S.Amdt. 2945

1. Adds SEC. __. ESTABLISHMENT OF SENATE ETHICS AUDIT OFFICE wherever appropriate

   Adds a section

   Inserted: SEC. __. ESTABLISHMENT OF SENATE ETHICS AUDIT OFFICE.

   Inserted: (a) Establishment.--There is established in the Senate an independent, nonpartisan office to be known as the "Senate Ethics Audit Office" (referred to in this resolution as the "Office") which shall be an independent, investigative arm of the Select Committee on Ethics authorized to conduct audits each Member's personal offices as provided in this resolution.

   Inserted: (b) Director.--

   Inserted: (1) In general.--The Office shall be headed by a Senate Ethics Audit Office Director (referred to in this resolution as the "Director"). The Director shall be appointed by the President pro tempore of the Senate from among recommendations submitted by the majority and minority leaders of the Senate. Any appointment made under this subsection shall be made without regard to political affiliation and solely on the basis of fitness to perform the duties of the position. Any person appointed as Director shall be learned in ethics law and audit process, a member of the bar of a State or the District of Columbia or a certified public accountant, and shall not engage in any other business, vocation, or employment during the term of such appointment.

   Inserted: (2) Terms of service.--Any appointment made under paragraph (1) shall become effective upon approval by resolution of the Senate. The Director shall be appointed for a term of service which shall expire at the end of the Congress following the Congress during which the Director is appointed except that the Senate may, by resolution, remove the Director prior to the termination of any term of service. The Director may be reappointed at the termination of any term of service.

   Inserted: (3) Compensation.--The Director shall receive compensation at a rate equal to the annual rate of basic pay for level III of the Executive Schedule under section 5314 of Title 5.

   Inserted: (4) Staff.--The Director shall hire such additional staff as are required to carry out this section, including other attorneys, investigators, and accountants.

   Inserted: (c) Responsibilities.--

   Inserted: (1) In general.--The Office shall conduct annual audits of each Senator and his or her immediate family, each Senator's personal office, and the Senator's staff to ensure compliance with the rules of the Select Committee on Ethics and other related rules and guidelines as provided in paragraph (2).

   Inserted: (2) Audits and training.--The Office shall--

   Inserted: (A) conduct unannounced, random audits of each Senator and his or her immediate family, each Senator's personal office, and the Senator's staff to ensure compliance with the rules of the Select Committee on Ethics and other related rules and guidelines;

   Inserted: (B) audit the appropriate filing, archiving, and retention of documents related to the compliance of established ethics rules and other related rules and guidelines for each Senator's personal office, including the mailing of 499's, the use of the Frank, gifts, any and all travel, and other such matters;

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   Inserted: (C) examine, if applicable, any campaign related work as it relates to Senate ethics rules that has been performed in compliance with established guidelines (such as political fund designees, de minimis use of government equipment for non-related government work, and other appropriate guidelines);

   Inserted: (D) examine any contributions made to a Senator's office by any outside entity (foreign government, lobbyist, or otherwise) to ensure--

   Inserted: (i) proper compliance with established gift laws; and

   Inserted: (ii) that those gifts are properly documented in accordance with established ethics rules and guidelines;

   Inserted: (E) examine the Senator and the Senator's office to ensure proper financial disclosures regarding payroll, gifts, reimbursements, and other necessary financial disclosures with established ethics rules and guidelines;

   Inserted: (F) require that each Senator's office make available the report of findings of the Office to the public in appropriate venues for examination, including a publicly available website;

   Inserted: (G) ensure that no conflict of interest exists between the execution of the Senator's duties, the Senator's staff's duties, and any previous employment;

   Inserted: (H) require each Senator's office to detail on a proper form all current outside employment and submit the form every 6 months to the Office;

   Inserted: (I)(i) ensure that any travel and necessarily associated expenses are performed and reported appropriately under established rules and guidelines; and

   Inserted: (ii) require a new RE-4 for travel paid for by tribal entities and sovereign nations/foreign governments and an RE-5 for CODEL travel for filing and for compliance;

   Inserted: (J) examine any potential impropriety in payments, or other gifts to a Senator and his or her immediate family, each Senator's personal office, the Senator's senior staff, and the immediate family members of senior staff, with the Senator's senior staff being listed and disclosed with the independent audit report to avoid any confusion;

   Inserted: (K) provide training opportunities and work closely with relevant personnel inside the Senator's personal office to recognize and rectify any violations, enabling each office the ability to internally recognize and eliminate potential violations of established ethics rules and guidelines; and

   Inserted: (L) make recommendations to Senators concerning office ethics policy or practice improvement.

   The amendment doesn't say where this goes; the clerk decides.

   Original wording

   At the appropriate place, insert the following:

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As printed