# Understanding the PAINTER Act

The PAINTER Act is about making sure the public knows about the financial dealings of the President's and Vice President's adult children. Right now, federal ethics rules require the President and Vice President to disclose their own finances and those of their spouses and dependent children. This bill expands that requirement to include adult children who don't live with them or depend on them financially—basically, any child over 17 who isn't claimed as a dependent.

The practical effect is straightforward: if you're the President or Vice President, you'd have to report on your adult children's investments, business deals, and financial interests just like you do for the rest of your immediate family. So if an adult child owns a business, has significant stock holdings, or receives income from various sources, those details would need to be disclosed publicly. The idea behind this is transparency—making sure there's a clear record of what financial interests exist in the President's or Vice President's family that could potentially create conflicts of interest or raise ethical concerns.

This mainly affects people in the highest levels of government and their families. For ordinary citizens, the impact is indirect: you'd potentially have access to more financial information about the President's and Vice President's families through public disclosure forms. The bill doesn't change anything about how regular Americans report their finances or conduct their business—it only applies to these specific government officials and their adult children. It's essentially saying that if you hold the nation's highest offices, the public gets to see a fuller picture of your family's financial situation.

PAINTER Act

Waltz, Michael

Preventing Assets and Investments with No Transparency from Executive Relatives Act or the PAINTER Act This bill extends the financial disclosures required under the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to include any non-dependent child of the President or Vice President. Non-dependent child means any individual who is a son, daughter, stepson, or stepdaughter of the reporting individual that is over the age of 17 and that is not a dependent child of such reporting individual.