HB2857, the Drain the Swamp Act, is a straightforward measure that would codify Executive Order 13989 into federal statute, thereby making its ethics commitments legally binding for executive branch personnel. The bill’s text is limited to two sections: a short-title provision and a codification clause guaranteeing that EO 13989 shall have the force and effect of law.
No new substantive policy changes or enforcement mechanisms are introduced beyond the EO itself.
In practice, this means the ethics pledges and related commitments contained in EO 13989 would operate as statutory requirements. For compliance programs, agencies, and personnel, the codification removes ambiguity about enforceability and provides a clear, legal basis for adherence.
The bill does not specify funding, penalties, or procedural steps, leaving those details to existing administrative and legal channels tied to EO 13989.
At a Glance
What It Does
The bill codifies Executive Order 13989 into statute, giving its ethics commitments binding force. It does not add new ethics rules beyond those in the EO.
Who It Affects
Executive branch personnel subject to ethics pledges and the agency ethics offices responsible for enforcing them across federal agencies.
Why It Matters
By elevating the EO to statutory status, the commitments become enforceable law, reducing ambiguity and potentially strengthening accountability for executive branch ethics.
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What This Bill Actually Does
Drain the Swamp Act is a small, focused bill with a public-facing name that signals a broader goal of ethics enforcement. Its core action is to take the ethics commitments established by Executive Order 13989 and embed them into statute, so they have the same legal weight as other federal requirements.
The text comprises two sections: a short-title provision and a codification clause that states EO 13989 shall have the force and effect of law. There are no new prohibitions, exemptions, or funding provisions in the bill itself, and no separate enforcement framework is created.
Implementation and any enforcement would derive from the EO and existing statutory and regulatory processes.
For compliance professionals, the bill promises a clearer statutory anchor for executive-branch ethics obligations. Agencies would interpret and apply those commitments with statutory weight rather than as discretionary guidance.
However, because the bill does not add penalties, funding, or a distinct enforcement mechanism, questions about how violations would be adjudicated or funded remain tied to the EO and current administrative procedures. In short, the Drain the Swamp Act would formalize what EO 13989 already aimed to require, without rewriting the underlying ethics framework.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The bill codifies Executive Order 13989 into federal statute.
Executive Order 13989 shall have the force and effect of law once codified.
The act is titled the Drain the Swamp Act.
No new penalties, funding, or enforcement provisions are specified in the text.
The bill does not introduce additional ethics rules beyond those in the EO.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
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Short Title
This section designates the bill’s short title as the Drain the Swamp Act. It serves as the official label for citation and reference, without creating substantive policy requirements.
Codification of Executive Order 13989
This section provides that Executive Order 13989, relating to ethics commitments by executive branch personnel, shall have the force and effect of law. In practical terms, it places the EO’s ethics pledges on a statutory footing, but it does not alter the substantive content of the EO or add new enforcement mechanisms within the bill itself.
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Who Benefits
- Executive branch personnel subject to ethics commitments, who gain a clear, legally binding standard to follow.
- Agency ethics officials and compliance staff, who gain statutory grounding for enforcing the commitments.
- Inspector General offices and oversight entities, which can reference codified ethics obligations in audits and investigations.
- The public and taxpayers, who gain greater assurance of ethics accountability in federal operations.
- Legislative oversight bodies, which can rely on a codified ethics framework when evaluating agency conduct.
Who Bears the Cost
- Federal agencies’ ethics offices, which may incur costs to align systems and training with the codified standard.
- Executive branch personnel, who must invest time in complying with the codified ethics commitments.
- Agency leadership and program managers who oversee ethics training, disclosures, and monitoring activities.
- Auditors and inspectors general who may face increased compliance verification workload tied to codified requirements.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The central dilemma is whether codifying EO 13989 into law strengthens accountability by removing ambiguity, or whether it creates rigidity by locking in a single set of commitments without new enforcement or funding mechanisms to support ongoing compliance and oversight.
The bill’s narrow scope makes it a straightforward codification of EO 13989, but it also leaves several important implementation questions unanswered. By turning an executive order into statute without adding funding, penalties, or a distinct enforcement framework, the act relies on preexisting statutory and regulatory processes to enforce compliance.
This could mean continued dependence on agency ethics offices, existing disciplinary authorities, and court interpretations of the EO’s obligations. The primary tension lies in balancing stronger, legally enforceable ethics commitments with the risk that codification freezes in place a particular policy design without room for iterative updates or clarifications through the regular legislative process.
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