“To require the President to publish a statement of reasons for pardons, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section defines executive clemency for purposes of the Act as any presidential exercise of the constitutional power to grant reprieves or pardons, including pardons, commutations, reprieves, or remissions of fines. It also defines victim by reference to section 503(e) of the Victims’ Rights and Restitution Act of 1990.
This section requires the President to publish a written explanation of the reasons for granting any executive clemency in the Federal Register and on the official White House website on the date the clemency is issued.
This section requires the Pardon Attorney to prepare a Justice Impact Statement within 30 days after becoming aware of any potential grant of executive clemency and to submit it to the President and Congress. The statement must describe efforts to contact victims and solicit their written statements, determine victims' opinions on the clemency, and assess the views of the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and other federal, state, local, and Tribal law enforcement officials on any effects to ongoing investigations or prosecutions. It must be completed even if submitted after clemency is granted. The section also requires any Department of Justice or Executive Office of the President employee who learns of such consideration to notify the Pardon Attorney immediately.
This section expands the definition of lobbying activities under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to include contacts regarding grants of executive clemency (i.e., pardons, commutations of sentence, reprieves, or remissions of fine). It requires lobbyists to register with the Secretary of the Senate and Clerk of the House within 2 days of first making or being retained for such a contact, regardless of total income or expenses, and to file a report within 2 days after the contact. It also redefines a lobbyist to include any individual making at least one such contact, irrespective of the share of services devoted to lobbying.
This section requires the Pardon Attorney to conduct a study every other year, beginning 180 days after enactment, on the extent of compliance or noncompliance with the Act. It also requires submission of a report to Congress by April 1 of the following year containing the study's findings and any recommendations to improve compliance.
This section preserves the validity of all remaining provisions of the Act and amendments made by the Act if any provision, amendment, or application is held invalid.