Bipartisan Restoring Faith in Government Act

Restrictions on Financial Conflicts: The bill prohibits covered individuals from owning or trading covered financial instruments, which includes securities, futures, commodities, and certain derivatives (Section 2, Sec. 13151 & 13152).

Exemptions for Stable Investments: Individuals are still allowed to own and trade certain assets such as widely held investment funds, U.S. Treasury bills, notes, or bonds, state or local government bonds, and investments under the Thrift Savings Plan (Section 2, Sec. 13152(a)(2)).

Accountability through Transparency: The supervising ethics office is required to publish certificates of compliance on a publicly accessible website (Section 2, Sec. 13152(f)(3)).

Strict Blind Trust Oversight: To ensure integrity, qualified blind trusts must be approved by a supervising ethics office, and trustees must certify annually that they have not shared information regarding assets or transactions with the covered individual (Section 2, Sec. 13152(c)(3)).

Financial Burdens of Divestiture: Covered individuals must divest of certain financial instruments through sale or placement in a qualified blind trust within specific timeframes, such as 90 days after enactment or after acquiring assets under special circumstances (Section 2, Sec. 13152(b)).

Tax Consequences: A loss from a transaction or holding involving a covered financial instrument that violates this section cannot be deducted from an individual's income tax (Section 2, Sec. 13152(d)).

Civil Penalties and Legal Action: The Attorney General may bring civil actions against individuals who knowingly and willfully fail to comply, with courts able to assess penalties up to $50,000 (Section 2, Sec. 13153(b)(1)).

Restrictions on Penalty Payments: Individuals are prohibited from using funds from a Members' Representational Allowance or certain political committee funds to pay any penalties resulting from these civil actions (Section 2, Sec. 13153(b)(1)(A)).