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Congress·In Committee·11 months ago

House Committee Reviews SEER Act to Tighten Ethics Rules for Special Government Employees

Also known as: SEER Act of 2025

Legislative Progress

✓ Filed
Review
House
Senate
President

Impacts

Negative Impacts(2)
Federal Employee
Hurts
Small Business Owner
Hurts

Key Points

  • Makes it harder to use “special Government employee” status without proper paperwork and clearer limits on what counts as a conflict.
  • Tightens conflict-of-interest rules for certain special Government employees, especially those not on advisory committees or who lead them.
  • Requires the government to publicly post conflict-of-interest waivers for these workers in a searchable online database within 14 days.
  • Bars certain special Government employees from contacting agencies about matters involving large companies they own or help run, when those agencies regulate or contract with the company.
  • Creates a public online database listing these special Government employees, how many days they’ve served, and why they weren’t hired as regular employees.
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Milestones

2 milestones2 actions
Apr 10, 2025House

Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Apr 10, 2025

Introduced in House

What Happens Next

Projected impacts based on AI analysis

After the bill becomes law; likely within months

Office of Government Ethics (OGE) writes rules defining key terms like “ownership” of a large company and how the communication restriction works.

SGEs and agencies get clearer instructions on what contacts are banned and what must be reported, reducing “gray area” but increasing compliance duties.

Soon after the bill becomes law

Agencies start designating SGEs more formally on the personnel action form (SF-50 or equivalent).

People brought in as SGEs should expect clearer paperwork about their status, and it becomes harder for agencies to quietly treat someone as “special” without documentation.

After OGE and agencies set up the system

Public online database of covered SGEs goes live and begins updating with names, service-day tallies, and reasons for SGE status.

Anyone can look up whether a high-level outside hire is serving as an SGE and how long they’ve been in the role, making oversight easier.

Once agencies have the posting process in place

New requirement starts for posting certain conflict-of-interest waivers online within 14 days.

If an SGE gets permission to work on something despite a financial conflict (in covered cases), the public can see that waiver quickly instead of it staying internal.

As each SGE crosses the 60-day mark after enactment

Ethics rules begin applying to SGEs the same way as regular employees after they pass 60 days of service in the last 365 days.

Longer-serving SGEs may need to stop working on certain issues, sell/exit conflicting holdings, or change outside jobs to avoid conflicts—similar to what regular employees already face.

As each SGE crosses the 130-day mark after enactment

SGEs who pass 130 days of service in the last 365 days get treated like regular employees for additional rules, including limits tied to outside pay (even if the SGE is unpaid).

Agencies have stronger incentives to convert long-serving SGEs into regular hires or end the appointment; SGEs may have to choose between the role and certain outside compensation arrangements.

Related News

2 articles
CryptoSlate·11 months ago

Elizabeth Warren targets Elon Musk and White House crypto czar David Sacks with new ethics reform bill

A coalition of US lawmakers led by Senator Elizabeth Warren introduced the SEER Act to apply stricter transparency and accountability standards to Special Government Employees (SGEs) like Elon Musk and David Sacks, targeting their private sector ties.

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NTD News·11 months ago

Sen. Warren Introduces Bill to Tighten Ethics Rules for Special Government Employees

The SGE Ethics Enforcement & Reform Act of 2025, or SEER Act, targets concerns over temporary federal employees. It requires the Office of Government Ethics to concur before any conflict-of-interest waiver is granted and mandates a public database.

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Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

SEER Act of 2025

Bill NumberHR 2894
Congress119th Congress
ChamberHouse of Representatives
Latest ActionReferred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(4)
D: 4

Analysis generated by AI. While we strive for accuracy, this should not be considered legal or professional advice. Always verify information with official government sources.