§988. Prohibition on ownership or trading of stocks in certain companies by certain officials of the Department of Defense

(a) Prohibition.-Except as provided in subsection (b), a covered official of the Department of Defense may not own or purchase publicly traded stock of a company if that company is one of the 10 entities awarded the most amount of contract funds by the Department of Defense in a fiscal year during the five preceding fiscal years.

(b) Exceptions.-This section shall not apply to the purchase or ownership of a publicly traded stock of a company otherwise described in subsection (a) as follows:

(1) If the aggregate market value of the holdings of the covered official, and the spouse and minor children of the covered official, in the stock of that company, both before and after purchase (in the case of a purchase), does not exceed the de minimis threshold established in section 2640.202(a)(2) of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations.

(2) If the stock is purchased and owned as part of an Excepted Investment Fund or mutual fund.

(c) Definitions.-In this section:

(1) The term "covered official of the Department of Defense" means any of the following:

(A) A civilian appointed to a position in the Department of Defense by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

(B) If serving in a key acquisition position (as designated by the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary concerned for purposes of this section), the following:

(i) A member of the armed forces in a grade above O–6.

(ii) A civilian officer or employee in a Senior Executive Service, Senior-Level, or Scientific or Professional position.

(2) The term "Excepted Investment Fund" means a widely-held investment fund described in section 102(f)(8) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.).¹

(Added Pub. L. 116–92, div. A, title IX, §921(a), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 1560 .)

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Section 102(f)(8) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, referred to in subsec. (c)(2), is section 102(f)(8) of Pub. L. 95–521, which was set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees, and was repealed and restated as section 13104(f)(8) of Title 5 by Pub. L. 117–286, §§3(c), (7), Dec. 27, 2022, 136 Stat. 4284 , 4361.

¹ See References in Text note below.