To establish the Senate Office of Public Integrity.

SA 3176. Ms. COLLINS (for herself, Mr. McCain, Mr. Lieberman, and Mr.
Obama) proposed an amendment to amendment SA 2944 submitted by Mr.
Wyden (for himself, Mr. Grassley, and Mr. Inhofe) to the bill S. 2349,
to provide greater transparency in the legislative process; as follows:

TITLE--SENATE OFFICE OF PUBLIC INTEGRITY

SEC. 11. ESTABLISHMENT OF SENATE OFFICE OF PUBLIC INTEGRITY.

There is established, as an office within the Senate, the
Senate Office of Public Integrity (referred to in this title
as the ``Office'').

SEC. 12. DIRECTOR.

(a) Appointment of Director.--
(1) In general.--The Office shall be headed by a Director
who shall be appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the
Senate upon the joint recommendation of the majority leader
of the Senate and the minority leader of the Senate. The
selection and appointment of the Director shall be without
regard to political affiliation and solely on the basis of
fitness to perform the duties of the Office.
(2) Qualifications.--The Director shall possess
demonstrated integrity, independence, and public credibility
and shall have training or experience in law enforcement, the
judiciary, civil or criminal litigation, or as a member of a
Federal, State, or local ethics enforcement agency.
(b) Vacancy.--A vacancy in the directorship shall be filled
in the manner in which the original appointment was made.
(c) Term of Office.--The Director shall serve for a term of
5 years and may be reappointed.
(d) Removal.--
(1) Authority.--The Director may be removed by the
President Pro Tempore of the Senate upon the joint
recommendation of the Senate majority and minority leaders
for--
(A) disability that substantially prevents the Director
from carrying out the duties of the Director;
(B) inefficiency;
(C) neglect of duty; or
(D) malfeasance, including a felony or conduct involving
moral turpitude.
(2) Statement of reasons.--In removing the Director, a
statement of the reasons for removal shall be provided in
writing to the Director.
(e) Compensation.--The Director shall be compensated at the
annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the
Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, United
States Code.

SEC. 13. DUTIES AND POWERS OF THE OFFICE.

(a) Duties.--The Office is authorized--
(1) to investigate any alleged violation by a Member,
officer, or employee of the Senate, of any rule or other
standard of conduct applicable to the conduct of such Member,
officer, or employee under applicable Senate rules in the
performance of his duties or the discharge of his
responsibilities;
(2) to present a case of probable ethics violations to the
Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate;
(3) to make recommendations to the Select Committee on
Ethics of the Senate that it report to the appropriate
Federal or State authorities any substantial evidence of a
violation by a Member, officer, or employee of the Senate of
any law applicable to the performance of his duties or the
discharge of his responsibilities, which may have been
disclosed in an investigation by the Office; and
(4) subject to review by the Select Committee on Ethics to
approve, or deny approval, of trips as provided for in
paragraph 2(f) of rule XXXV of the Standing Rules of the
Senate.
(b) Powers.--
(1) Obtaining information.--Upon request of the Office, the
head of any agency or instrumentality of the Government shall
furnish information deemed necessary by the Director to
enable the Office to carry out its duties.
(2) Referrals to the department of justice.--Whenever the
Director has reason to believe that a violation of law may
have occurred, he shall refer that matter to the Select
Committee on Ethics with a recommendation as to whether the
matter should be referred to the Department of Justice or
other appropriate authority for investigation or other
action.

SEC. 14. INVESTIGATIONS AND INTERACTION WITH THE SENATE
SELECT COMMITTEE ON ETHICS.

(a) Initiation of Enforcement Matters.--
(1) In general.--An investigation may be initiated by the
filing of a complaint with the Office by a Member of Congress
or an outside complainant, or by the Office on its own
initiative, based on any information in its possession. The
Director shall not accept a complaint concerning a Member of
Congress within 60 days of an election involving such Member.
(2) Filed complaint.--
(A) Timing.--In the case of a complaint that is filed, the
Director shall within 30 days make an initial determination
as to whether the complaint should be dismissed or whether
there are sufficient grounds to conduct an investigation. The
subject of the complaint shall be provided by the Director
with an opportunity during the 30-day period to challenge the
complaint.
(B) Dismissal.--The Director may dismiss a complaint if the
Director determines--
(i) the complaint fails to state a violation;
(ii) there is a lack of credible evidence of a violation;
or
(iii) the violation is inadvertent, technical, or otherwise
of a de minimis nature.
(C) Referral.--In any case where the Director decides to
dismiss a complaint, the Director may refer the case to the
Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate under paragraph (3)
to determine if the complaint is frivolous.
(3) Frivolous complaints.--If the Select Committee on
Ethics of the Senate determines that a complaint is
frivolous, the committee may notify the Director not to
accept any future complaint filed by that same person and the
complainant may be required to pay for the costs of the
Office resulting from such complaint. The Director may refer
the matter to the Department of Justice to collect such
costs.
(4) Preliminary determination.--For any investigation
conducted by the Office at its own initiative, the Director
shall make a preliminary determination of whether there are
sufficient grounds to conduct an investigation. Before making
that determination, the subject of the investigation shall be
provided by the Director with an opportunity to submit
information to the Director that there are not sufficient
grounds to conduct an investigation.
(5) Notice to committee.--Whenever the Director determines
that there are sufficient grounds to conduct an
investigation--
(A) the Director shall notify the Select Committee on
Ethics of the Senate of this determination; and
(B) the committee may overrule the determination of the
Director if, within 10 legislative days--
(i) the committee by an affirmative, roll-call vote of two-
thirds of the full committee votes to overrule the
determination of the Director;
(ii) the committee issues a public report on the matter;
and
(iii) the vote of each member of the committee on such
roll-call vote is included in the report.
(b) Conducting Investigations.--
(1) In general.--If the Director determines that there are
sufficient grounds to conduct an investigation and his
determination is not overruled under subsection (a)(5), the
Director shall conduct an investigation to determine if
probable cause exists that a violation occurred.
(2) Authority.--As part of an investigation, the Director
may--
(A) administer oaths;
(B) issue subpoenas;
(C) compel the attendance of witnesses and the production
of papers, books, accounts, documents, and testimony; and
(D) himself, or by delegation to Office staff, take the
deposition of witnesses.
(3) Refusal to obey.--If a person disobeys or refuses to
comply with a subpoena, or if a witness refuses to testify to
a matter, he may be held in contempt of Congress.
(4) Enforcement.--If the Director determines that the
Director is limited in the Director's ability to obtain
documents, testimony, and other information needed as part of
an investigation because of potential constitutional,
statutory, or rules restrictions, or due to lack of
compliance, the Director may refer the matter to the Select
Committee on Ethics of the Senate for consideration and
appropriate action by the committee. The committee shall
promptly act on a request under this paragraph.
(c) Presentation of Case to Senate Select Committee on
Ethics.--
(1) Notice to committees.--If the Director determines, upon
conclusion of an investigation, that probable cause exists
that an ethics violation has occurred, the Director shall
notify the Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate of this
determination.
(2) Committee decision.--The Select Committee on Ethics may
overrule the determination of the Director if, within 30
legislative days--
(A) the committee by an affirmative, roll-call vote of two-
thirds of the full committee votes to overrule the
determination of the Director;
(B) the committee issues a public report on the matter; and
(C) the vote of each member of the committee on such roll-
call vote is included in the report.
(3) Determination and ruling.--
(A) Referral.--If the Director determines there is probable
cause that an ethics violation has occurred and the
Director's determination is not overruled, the Director shall
present the case and evidence to the Select Committee on
Ethics of the Senate to hear and make a determination
pursuant to its rules.
(B) Final decision.--The Select Committee on Ethics shall
vote upon whether the individual who is the subject of the
investigation has violated any rules or other standards of
conduct applicable to that individual in his official
capacity. Such votes shall be a roll-call vote of the full
committee, a quorum being present. The committee shall issue
a public report which shall include the vote of

[[Page S2478]]

each member of the committee on such roll-call vote.
(d) Sanctions.--Whenever the Select Committee on Ethics of
the Senate finds that an ethics violation has occurred, the
Director shall recommend appropriate sanctions to the
committee and whether a matter should be referred to the
Department of Justice for investigation.

SEC. 15. PROCEDURAL RULES.

(a) Prohibition of Certain Investigations.--No
investigation shall be undertaken by the Office of any
alleged violation of a law, rule, regulation, or standard of
conduct not in effect at the time of the alleged violation.
(b) Disclosure.--Information or testimony received, or the
contents of a complaint or the fact of its filing, or
recommendations made by the Director to the committee, may be
publicly disclosed by the Director or by the staff of the
Office only if authorized by the Select Committee on Ethics
of the Senate.

SEC. 16. SOPI EMPLOYEES UNDER THE CONGRESSIONAL
ACCOUNTABILITY ACT.

Section 101 of the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995
(2 U.S.C. 3) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (3)--
(A) in subparagraph (H), by striking ``or'';
(B) in subparagraph (I), by striking the period and
inserting ``; or''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(J) the Office of Public Integrity.''; and
(2) in paragraph (9), by striking ``and the Office of
Technology Assessment'' and inserting ``the Office of
Technology Assessment, and the Senate Office of Public
Integrity''.

SEC. 17. EFFECTIVE DATE.

(a) In General.--Except as provided by subsection (b), this
title shall take effect on January 1, 2007.
(b) Exception.--Section 312 shall take effect upon the date
of enactment of this Act.
______