50 U.S.C. § 3512: Gifts, devises, and bequests

Summary

The Director may accept money, stocks, or other property for the Agency when the Director thinks it helps the United States. Gifts can only be used for things like art displays, or for the welfare, education, or recreation of Agency employees, their dependents, former employees injured on the job (including from hostile or risky intelligence activity) and their family members, or similar uses. Gifts and their income may never be used for operational work. The Director cannot take a gift that forces the Agency to pay for something from other funds unless a law allows it. The Director may sell or invest gifts, but only in U.S. interest-bearing or fully U.S.-guaranteed obligations. Gifts are kept in a special Treasury fund and spent only on the allowed purposes. For tax rules, gifts accepted this way count as being to or for the use of the United States. Gift — means a donation, including a bequest or devise (a gift left in a will). The Director may do official fundraising for nonprofit groups that support surviving family members or help with welfare, education, or recreation for employees, former employees, or their families. Fundraising means taking an active part in events to raise money, not direct money solicitations. The Director must tell the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives within 7 days after starting or deciding to take part. The Director must write rules with the Office of Government Ethics to prevent conflicts of interest and to forbid accepting gifts from foreign governments or their agents.

Title 50, §3512

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(a)Use for operational purposes prohibited

(1)Subject to the provisions of this section, the Director may accept, hold, administer, and use gifts of money, securities, or other property whenever the Director determines it would be in the interest of the United States to do so.

(2)Any gift accepted by the Director as a gift to the Agency under this subsection (and any income produced by any such gift)—

(A)may be used only for—

(i)artistic display;

(ii)purposes relating to the general welfare, education, or recreation of employees or dependents of employees of the Agency or for similar purposes; or

(iii)purposes relating to the welfare, education, or recreation of an individual described in paragraph (3); and

(B)under no circumstances may such a gift (or any income produced by any such gift) be used for operational purposes.

(3)An individual described in this paragraph is an individual who—

(A)is an employee or a former employee of the Agency who suffered injury or illness while employed by the Agency that—

(i)resulted from hostile or terrorist activities;

(ii)occurred in connection with an intelligence activity having a significant element of risk; or

(iii)occurred under other circumstances determined by the Director to be analogous to the circumstances described in clause (i) or (ii);

(B)is a family member of such an employee or former employee; or

(C)is a surviving family member of an employee of the Agency who died in circumstances described in clause (i), (ii), or (iii) of subparagraph (A).

(4)The Director may not accept any gift under this section that is expressly conditioned upon any expenditure not to be met from the gift itself or from income produced by the gift unless such expenditure has been authorized by law.

(5)The Director may, in the Director’s discretion, determine that an individual described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (3) may accept a gift for the purposes described in paragraph (2)(A)(iii).

(b)Sale, exchange and investment of gifts

Unless otherwise restricted by the terms of the gift, the Director may sell or exchange, or invest or reinvest, any property which is accepted under subsection (a), but any such investment may only be in interest-bearing obligations of the United States or in obligations guaranteed as to both principal and interest by the United States.

(c)Deposit of gifts into special fund

There is hereby created on the books of the Treasury of the United States a fund into which gifts of money, securities, and other intangible property accepted under the authority of subsection (a), and the earnings and proceeds thereof, shall be deposited. The assets of such fund shall be disbursed upon the order of the Director for the purposes specified in subsection (a) or (b).

(d)Taxation of gifts

For purposes of Federal income, estate, and gift taxes, gifts accepted by the Director under subsection (a) shall be considered to be to or for the use of the United States.

(e)“Gift” defined

For the purposes of this section, the term “gift” includes a bequest or devise.

(f)Fundraising

(1)The Director may engage in fundraising in an official capacity for the benefit of nonprofit organizations that provide support to surviving family members of deceased Agency employees or that otherwise provide support for the welfare, education, or recreation of Agency employees, former Agency employees, or their family members.

(2)In this subsection, the term “fundraising” means the raising of funds through the active participation in the promotion, production, or presentation of an event designed to raise funds and does not include the direct solicitation of money by any other means.

(3)Not later than the date that is 7 days after the date the Director engages in fundraising authorized by this subsection or at the time the decision is made to participate in such fundraising, the Director shall notify the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives of the fundraising.

(g)Regulations

The Director, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Government Ethics, shall issue regulations to carry out the authority provided in this section. Such regulations shall ensure that such authority is exercised consistent with all relevant ethical constraints and principles, including—

(1)the avoidance of any prohibited conflict of interest or appearance of impropriety; and

(2)a prohibition against the acceptance of a gift from a foreign government or an agent of a foreign government.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Section was formerly classified to section 403l of this title prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.

Amendments

2023—Subsec. (a)(2)(A). Pub. L. 118–31 struck out closing quotation marks after “used only for—” in introductory provisions. 2017—Subsec. (f)(3). Pub. L. 115–31 added par. (3). 2014—Pub. L. 113–126, § 421(1), substituted “Gifts, devises, and bequests” for “Authority to accept gifts, devises, and bequests” in section catchline. Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 113–126, § 421(2), in introductory provisions, inserted “by the Director as a gift to the Agency” after “accepted” and substituted “this subsection” for “this section”. Subsecs. (b), (c). Pub. L. 113–126, § 421(3), (4), substituted “subsection (a),” for “this section,”. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 113–126, § 421(5), substituted “subsection (a)” for “this section”. Subsecs. (f), (g). Pub. L. 113–126, § 421(6), (7), added subsec. (f) and redesignated former subsec. (f) as (g). 2012—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 112–87, § 411(1), designated existing provisions as par. (1), struck out “Any gift accepted under this section (and any income produced by any such gift) may be used only for artistic display or for purposes relating to the general welfare, education, or recreation of employees or dependents of employees of the Agency or for similar purposes, and under no circumstances may such a gift (or any income produced by any such gift) be used for operational purposes. The Director may not accept any gift under this section which is expressly conditioned upon any expenditure not to be met from the gift itself or from income produced by the gift unless such expenditure has been authorized by law.” at end, and added pars. (2) to (5). Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 112–87, § 411(2), added subsec. (f).

§3512 Gifts, Devises, and Bequests

Summary

Title 50, §3512

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

Citations & Metadata