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mployee or to anyone serving the Government
without compensation whether or not he is a special Government
employee.
Subsection (d) provides that the section does not prohibit the
payment or acceptance of contributions, awards or other expenses
under the terms of the Government Employees Training Act. (72 Stat.
327, 5 U.S.C. 2301-2319).
STATUTORY EXEMPTIONS FROM CONFLICT OF INTEREST LAWS
Congress has in the past enacted statutes exempting persons in
certain positions - usually advisory in nature - from the
provisions of some or all of the former conflict of interest laws.
Section 2 of the Act grants corresponding exemptions from the new
laws with respect to legislative and judicial positions carrying
such past exemptions. However, section 2 excludes positions in the
executive branch, an independent agency and the District of
Columbia from this grant. As a consequence, all statutory
exemptions for persons serving in these sectors of the Government
ended on January 21, 1963.
RETIRED OFFICERS OF THE ARMED FORCES
Public Law 87-849 enacted a new 18 U.S.C. 206 which provides in
general that the new sections 203 and 205, replacing 18 U.S.C. 281
and 283, do not apply to retired officers of the armed forces and
other uniformed services. However, 18 U.S.C. 281 and 283 contain
special restrictions applicable to retired officers of the armed
forces which are left in force by the partial repealer of those
statutes set forth in section 2 of the Act.
The former 18 U.S.C. 284, which contained a 2-year
disqualification against postemployment activities in connection
with claims against the United States, applied by its terms to
persons who had served as commissioned officers and whose active
service had ceased either by reason of retirement or complete
separation. Its replacement, the broader 18 U.S.C. 207, also
applies to persons in those circumstances. Section 207, therefore
applies to retired officers of the armed forces and overlaps the
continuing provisions of 18 U.S.C. 281 and 283 applicable to such
officers although to a different extent than did 18 U.S.C. 284.
VOIDING TRANSACTIONS IN VIOLATION OF THE CONFLICT OF INTEREST OR
BRIBERY LAWS
Public Law 87-849 enacted a new section, 18 U.S.C. 218, which did
not supplant a pre-existing section of the criminal code. However,
it was modeled on the last sentence of the former 18 U.S.C. 216
authorizing the President to declare a Government contract void
which was entered into in violation of that section. It will be
recalled that section 216 was one of the two statutes repealed
without replacement.
The new 18 U.S.C. 218 grants the President and, under
Presidential regulations, an agency head the power to void and
rescind any transaction or matter in relation to which there has
been a "final conviction" for a violation of the conflict of
interest or bribery laws. The section also authorizes the
Government's recovery, in addition to any penalty prescribed by law
or in a contract, of the amount expended or thing transferred on
behalf of the Government.
Section 218 specifically provides that the powers it grants are
"in addition to any other remedies provided by law." Accordingly,
it would not seem to override the decision in United States v.
Mississippi Valley Generating Co., 364 U.S. 520 (1961), a case in
which there was no "final conviction."
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Set forth below are the citations to the legislative history of
Public Law 87-849 and a list of recent material which is pertinent
to a study of the act. The listed 1960 report of the Association of
the Bar of the City of New York is particularly valuable. For a
comprehensive bibliography of earlier material relating to the
conflict of interest laws, see 13 Record of the Association of the
Bar of the City of New York 323 (May 1958).
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF PUBLIC LAW 87-849 (H.R. 8140, 87TH CONG.)
1. Hearings of June 1 and 2, 1961, before the Antitrust
Subcommittee (Subcommittee No. 5) of the House Judiciary Committee,
87th Cong., 1st sess., ser. 3, on Federal Conflict of Interest
Legislation.
2. H. Rept. 748, 87th Cong., 1st sess.
3. 107 Cong., Rec. 14774.
4. Hearing of June 21, 1962, before the Senate Judiciary
Committee, 87th Cong., 2d sess., on Conflicts of Interest.
5. S. Rept. 2213, 87th Cong., 2d sess.
6. 108 Cong. Rec. 20805 and 21130 (daily ed., October 3 and 4,
1962).
OTHER MATERIAL
1. President's special message to Congress, April 27, 1961, and
attached draft bill, 107 Cong. Rec. 6835.
2. President's Memorandum of February 9, 1962, to the heads of
executive departments and agencies entitled Preventing Conflicts of
Interest on the Part of Advisers and Consultants to the Government,
27 F.R. 1341.
3. 42 Op. A.G. No. 6, January 31, 1962.
4. Memorandum of December 10, 1956, for the Attorney General from
the Office of Legal Counsel re conflict of interest statutes,
Hearings before the Antitrust Subcommittee (Subcommittee No. 5) of
House Judiciary Committee, 86th Cong., 2d sess., ser. 17, pt. 2, p.
619.
5. Staff report of Antitrust Subcommittee (Subcommittee No. 5) of
House Judiciary Committee, 85th Cong., 2d sess., Federal Conflict
of Interest Legislation (Comm. Print 1958).
6. Report of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York,
Conflict of Interest and Federal Service (Harvard Univ. Press
1960).
FOOTNOTES
(!1) Section 190 of the Revised Statutes (5 U.S.C. 99), which was
repealed by section 3 of Public Law 87-849, applied to a former
officer or employee of the Government who had served in a
department of the executive branch. It prohibited him, for a period
of two years after his employment had ceased, from representing
anyone in the prosecution of a claim against the United States
which was pending in that or any other executive department during
his period of employment. The subject of post-employment activities
of former Government officers and employees was also dealt with in
another statute which was repealed, 18 U.S.C. 284. Public Law
87-849 covers the subject in a single section enacted as the new 18
U.S.C. 207.
18 U.S.C. 216, which was repealed by section 1(c) of Public Law
87-849, prohibited the payment to or acceptance by a Member of
Congress or officer or employee of the Government of any money or
thing of value for giving or procuring a Government contract. Since
this offense is within the scope of the newly enacted 18 U.S.C. 201
and 18 U.S.C. 203, relating to bribery and conflicts of interest,
respectively, section 216 is no longer necessary.
(!2) See section 2 of Public Law 87-849. 18 U.S.C. 281 and 18
U.S.C. 283 were not completely set aside by section 2 but remain in
effect to the extent that they apply to retired officers of the
Armed Forces (see "Retired Officers of the Armed Forces," infra).
(!3) S. Rept. 2213, 87th Cong., 2d sess., p. 6.
(!4) The term "official responsibility" is defined by the new 18
U.S.C. 202(b) to mean "the direct administrative or operating
authority, whether intermediate or final, and either exercisable
alone or with others, and either personally or through
subordinates, to approve, disapprove, or otherwise direct
Government action."
(!5) These two provisions of section 205 refer to an "officer or
employee" and not, as do certain of the other provisions of the
Act, to an "officer or employee, including a special Government
employee." However, it is plain from the definition in section
202(a) that a special Government employee is embraced within the
comprehensive term "officer or employee." There would seem to be
little doubt, therefore, that the instant provisions of section 205
apply to special Government employees even in the absence of an
explicit reference to them.
(!6) The prohibitions of the two subsections apply to persons
ending service in these areas whether they leave the Government
entirely or move to the legislative or judicial branch. As a
practical matter, however, the prohibitions would rarely be
significant in the latter situation because officers and employees
of the legislative and judicial branches are covered by sections
203 and 205.
(!7) Neither section 203 nor section 205 prevents a special
Government employee, during his period of affiliation with the
Government, from representing another person before the Government
in a particular matter only because it is within his official
responsibility. Therefore the inclusion of a former special
Government employee within the 1-year postemployment ban of
subsection (b) may subject him to a temporary restraint from which
he was free prior to the end of his Government service. However,
since special Government employees usually do not have "official
responsibility," as that term is defined in section 202(b), their
inclusion within the 1-year ban will not have a widespread effect.
(!8) Subsection (a), as it first appeared in H.R. 8140, the bill
which became Public Law 87-849, made it unlawful for a former
officer or employee to act as agent or attorney for, or aid or
assist, anyone in a matter in which he had participated. The House
Judiciary Committee struck the underlined words, and the bill
became law without them. It should be noted also that the repealed
provisions of 18 U.S.C. 283 made the distinction between one's
acting as agent or attorney for another and his aiding or assisting
another.
-SECREF-
SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS
This section is referred to in sections 1961, 2516 of this title;
title 5 sections 3113, 3704; title 7 section 84; title 12 sections
1441a, 1822, 2245; title 15 section 4805; title 43 section 1475a.
-End-
-CITE-
18 USC Sec. 202 01/19/04
-EXPCITE-
TITLE 18 - CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
PART I - CRIMES
CHAPTER 11 - BRIBERY, GRAFT, AND CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
-HEAD-
Sec. 202. Definitions
-STATUTE-
(a) For the purpose of sections 203, 205, 207, 208, and 209 of
this title the term "special Government employee" shall mean an
officer or employee of the executive or legislative branch of the
United States Government, of any independent agency of the United
States or of the District of Columbia, who is retained, designated,
appointed, or employed to perform, with or without compensation,
for not to exceed one hundred and thirty days during any period of
three hundred and sixty-five consecutive days, temporary duties
either on a full-time or intermittent basis, a part-time United
States commissioner, a part-time United States magistrate judge,
or, regardless of the number of days of appointment, an independent
counsel appointed under chapter 40 of title 28 and any person
appointed by that independent counsel under section 594(c) of title
28. Notwithstanding the next preceding sentence, every person
serving as a part-time local representative of a Member of Congress
in the Member's home district or State shall be classified as a
special Government employee. Notwithstanding section 29(c) and (d)
(!1) of the Act of August 10, 1956 (70A Stat. 632; 5 U.S.C. 30r(c)
and (d)), a Reserve officer of the Armed Forces, or an officer of
the National Guard of the United States, unless otherwise an
officer or employee of the United States, shall be classified as a
special Government employee while on active duty solely for
training. A Reserve officer of the Armed Forces or an officer of
the National Guard of the United States who is voluntarily serving
a period of extended active duty in excess of one hundred and
thirty days shall be classified as an officer of the United States
within the meaning of section 203 and sections 205 through 209 and
218. A Reserve officer of the Armed Forces or an officer of the
National Guard of the United States who is serving involuntarily
shall be classified as a special Government employee. The terms
"officer or employee" and "special Government employee" as used in
sections 203, 205, 207 through 209, and 218, shall not include
enlisted members of the Armed Forces.
(b) For the purposes of sections 205 and 207 of this title, the
term "official responsibility" means the direct administrative or
operating authority, whether intermediate or final, and either
exercisable alone or with others, and either personally or through
subordinates, to approve, disapprove, or otherwise direct
Government action.
(c) Except as otherwise provided in such sections, the terms
"officer" and "employee" in sections 203, 205, 207 through 209, and
218 of this title shall not include the President, the Vice
President, a Member of Congress, or a Federal judge.
(d) The term "Member of Congress" in sections 204 and 207 means -
(1) a United States Senator; and
(2) a Representative in, or a Delegate or Resident Commissioner
to, the House of Representatives.
(e) As used in this chapter, the term -
(1) "executive branch" includes each executive agency as
defined in title 5, and any other entity or administrative unit
in the executive branch;
(2) "judicial branch" means the Supreme Court of the United
States; the United States courts of appeals; the United States
district courts; the Court of International Trade; the United
States bankruptcy courts; any court created pursuant to article I
of the United States Constitution, including the Court of Appeals
for the Armed Forces, the United States Court of Federal Claims,
and the United States Tax Court, but not including a court of a
territory or possession of the United States; the Federal
Judicial Center; and any other agency, office, or entity in the
judicial branch; and
(3) "legislative branch" means -
(A) the Congress; and
(B) the Office of the Architect of the Capitol, the United
States Botanic Garden, the General Accounting Office, the
Government Printing Office, the Library of Congress, the Office
of Technology Assessment, the Congressional Budget Office, the
United States Capitol Police, and any other agency, entity,
office, or commission established in the legislative branch.
-SOURCE-
(Added Pub. L. 87-849, Sec. 1(a), Oct. 23, 1962, 76 Stat. 1121;
amended Pub. L. 90-578, title III, Sec. 301(b), Oct. 17, 1968, 82
Stat. 1115; Pub. L. 100-191, Sec. 3(a), Dec. 15, 1987, 101 Stat.
1306; Pub. L. 101-194, title IV, Sec. 401, Nov. 30, 1989, 103 Stat.
1747; Pub. L. 101-280, Sec. 5(a), May 4, 1990, 104 Stat. 158; Pub.
L. 101-650, title III, Sec. 321, Dec. 1, 1990, 104 Stat. 5117; Pub.
L. 102-572, title IX, Sec. 902(b)(1), Oct. 29, 1992, 106 Stat.
4516; Pub. L. 103-337, div. A, title IX, Sec. 924(d)(1)(B), Oct. 5,
1994, 108 Stat. 2832.)
-REFTEXT-
REFERENCES IN TEXT
Section 29(c) and (d) of the Act of August 10, 1956 (70A Stat.
632; 5 U.S.C. 30r(c) and (d)), referred to in subsec. (a), was
repealed and the provisions thereof were reenacted as sections 502,
2105(d), and 5534, of Title 5, Government Organization and
Employees, by Pub. L. 89-554, Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 278.
-MISC1-
PRIOR PROVISIONS
A prior section 202, act June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 691,
prescribed penalties for any officer or other person who accepted
or solicited anything of value to influence his decision, prior to
the general amendment of this chapter by Pub. L. 87-849, and is
substantially covered by revised section 201.
AMENDMENTS
1994 - Subsec. (e)(2). Pub. L. 103-337 substituted "Court of
Appeals for the Armed Forces" for "Court of Military Appeals".
1992 - Subsec. (e)(2). Pub. L. 102-572 substituted "United States
Court of Federal Claims" for "United States Claims Court".
1990 - Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 101-280, Sec. 5(a)(1), amended
subsec. (c) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (c) read as
follows: "Except as otherwise provided in such sections, the terms
'officer' and 'employee' in sections 203, 205, 207, 208, and 209 of
this title, mean those individuals defined in sections 2104 and
2105 of title 5. The terms 'officer' and 'employee' shall not
include the President, the Vice President, a Member of Congress, or
a Federal judge."
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 101-280, Sec. 5(a)(2), substituted "means"
for "shall include".
Subsec. (e)(1). Pub. L. 101-280, Sec. 5(a)(3)(1), substituted
"includes each" for "means any".
Subsec. (e)(3)(A). Pub. L. 101-280, Sec. 5(a)(3)(2)(A), amended
subpar. (A) generally. Prior to amendment, subpar. (A) read as
follows: "a Member of Congress, or any officer or employee of the
United States Senate or United States House of Representatives;
and".
Subsec. (e)(3)(B). Pub. L. 101-280, Sec. 5(a)(3)(2)(B),
substituted "the Office" for "an officer or employee".
1989 - Subsecs. (c) to (e). Pub. L. 101-194 added subsecs. (c) to
(e).
1987 - Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 100-191 expanded definition of
"special Government employee" to include an independent counsel
appointed under chapter 40 of title 28 and any person appointed by
that independent counsel under section 594(c) of title 28,
regardless of the number of days of appointment.
1968 - Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 90-578 substituted "a part-time
United States commissioner, or a part-time United States
magistrate" for "or a part-time United States Commissioner".
-CHANGE-
CHANGE OF NAME
"United States magistrate judge" substituted for "United States
magistrate" in subsec. (a) pursuant to section 321 of Pub. L.
101-650, set out as a note under section 631 of Title 28, Judiciary
and Judicial Procedure.
-MISC2-
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1992 AMENDMENT
Amendment by Pub. L. 102-572 effective Oct. 29, 1992, see section
911 of Pub. L. 102-572, set out as a note under section 171 of
Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1987 AMENDMENT
Amendment by Pub. L. 100-191 effective Dec. 15, 1987, and
applicable to independent counsel proceedings under 28 U.S.C. 591
et seq. pending on that date as well as to proceedings on and after
that date, see section 6 of Pub. L. 100-191, set out as a note
under section 591 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1968 AMENDMENT
Amendment by Pub. L. 90-578 effective Oct. 17, 1968, except when
a later effective date is applicable, which is the earlier of date
when implementation of amendment by appointment of magistrates [now
United States magistrate judges] and assumption of office takes
place or third anniversary of enactment of Pu
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