1996 AMENDMENT For effective date and applicability of amendment by Pub. L. 104–106, see section 4401 of Pub. L. 104–106, set Page 188 TITLE 31—MONEY AND FINANCE § 1353 out as a note under section 2220 of Title 10, Armed Forces. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1995 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 104–65 effective Jan. 1, 1996, except as otherwise provided, see section 24 of Pub. L. 104–65, set out as an Effective Date note under section 1601 of Title 2, The Congress. EFFECTIVE DATE Pub. L. 101–121, title III, § 319(d), Oct. 23, 1989, 103 Stat. 756, provided that: ‘‘Section 1352 of title 31, United States Code (as added by subsection (a)), shall take ef- fect with respect to Federal contracts, grants, loans, cooperative agreements, loan insurance commitments, and loan guaranty commitments that are entered into or made more than 60 days after the date of the enact- ment of this Act [Oct. 23, 1989].’’ FIRST REPORT ON MAY 31, 1990; CONTENT Pub. L. 101–121, title III, § 319(b), Oct. 23, 1989, 103 Stat. 756, provided that the first report submitted under former subsec. (b)(6) of this section was to be submitted on May 31, 1990, and was to contain a compilation relat- ing to the statements received under subsec. (b) of this section during the six-month period beginning on Oct. 1, 1989. NOTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE DATE; GUIDANCE FOR AGENCY IMPLEMENTATION Pub. L. 101–121, title III, § 319(c), Oct. 23, 1989, 103 Stat. 756, required the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to notify the head of each agency that this section was to be complied with commencing 60 days after Oct. 23, 1989, and required the Director, not later than 60 days after Oct. 23, 1989, to issue the guidance re- quired under this section. § 1353. Acceptance of travel and related expenses from non-Federal sources (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Administrator of General Services, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Government Ethics, shall prescribe by regula- tion the conditions under which an agency in the executive branch (including an independent agency) may accept payment, or authorize an employee of such agency to accept payment on the agency’s behalf, from non-Federal sources for travel, subsistence, and related expenses with respect to attendance of the employee (or the spouse of such employee) at any meeting or similar function relating to the official duties of the employee. Any cash payment so accepted shall be credited to the appropriation applicable to such expenses. In the case of a payment in kind so accepted, a pro rata reduction shall be made in any entitlement of the employee to payment from the Government for such ex- penses. (b) Except as provided in this section or sec- tion 4111 or 7342 of title 5, an agency or employee may not accept payment for expenses referred to in subsection (a). An employee who accepts any payment in violation of the preceding sen- tence— (1) may be required, in addition to any pen- alty provided by law, to repay, for deposit in the general fund of the Treasury, an amount equal to the amount of the payment so accept- ed; and (2) in the case of a repayment under para- graph (1), shall not be entitled to any payment from the Government for such expenses. (c) As used in this section— (1) the term ‘‘executive branch’’ means all executive agencies (as such term is defined in section 105 of title 5); and (2) the term ‘‘employee in the executive branch’’ means— (A) an appointed officer or employee in the executive branch; and (B) an expert or consultant in the execu- tive branch, under section 3109 of title 5; and (3) the term ‘‘payment’’ means a payment or reimbursement, in cash or in kind. (d)(1) The head of each agency of the executive branch shall, in the manner provided in para- graph (2), submit to the Director of the Office of Government Ethics reports of payments of more than $250 accepted under this section with re- spect to employees of the agency. The Director shall make such reports available for public in- spection and copying. (2) The reports required by paragraph (1) shall, with respect to each payment— (A) specify the amount and method of pay- ment, the name of the person making the pay- ment, the name of the employee, the nature of the meeting or similar function, the time and place of travel, the nature of the expenses, and such other information as the Administrator of General Services may prescribe by regula- tion under subsection (a); (B) be submitted not later than May 31 of each year with respect to payments in the pre- ceding period beginning on October 1 and end- ing on March 31; and (C) be submitted not later than November 30 of each year with respect to payments in the preceding period beginning on April 1 and end- ing on September 30. (Added Pub. L. 101–194, title III, § 302(a), Nov. 30, 1989, 103 Stat. 1745, § 1352; renumbered § 1353 and amended Pub. L. 101–280, § 4(b)(1), (c), May 4, 1990, 104 Stat. 157, 158.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1990—Pub. L. 101–280, § 4(b)(1), renumbered section 1352 of this title as this section. Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 101–280, § 4(c)(1), substituted ‘‘in the executive branch (including an independent agency) may accept payment, or authorize an employee of such agency to accept payment on the agency’s behalf,’’ for ‘‘or employee in the executive branch may accept pay- ment’’. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 101–280, § 4(c)(2)(A), inserted ‘‘or 7342’’ after ‘‘section 4111’’. Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 101–280, § 4(c)(2)(B), substituted ‘‘(1),’’ for ‘‘(1)’’. Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 101–280, § 4(c)(3), substituted ‘‘all executive agencies’’ for ‘‘any executive agency’’. § 1354. Limitation on use of appropriated funds for contracts with entities not meeting vet- erans’ employment reporting requirements (a)(1) Subject to paragraph (2), no agency may obligate or expend funds appropriated for the agency for a fiscal year to enter into a contract described in section 4212(a) of title 38 with a con- tractor from which a report was required under section 4212(d) of that title with respect to the preceding fiscal year if such contractor did not submit such report.