Text of Senate Amendment 4408

Text of Senate Amendment 4408

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 48 (Tuesday, March 17, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 48 (Tuesday, March 17, 2026)] [Senate] [Pages S1101-S1103] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] SA 4408. Mr. WHITEHOUSE submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 1383, to establish the Veterans Advisory Committee on Equal Access, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows: Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act of 2026''. SEC. 2. CODE OF CONDUCT FOR THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES. (a) In General.--Chapter 16 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: ``Sec. 365. Codes of conduct ``(a) Justices.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Supreme Court of the United States shall, after appropriate public notice and opportunity for comment in accordance with section 2071, issue a code of conduct for the justices of the Supreme Court. ``(b) Other Judges.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Judicial Conference of the United States shall, after appropriate public notice and opportunity for comment in accordance with section 2071, issue a code of conduct for the judges of the courts of appeals, the district courts (including bankruptcy judges and magistrate judges), and the Court of International Trade. ``(c) Modification.--The Supreme Court of the United States and the Judicial Conference may modify the applicable codes of conduct under this section after giving appropriate public notice and opportunity for comment in accordance with section 2071. ``Sec. 366. Public access to ethics rules ``The Supreme Court of the United States shall make available on its internet website, in a full-text, searchable, sortable, and downloadable format, copies of the code of conduct issued under section 365(a), any rules established by the Counselor to the Chief Justice of the United States under section 677 and any other related rules or resolutions, as determined by the Chief Justice of the United States, issued by the Counselor to the Chief Justice of the United States or agreed to by the justices of the Supreme Court. ``Sec. 367. Complaints against justices ``(a) Receipt of Complaints.-- ``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Supreme Court of the United States shall establish procedures, modeled after the procedures set forth in sections 351 through 364, under which individuals may file with the Court, or the Court may identify, complaints alleging that a justice of the Supreme Court-- ``(A) has violated-- ``(i) the code of conduct issued pursuant to section 365(a); ``(ii) section 455; or ``(iii) any other applicable provision of Federal law; or ``(B) has otherwise engaged in conduct that undermines the integrity of the Supreme Court. ``(2) Procedures.--Procedures established under this subsection shall, at minimum, contain provisions-- ``(A) requiring that all complaints submitted under this section contain-- ``(i) the signature and contact address of the complainant; ``(ii) a concise statement of the specific facts on which the claim of misconduct is based; and ``(iii) a sworn affirmation that to the best of the knowledge and belief of the complainant, under penalty of perjury, the facts alleged in the complaint are true and form a reasonable basis to believe a justice has committed misconduct under this section; and ``(B) providing for the restriction on the future filing of complaints with respect to complainants who are shown to have filed repetitive, harassing, or frivolous complaints, or have otherwise abused the complaint procedure. ``(b) Judicial Investigation Panel.-- ``(1) In general.--Upon receipt or identification of a complaint under subsection (a), the Supreme Court of the United States shall refer such complaint to a judicial investigation panel, which shall be composed of a panel of 5 judges selected randomly from among the chief judge of each circuit of the United States. ``(2) Duties.--The judicial investigation panel-- ``(A) shall review and, if appropriate as determined by the panel, investigate all complaints submitted to the panel using procedures established by the panel and modeled after the procedures set forth in sections 351 through 364; ``(B) shall present to the Supreme Court of the United States any findings and recommendations for necessary and appropriate action by the Supreme Court, including dismissal of the complaint, disciplinary actions, or changes to Supreme Court rules or procedures; ``(C) if the panel does not recommend dismissal of the complaint, not later than 30 days following the presentation of any findings and recommendations under this paragraph, shall publish a report containing such findings and recommendations; and ``(D) if the panel recommends dismissal of the complaint, may publish any findings and recommendations if the panel determines that such publication would be in furtherance of the public interest. ``(3) Powers.--In conducting any investigation under this section, the judicial investigation panel may hold hearings, take sworn testimony, issue subpoenas ad testificandum and subpoenas duces tecum, and make necessary and appropriate orders in the exercise of its authority. ``(4) Access.--If the judicial investigation panel determines that a substantially similar complaint was previously submitted under section 351, but that such substantially similar complaint was dismissed for lack of authority to review or act upon such complaint, the panel shall have access to any information gathered pursuant to this chapter in relation to such substantially similar complaint. ``(5) Compensation.--The judicial investigation panel may appoint and fix the compensation of such staff as it deems necessary.''. (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 16 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: ``365. Codes of conduct. ``366. Public access to ethics rules. ``367. Complaints against justices.''. SEC. 3. MINIMUM GIFT AND DISCLOSURE STANDARDS FOR JUSTICES OF THE SUPREME COURT. Section 677 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: ``(e) The Counselor, with the approval of the Chief Justice, shall establish rules governing the acceptance of gifts and the disclosure of all gifts, income, or reimbursements, as those terms are defined in section 13101 of title 5, received by any justice and any law clerk to a justice. Such rules shall, at minimum, require disclosure of any information concerning gifts, income, and reimbursements required to be disclosed under the Standing Rules of the Senate and the Rules of the House of Representatives, and restrict the acceptance of gifts, and require processes for written approval of certain gifts, to the same extent as restricted or required under the Standing Rules of the Senate and the Rules of the House of Representatives.''. SEC. 4. CIRCUMSTANCES REQUIRING DISQUALIFICATION. (a) Anticorruption Protections.--Subsection (b) of section 455 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: ``(6) Where the justice or judge knows that a party to the proceeding or an affiliate of a party to the proceeding made any lobbying contact, as defined in section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602), or spent substantial funds in support of the nomination, confirmation, or appointment of the justice or judge. ``(7) Where the justice or judge, their spouse, their minor child, or a privately held entity owned by any such person received income, a gift, or reimbursement, as those terms are defined in section 13101 of title 5-- ``(A) from a party to the proceeding or an affiliate of a party to the proceeding; and [[Page S1102]] ``(B) during the period beginning on the date that is 6 years before the date on which the justice or judge was assigned to the proceeding and ending on the date of final disposition of the proceeding.''. (b) Duty To Know.--Subsection (c) of section 455 of title 28, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: ``(c) A justice, judge, magistrate judge, or bankruptcy judge of the United States shall ascertain-- ``(1) the personal and fiduciary financial interests of the justice or judge; ``(2) the personal financial interests of the spouse and minor children residing in the household of the justice or judge; and ``(3) any interest of the persons described in paragraph (2) that could be substantially affected by the outcome of the proceeding.''. (c) Divestment.--Subsection (f) of section 455 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by inserting ``under subsection (b)(4)'' after ``disqualified''. (d) Duty To Notify.--Section 455 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: ``(g) If at any time a justice, judge, magistrate judge, or bankruptcy judge of the United States learns of a condition that could reasonably require disqualification under this section, the justice or judge shall immediately notify all parties to the proceeding.''. (e) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--Section 455 of title 28, United States Code, as amended by this section, is amended-- (1) in the section heading, by striking ``judge, or magistrate judge'' and inserting ``judge, magistrate judge, or bankruptcy judge''; (2) in subsection (a), by striking ``judge, or magistrate judge'' and inserting ``judge, magistrate judge, or bankruptcy judge''; (3) in subsection (b)-- (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ``the judge or such lawyer'' and inserting ``the justice, the judge, or such lawyer''; (B) in paragraph (5)(iii), by inserting ``justice or'' before ``judge''; and (C) in p