House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) and Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) are pairing up in a rare moment of bipartisanship to introduce legislation that seeks to prevent presidential candidates from “profiting from their proximity to power.”
The Presidential Ethics Reform Act would require presidents and vice presidents to disclose foreign payments, loan transactions, and tax returns during the two-year period prior to their time in office, during their time in office, and during the two-year period following their term. They also would have to disclose gifts valued at more than $10,000 from or by immediate family members, according to the bill.
The executives must also disclose family members who receive foreign payments, expensive gifts, and loans. Presidents and vice presidents would also need to note when immediate family members accompanied them on official travel, and specify when it is done for business purposes.
The legislation comes as Comer and House Republicans lead an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, accusing him of an “alleged criminal scheme” that allowed him to financially benefit from his family’s foreign business dealings.
Comer has said that even if the inquiry does not lead to impeachment articles, Republicans would consider criminal referrals or legislative reforms as an alternative conclusion to the investigation. Given that the House GOP committees leading the inquiry — Oversight, Ways and Means, and Judiciary — have found little to no evidence that Biden committed any wrongdoing so far, the Presidential Ethics Reform Act is the first of possibly several bills targeting influence peddling.
Comer called the “landmark” legislation essential to providing transparency to the public and a way to stave off influence peddling. The bill will target “deficiencies in current law that have led to a culture of corruption.”
“By creating this bipartisan legislation to provide greater transparency to the financial interactions related to the office of the president and vice-president, we can ensure that moving forward American presidents, vice presidents, and their family members cannot profit from their proximity to power,” Comer said in a statement.
This bill also serves as a win for Democrats, who have also looked into foreign investments of former President Donald Trump’s family members as the former president has refused to release his tax returns.
Porter, who unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Senate in California this year, has waded into presidential restrictions before. She endorsed exploring age limits during a Senate candidate debate in February, even as she praised Biden’s record.
“The American people deserve nothing less than full honesty and transparency from presidents and vice presidents,” Porter said in a statement. “Our bipartisan Presidential Ethics Reform Act would let Americans view the tax returns, gifts, and other conflicts of interest of a president, vice president, and their families, empowering the public to evaluate our leaders’ behavior for themselves.”
“By boosting transparency and requiring additional financial disclosures, Congress can shine a light on improper conduct in the Executive Branch — or be confident that none occurred,” Porter continued.
Ian Sams, White House spokesman for oversight and investigations, said in a statement to the Washington Examiner that Biden is committed to upholding “strong ethical standards.” Sams pointed to previous executive orders on ethics, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’s public 2023 tax returns, and the president’s financial disclosures.
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“We’re always happy to look at Congressman Comer’s bright ideas, but on his first day in office, President Biden implemented the strictest ethics standards of any Administration in history, he has publicly released 26 years of his tax returns for the American people to see — the most of any President ever — and publicly releases his personal financial disclosures each year,” Sams said.
“So the President of course believes in the importance of presidential ethics, and he has already made clear his commitment to upholding strong ethical standards,” Sams continued.