31 U.S.C. § 1352 — Limitation on use of appropriated funds to influence certain Federal contracting and financial transactions
submitted 37 years ago by Pub. L. 101-121 to r/title-31-MONEY-AND-FINANCE · 1,969 words · no verdicts yet
Recipients of Federal contracts, grants, loans, or cooperative agreements may not use appropriated funds to pay for covered lobbying. They must file specified declarations, and violations can bring civil penalties.
(a) (1) A recipient may not use appropriated funds to pay anyone to influence or try to influence an agency officer or employee, a Member of Congress, a congressional officer or employee, or a Member's employee about (2)(A) awarding a Federal contract; (B) making a Federal grant; (C) making a Federal loan; (D) entering a cooperative agreement; or (E) extending, continuing, renewing, amending, or modifying any of those instruments.
(b) (1) Anyone requesting or receiving such an instrument, or a Federal commitment to insure or guarantee a loan, must file with the agency a declaration under (2) or (3), plus copies of declarations received under (5). (2) For a contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement, the declaration must name each Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 registrant who made lobbying contacts for the person about it and certify that the person has not made and will not make a payment prohibited by (a). (3) For a loan-insurance or loan-guaranty commitment, it must name each such registrant who made contacts about that commitment. (4) The declaration is due with each submission beginning agency consideration; upon receipt, unless already filed with the submission; and at the end of each quarter when an event materially changes its accuracy. (5) A person seeking a subcontract, subgrant, related contract, or cooperative-agreement contract from such a requester or recipient must file the corresponding written declaration with that requester or recipient. (6) After consulting the Senate Secretary and House Clerk, the OMB Director must issue implementation guidance.
(c) (1) A prohibited expenditure carries a civil penalty of $10,000 to $100,000 for each expenditure. (2) Failing to file or amend a required declaration carries the same range for each failure. Filing after an administrative penalty action starts does not cure an earlier failure; the action starts when an investigating official writes a determination to investigate the allegation. (3) Sections 3803 (except subsection (c)), 3804-3808, and 3812 apply consistently to imposing and collecting these penalties. (4) The United States may still seek another remedy.
(d) (1)(A) The ban does not cover reasonable compensation for agency or legislative liaison work not directly related to an action in (a)(2). (B) It does not bar reasonable payments for professional or technical services directly preparing, submitting, or negotiating a bid, proposal, or application, or meeting legal conditions for receiving the instrument. (C) This does not authorize a payment barred elsewhere. (2) Reporting does not apply to reasonable compensation for regularly employed officers or employees; contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, subcontractors, or subgrants not exceeding $100,000 (subject to the stated exception); or loans and loan-insurance or guaranty commitments not exceeding $150,000 or the applicable single-family maximum mortgage limit, whichever is greater, including related contracts.
(e) The Defense Secretary may, in writing, exempt a covered Federal action when it is in the national interest, and must immediately send Congress the exemption.
(f) Each agency head must ensure vigorous implementation and enforcement.
(g) “Recipient” includes its contractors, subcontractors, and subgrantees, but excludes eligible Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and other eligible Indian organizations for specified permitted expenditures. “Agency” has the meaning in 5 U.S.C. 552(f) and includes a Government corporation defined in 31 U.S.C. 9101(1). “Person” includes individuals and listed profit or nonprofit entities, States, and local governments, but has the same specified Indian-organization exclusion. “State” includes a State, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, a United States territory or possession, a State agency or instrumentality, and a multi-State, regional, or interstate governmental entity. “Local government” means a State governmental unit and, if State-chartered, a local public authority, special district, intrastate district, council of governments, sponsor-group representative organization, or other local-government instrumentality. “Federal contract,” “Federal grant,” and “Federal cooperative agreement” mean, respectively, an agency contract, an agency grant or direct legal appropriation to a person, and an agency cooperative agreement; they exclude direct cash assistance to an individual, loans, loan insurance, and loan guaranties. “Federal loan” means an agency loan and excludes loan insurance and a loan guaranty. “Reasonable payment” is the normal private-sector amount for professional or technical services. “Reasonable compensation” is normal compensation for the employee's non-Federal work. “Regularly employed” means employed at least 130 working days in the year before the submission. “Indian tribe” and “tribal organization” have the meanings in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act.
None of the funds appropriated by any Act may be expended by the recipient of a Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement to pay any person for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress in connection with any Federal action described in paragraph (2) of this subsection.
The prohibition in paragraph (1) of this subsection applies with respect to the following Federal actions:
The awarding of any Federal contract.
The making of any Federal grant.
The making of any Federal loan.
The entering into of any cooperative agreement.
The extension, continuation, renewal, amendment, or modification of any Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement.
Each person who requests or receives a Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement from an agency or requests or receives 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 written declaration described in paragraph (2) or (3) of this subsection, as the case may be; and
copies of all declarations received by such person under paragraph (5).
A declaration filed by a person pursuant to paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection in connection with a Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement shall contain—
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
a certification that the person making the declaration has not made, and will not make, any payment prohibited by subsection (a).
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 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.
A person referred to in paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection shall file a declaration referred to in that paragraph—
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;
upon receipt by such person of a Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement or of a commitment providing for the United States to insure or guarantee a loan, unless such person previously filed a declaration with respect to such contract, grant, loan, cooperative agreement or commitment pursuant to clause (A); and
at the end of each calendar quarter in which there occurs any event that materially affects the accuracy of the information contained 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.
Any person who requests or receives from a person referred to in paragraph (1) of this subsection a subcontract under a Federal contract, a subgrant or contract under a Federal grant, a contract or subcontract to carry out any purpose for which a particular Federal loan is made, or a contract under a Federal cooperative agreement shall be required to file with the person referred to in such paragraph a written declaration referred to in clause (A) of such paragraph.
The Director of the Office of Management and Budget, after consulting with the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives, shall issue guidance for agency implementation of, and compliance with, the requirements of this section.
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.
Any person who fails to file or amend a declaration required to be filed or amended under subsection (b) 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 failure.
A filing of a declaration of a declaration amendment on or after the date on which an administrative 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 administrative action is commenced with respect to a failure when an investigating official determines in writing to commence an investigation of an allegation of such failure.
Sections 3803 (except for subsection (c)), 3804, 3805, 3806, 3807, 3808, and 3812 of this title shall be applied, consistent with the requirements of this section, to the imposition and collection of civil penalties under this subsection.
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 penalty.
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 contract, 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.
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 person requesting or receiving, a Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement or an extension, continuation, renewal, amendment, or modification of a Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement if the payment is for professional or technical services rendered directly in the preparation, submission, or negotiation of any bid, proposal, or application for that Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement or for meeting requirements imposed by or pursuant to law as a condition for receiving that Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement.
Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed as permitting the use of appropriated funds for making any payment prohibited in or pursuant to any other provision of law.
The reporting requirement in subsection (b) of this section shall not apply to any person with respect to—
payments of reasonable compensation made to regularly employed officers or employees 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;
a request for or receipt of a contract (other than a contract referred to in clause (C)), grant, cooperative agreement, subcontract (other than a subcontract referred to in clause (C)), or subgrant that does not exceed $100,000; and
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, whichever is greater, including a contract or subcontract to carry out any purpose for which such a loan is made.
The Secretary of Defense may exempt a Federal action described in subsection (a)(2) from the prohibition in subsection (a)(1) whenever 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 immediately after making such determination.
The head of each Federal agency shall take such actions as are necessary to ensure that the provisions of this section are vigorously implemented and enforced in such agency.
As used in this section:
The term “recipient”, with respect to funds received in connection with a Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement—
includes the contractors, subcontractors, or subgrantees (as the case may be) of the recipient; but
does not include an Indian tribe, tribal organization, or any other Indian organization eligible to receive Federal contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, or loans from an agency but only with respect to expenditures that are by such tribe or organization for purposes specified in subsection (a) and are permitted by other Federal law.
The term “agency” has the same meaning provided for such term in section 552(f) of title 5, and includes a Government corporation, as defined in section 9101(1) of this title.
The term “person”—
includes an individual, corporation, company, association, authority, firm, partnership, society, State, and local government, regardless of whether such entity is operated for profit or not for profit; but
does not include an Indian tribe, tribal organization, or any other Indian organization eligible to receive Federal contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, or loans from an agency but only with respect to expenditures by such tribe or organization that are made for purposes specified in subsection (a) and are permitted by other Federal law.
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 governmental duties and powers.
The term “local government” means a unit of government in a State and, if chartered, established, or otherwise recognized by a State for the performance of a governmental duty, the following entities:
A local public authority.
A special district.
An intrastate district.
A council of governments.
A sponsor group representative organization.
Any other instrumentality of a local government.
The terms “Federal contract”, “Federal grant”, “Federal cooperative agreement” mean, respectively—
a contract awarded by an agency;
a grant made by an agency or a direct appropriation made by law to any person; and
a cooperative agreement entered into by an agency.
Such terms do not include—
direct United States cash assistance to an individual;
a loan;
loan insurance; or
a loan guaranty.
The term “Federal loan” means a loan made by an agency. Such term does not include loan insurance or a loan guaranty.
The term “reasonable payment” means, with respect to professional and other technical services, a payment in an amount that is consistent with the amount normally paid for such services in the private sector.
The term “reasonable compensation” means, with respect to a regularly employed officer or employee of any person, compensation that is consistent with the normal compensation for such officer or employee for work that is not furnished to, not funded by, or not furnished in cooperation with the Federal Government.
The term “regularly employed”, with respect to an officer or employee 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, 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 submission that initiates agency consideration of such person for receipt of such contract, grant, loan, cooperative agreement, loan insurance commitment, or loan guaranty commitment.
The terms “Indian tribe” and “tribal organization” have the meaning provided in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b).1
Source credit: (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.)
- 1989Enacted · Pub. L. 101-121 · 103 Stat. 750
- 1990Amended · Pub. L. 101-512 · 104 Stat. 1977
- 1994Amended · Pub. L. 103-272 · 108 Stat. 1362
- 1995Amended · Pub. L. 104-65 · 109 Stat. 700
- 1995Amended · Pub. L. 104-66 · 109 Stat. 734
- 1996Amended · Pub. L. 104-106 · 110 Stat. 445, 656
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 101-121 on 1989-10-23.
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