H.R. 7692

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7692 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7692

To amend title 28, United States Code, to establish an Office of Ethics 
Counsel and an Office of Investigative Counsel within the Supreme Court 
of the United States.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

February 25, 2026

Mr. Goldman of New York (for himself, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. 
Nadler, Ms. Norton, Mr. Tonko, Mr. Thanedar, Ms. Garcia of Texas, Mr. 
Krishnamoorthi, Mr. Ivey, and Mr. Landsman) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend title 28, United States Code, to establish an Office of Ethics 
Counsel and an Office of Investigative Counsel within the Supreme Court 
of the United States.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Supreme Court Ethics and 
Investigations Act''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE OF ETHICS COUNSEL WITHIN THE 
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES.

(a) In General.--Chapter 45 of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 678. Office of Ethics Counsel
``(a) The Office of Ethics Counsel.--The Chief Justice is 
authorized to establish an Office of Ethics Counsel within the Supreme 
Court of the United States--
``(1) constituted by one chief ethics counsel who may 
employ such officers and employees, subject to the provisions 
of title 5, governing appointments in the competitive service, 
and the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 
53 of such title relating to classification and General 
Schedule pay rates; and
``(2) to advise and provide guidance to justices of the 
Supreme Court, and their spouses, on matters of judicial 
ethics, including--
``(A) financial disclosure requirements;
``(B) the acceptance of gifts;
``(C) political activity;
``(D) conflicts of interest and recusal; and
``(E) the unauthorized disclosure of official Court 
documents.
``(b) Ethics Counsels.--
``(1) Staffing and compensation of counsels.--
``(A) Chief ethics counsel.--The chief ethics 
counsel within the Office of Ethics Counsel--
``(i) may not be employed by the Court on 
the date of enactment of this section;
``(ii) shall be appointed by the Chief 
Justice;
``(iii) shall serve not more than two 6-
year terms; and
``(iv) shall receive an annual rate of pay 
of at least $225,000.
``(B) Other counsels.--Any counsel other than the 
chief ethics counsel within the Office of Ethics 
Counsel--
``(i) may not be employed by the Court on 
the date of enactment of this section;
``(ii) shall be appointed by the chief 
ethics counsel;
``(iii) shall serve not more than two 6-
year terms; and
``(iv) shall receive an annual rate of pay 
of at least $180,000.
``(2) Qualifications.--Each counsel of the Office of Ethics 
Counsel shall--
``(A) be licensed to practice law in a State or 
territory of the United States and a member of the bar 
in good standing; and
``(B) possess at least 5 years of experience as a 
practicing attorney.
``(3) Expertise.--Each counsel shall be an individual of 
exceptional public standing who is specifically qualified to 
serve within the Office of Ethics Counsel by virtue of the 
individual's education, training, and experience, as determined 
by the Chief Justice.
``(4) Termination of counsels.--The employment of a counsel 
may only be terminated by the Chief Justice for cause.
``(c) Training.--On a biannual basis, the Office of Ethics Counsel 
shall provide, and each justice shall take, a training course on the 
judicial ethics matters described in subsection (a)(2).
``(d) Report.--On an annual basis, the chief ethics counsel shall 
submit to the Committees on the Judiciary of the House of 
Representatives and of the Senate a report on the ethics advice given 
by the Office of Ethics Counsel during the previous year, including--
``(1) the number of times advice was sought and given;
``(2) whether the advice was sought by judicial officers or 
by judicial employees;
``(3) information about the topics covered by the advice 
given, including the number of questions related to gifts, 
financial disclosures, nonpublic information, and political 
activity;
``(4) the number and types of mitigation measures that were 
recommended, including recusal, divestiture, resignation;
``(5) the number of times advice described in this 
subsection was not followed by the individual to whom it was 
given, if known by the Office.
``(e) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) The term `gift' means any gratuity, favor, discount, 
entertainment, hospitality, loan, forbearance, or other item 
having monetary value. The term includes services as well as 
gifts of training, transportation, local travel, lodgings and 
meals, whether provided in-kind, by purchase of a ticket, 
payment in advance, or reimbursement after the expense has been 
incurred.
``(2) The term `political activity' means political 
engagements, such as paid speaking events, fundraisers, or 
donations to political parties, politicians, political action 
groups, or endorsements of political candidates.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents of chapter 45 of 
title 28, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to section 678 the following:

``678. Office of Ethics Counsel.''.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE OF INVESTIGATIVE COUNSEL WITHIN THE 
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES.

(a) In General.--Chapter 45 of title 28, United States Code, as 
amended by this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the 
following:
``Sec. 679. Office of Investigative Counsel
``(a) Office of Investigative Counsel.--The Chief Justice is 
authorized to establish an Office of Investigative Counsel within the 
Supreme Court of the United States--
``(1) constituted by one Chief Investigative Counsel and at 
least two additional investigative counsels; and
``(2) to review and investigate ethics complaints against 
justices arising from their actions or the actions of their 
spouses and dependents.
``(b) Investigative Counsels.--
``(1) Staffing and compensation of counsels.--
``(A) Chief investigative counsel.--The Chief 
Investigative Counsel--
``(i) may not be employed by the court on 
the date of enactment of this section;
``(ii) shall be appointed by the Chief 
Justice;
``(iii) shall serve not more than one 6-
year term; and
``(iv) shall receive an annual rate of pay 
of at least $225,000.
``(B) Additional investigative counsels.--The 
investigative counsels--
``(i) may not be employed by the court on 
the date of enactment of this section;
``(ii) shall be appointed by the Chief 
Investigative Counsel;
``(iii) shall serve at the pleasure of the 
Chief Investigative Counsel; and
``(iv) shall receive an annual rate of pay 
of at least $180,000.
``(C) Qualifications.--Each investigative counsel 
of the Office of Investigative Counsel shall--
``(i) be licensed to practice law in a 
State or territory of the United States and a 
member of the bar in good standing; and
``(ii) possess at least 7 years of 
experience as a practicing attorney.
``(D) Expertise.--Each investigative counsel and 
the Chief Investigative Counsel shall be an individual 
of exceptional public standing who is specifically 
qualified to serve within the Office of Investigative 
Counsel by virtue of the individual's education, 
training, and experience.
``(E) Termination of counsels.--The employment of 
the Chief Investigative Counsel may only be terminated 
by the Chief Justice for cause.
``(2) Subpoena power.--
``(A) In general.--For the discharge of their 
duties, the Chief Investigative Counsel shall have the 
authority to issue subpoenas to compel witnesses to 
appear and testify and to produce books, papers, 
correspondence, memoranda, documents, or other relevant 
records. The Chief Investigative Counsel may issue 
subpoenas requiring the attendance and testimony of 
witnesses and the production of any evidence relating 
to any matter under investigation by the Office of 
Investigative Counsel, which the Office is empowered to 
investigate by this section. The attendance of 
witnesses and the production of evidence may be 
required from any place within the United States at any 
designated place of hearing within the United States.
``(B) Failure to obey a subpoena.--If a person 
refuses to obey a subpoena issued under subparagraph 
(A), the Chief Investigative Counsel may apply to a 
United States district court for an order requiring 
that person to appear before the Office of 
Investigative Counsel to give testimony, produce 
evidence, or both, relating to the matter under 
investigation. The application may be made within the 
judicial district where the hearing is conducted or 
where that person is found, resides, or transacts 
business. Any failure to obey the order of the court 
shall be punishable by contempt of court.
``(C) Service of subpoenas.--The subpoenas of the 
Office of Investigative Counsel shall be served in the 
manner provided for subpoenas issued by a United States 
district court under the Federal Rules of Civil 
Procedure for the United States district courts.
``(D) Service of process.--All process of any court 
to which application is made under subparagraph (B) may 
be served in the judicial district in which the person 
required to be served resides or may be found.
``(c) Ethics Complaints.--
``(1) Filing.--An ethics complaint against a justice may be 
filed with the Office of Investigate Counsel by--
``(A) the chair or ranking minority member of the 
Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
Representatives or of the Senate;
``(B) the Majority Leader or Minority Leader of the 
Senate; or
``(C) the Speaker or the Minority Leader of the 
House of Representatives.
``(2) Review.--Not later than 60 days after an ethics 
complaint is filed under paragraph (1), the Office of 
Investigative Counsel shall review the complaint and determine 
whether a full investigation is appropriate. In making a 
determination under this paragraph, the Office shall consider 
whether the alleged behavior of a justice violates the Code of 
Conduct of the Supreme Court, the Judicial Code of Conduct, or 
any applicable law or regulation. Upon making a determination 
under this paragraph, the chief counsel shall respond to each 
ethics complaint filed under paragraph (1), regardless of 
whether the Office of Investigative Counsel determines that an 
investigation is appropriate.
``(3) Investigation.--If the Office determines that a full 
investigation is appropriate, it shall open the investigation 
not later than 15 days after making such determination.
``(4) Reporting.--
``(A) In general.--The Office of Investigative 
Counsel shall submit to the Chief Justice a report 
containing its findings and recommendations about an 
ethics complaint filed under paragraph (2) (including 
in the case of a complaint with respect to which the 
Office determines that no violation has occurred), 
except that in the case of an ethics complaint with 
respect to which the Chief Justice is the subject, the 
Office shall deliver such report to the most senior 
associate justice.
``(B) Contents.--A report under subparagraph (A) 
shall include--
``(i) each violation of the Code of Conduct 
for the Supreme Court committed by the justice 
who was the subject of the investigation under 
paragraph (3), including any such violation 
that arose as a result of the actions of a 
spouse or dependant of the justice; and
``(ii) substantive and actionable 
recommendations from the Office of 
Investigative Counsel including recusal, 
divestment and neutralization conflicts of 
interest, and other remedies.
``(C) Publication.--
``(i) Chief justice.--The Chief Justice 
may, in his sole discretion, release to the 
public a report received under subparagraph 
(A), but may not alter such a report in any 
way, except to redact any classified or 
personally identifiable information. In the 
case of an ethics complaint with respect to 
which the Chief Justice is the subject, the 
most senior associate justice is authorized to 
carry out this clause.
``(ii) Availability to congress.--Not later 
than 10 days after completing a report under 
subparagraph (A), the Office of Investigative 
Counsel shall make the report available to--
``(I) the Committees on the 
Judiciary of the House of 
Representatives and of the Senate;
``(II) the Committee on Oversight 
and Government Reform of the House of 
Representatives; and
``(III) the Committee on Homeland 
Security and Governmental Affairs of 
the Senate.
``(iii) Duty to inform the attorney 
general.--In carrying out the duties of the 
Office, the Investigative Counsel shall report 
expeditiously to the Attorney General whenever 
the Investigative Counsel has reasonable 
grounds to believe there has been a violation 
of Federal criminal law.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents of chapter 45 of 
title 28, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to section 678, as added by section 2, the following:

``679. Office of Investigative Counsel.''.

SEC. 4. SEVERABILITY.

If any provision of this Act, or any application of such provision 
to any person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the 
remainder of this Act and the application of this Act to any other 
person or circumstance shall not be affected.
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