Congressman Byron Donalds (R-FL) unveiled a new bipartisan bill Monday aimed at increasing transparency and accountability in the reporting of foreign gifts received by federal employees—an area long criticized for inconsistencies and a lack of oversight.
The proposed legislation, titled the Gift Accountability, Registration, and Disclosures (GARD) Act, marks the 11th bill introduced by Rep. Donalds during the 119th Congress. It is co-led by Congressman Jared Golden (D-ME), signaling rare bipartisan agreement on ethics reform.
The bill has also drawn support from a wide range of watchdog and advocacy groups, including Public Citizen, Government Information Watch, Concerned Veterans for America, the Foundation for Government Accountability Action, and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).
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Rep. Donalds described the measure as “corrective action” against what he characterized as the Biden administration’s “lack of transparency and abuse of foreign gift disclosure guidelines.”
Foreign gifts to U.S. officials are currently governed by the Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act (5 U.S.C. §7342), which prohibits government employees from soliciting foreign gifts and restricts the acceptance of unsolicited ones unless refusal would harm diplomatic relations.
However, compliance and reporting under this law have long been plagued by inconsistencies. Oversight entities including the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the Office of Government Ethics (OGE), and key congressional committees have raised concerns over the lack of standardized reporting and delayed disclosures.
The GARD Act aims to address these gaps by standardizing the disclosure process using existing ethics forms—OGE Form 278e and 450 Part 9.
Under the new system, federal employees must continue to report foreign gifts within 60 days of receipt, but the information would now be entered into the formal ethics disclosure process, ensuring clearer records of donor identity, gift value, description, and final disposition.
In a key procedural change, the State Department would be required to publish all reported foreign gifts in the Federal Register within 30 days of May 15th each year—imposing a firm timeline on what has previously been an open-ended process.
Current Reporting Procedure Under 5 U.S.C. §7342:
- Employee receives foreign gift on behalf of the U.S.
- Gift must be submitted to employing agency within 60 days
- Employee reports donor, date, value, description, and known disposition
- Agency forwards the list to the State Department’s Chief of Protocol
- State Department reviews and publishes disclosures in the Federal Register—with no set deadline
Proposed Changes Under the GARD Act:
- Same initial steps for gift receipt and agency submission
- Gift details are reported on OGE Form 278e / 450 Part 9
- Agency sends disclosures to both OGE and the Secretary of State
- The State Department must publish all disclosures within 30 days of May 15 annually
By integrating foreign gift disclosures directly into the federal ethics reporting infrastructure, the GARD Act seeks to curb the potential for foreign influence and reinforce public trust in government operations.
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The bill’s bipartisan backing and wide-ranging organizational support could help it gain traction in a divided Congress, where ethics reforms often stall amid political gridlock.
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