Office of Government Ethics Authorization Act of 1996
Public Law 104-179 · H.R. 3235 · 104th Congress · began in the House
Signed by Bill Clinton (D) on Aug 6, 1996 · Government Operations and Politics
Sponsor: Rep. Charles Canady (R-FL-12)
Cosponsors (1): Rep. Henry Hyde
Passage votes
- HouseVoice vote
- SenateUnanimous consent
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Office of Government Ethics Authorization Act of 1996 - Amends the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to: (1) authorize the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) Director to accept gifts for OGE use; and (2) extend the authorization of appropriations for the OGE.
Amends Federal law to repeal the requirement that Federal buildings display the Code of Ethics for Government Service.
Modifies postemployment restrictions on certain senior (including very senior) personnel.
Modifies the level of pay applicable with respect to certain senior personnel of the executive branch and independent agencies.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Oversight and Accountability Committee · House · discharged from, referred toSubcommittee: Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation Subcommittee- Judiciary Committee · House · markup by, referred to, reported bySubcommittee: Constitution and Limited Government Subcommittee
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 17 actions.
- Aug 6, 1996Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 104-179.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- Jul 26, 1996PresidentPresident · Presented to President.
- Jul 24, 1996FloorFloor · Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
- Jun 4, 1996FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- FloorFloor · On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote.
- FloorFloor · Mr. Canady moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
- May 29, 1996CommitteeCommittee · Discharged from House Oversight and Government Reform Committee
- CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House Judiciary Committee
- Apr 24, 1996CommitteeCommittee · Markup by House Judiciary Committee
- Apr 18, 1996CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation Subcommittee of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee
- Apr 17, 1996CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Constitution and Limited Government Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee
- CommitteeCommittee · Markup by Constitution and Limited Government Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee
- Apr 15, 1996CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Oversight and Government Reform Committee
- CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Judiciary Committee
- CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Constitution and Limited Government Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the House
Data notes
Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.
Official record
The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.