[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 134 Introduced in House (IH)]

  1st Session
H. RES. 134

   To amend the Rules of the House of Representatives concerning the 
           receipt of gifts from lobbyists and other persons.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 6, 1995

 Mrs. Waldholtz (for herself, Mr. Barrett of Wisconsin, Mr. Shays, Mr. 
 Minge, Mr. Klug, Mr. Deal of Georgia, Mr. Castle, Mr. McHale, and Mr. 
 Dickey) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
               Committee on Standards of Official Conduct

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   To amend the Rules of the House of Representatives concerning the 
           receipt of gifts from lobbyists and other persons.

    Resolved,

SECTION 1. GIFTS.

    Clause 4 of rule XLIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives 
is amended to read as follows:
    ``4. (a)(1) No Member, officer, or employee of the House of 
Representatives shall accept a gift from a lobbyist who is registered 
under the Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act, the Foreign Agents 
Registration Act, or any successor statute unless--
            (A) the lobbyist is a member of the immediate family of the 
        Member, officer, or employee to whom the gift was made, or
            (B) the Member, officer, or employee did not know or have 
        reason to know that the gift was given because of the official 
        position of the Member, officer, or employee, was given through 
        a member of the Member's, officer's, or employee's immediate 
        family or an entity maintained or controlled by the Member, 
        officer, or employee, or was given by a lobbyist who--
                    (i) was reimbursed, directly or indirectly, for the 
                value of the gift,
                    (ii) was provided any other compensation for the 
                value of the gift, or
                    (iii) did deduct the value of the gift from the 
                lobbyist's Federal income tax liability,
        and the Member, officer, or employee disclosed the gift to the 
        Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.
    ``(2) No lobbyist who is registered under the Federal Regulation of 
Lobbying Act, the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or any successor 
statute may provide a gift which is prohibited under paragraph (1) or 
deduct the value of the gift as a business expense from the lobbyist's 
Federal income tax liability.
    ``(b)(1) No Member, officer, or employee of the House of 
Representatives may accept a gift from any person other than a lobbyist 
unless--
            ``(A) the person giving the gift is a member of the 
        immediate family of the Member, officer, or employee to whom 
        the gift was made,
            (B) the Member, officer, or employee did not know or have 
        reason to know that the gift was given because of the official 
        position of the Member, officer, or employee, was given through 
        a member of the Member's, officer's, or employee's immediate 
        family or an entity maintained or controlled by the Member, 
        officer, or employee, or was given by an individual who--
                    (i) was reimbursed, directly or indirectly, for the 
                value of the gift,
                    (ii) was provided any other compensation for the 
                value of the gift, or
                    (iii) did deduct the value of the gift from the 
                individual's Federal income tax liability,
        and the Member, officer, or employee disclosed the gift to the 
        Committee on Standards of Official Conduct,
            ``(C) the gift consisted of a meal,
            ``(D) the gift was a contribution or other payment to a 
        legal defense fund established for the benefit of a Member, 
        officer, or employee,
            ``(E) the gift was an extension of personal hospitality, as 
        defined in section 109(14) of the Ethics in Government Act, by 
        the person giving the gift on the premises of such person,
            ``(F) the gift was attendance at a charity, symposium, 
        conference, association dinner, or other similar widely-
        attended event.
For purposes of subparagraph (F), the term `attendance' includes the 
provision of local transportation and the provision of food, 
refreshments, entertainment, and instructional materials furnished as 
an integral part of an event.
    ``(2) No person may make a gift which is prohibited under paragraph 
(1) or deduct the value of such a gift as a business expense from the 
person's Federal income tax liability.
    ``(c) For purposes of paragraphs (a) and (b), the term `gift' 
includes--
            ``(1) objects,
            ``(2) food, refreshments, and lodging reimbursement in 
        connection with an event attended by a Member, officer, or 
        employee because of the position of the Member, officer, or 
        employee,
            ``(3) a gift given to any person, including a charitable 
        organization, on the basis of a designation, recommendation, or 
        other specification which was made by the Member, officer, or 
        employee for whom the gift was made and which was not made as a 
        solicitation directed to a broad category of individuals or 
        entities, and
            ``(4) tickets to an event.
    ``(d) For purposes of paragraphs (a) and (b), the term `gift' has 
the same meaning given that term by the Office of Ethics in its 
regulations (5 C.F.R. 2635.203(b)) and specifically does not include--
            ``(1) informational material,
            ``(2) receptions and other food and refreshments of a 
        nominal value not offered as part of a meal,
            ``(3) products from the home state of the Member which are 
        of nominal value,
            ``(4) objects of little intrinsic value, or
            ``(5) payments or reimbursements for reasonable and 
        necessary expenses for travel, for a period not exceeding 3 
        days, exclusive of travel time, within the United States or for 
        a period not exceeding 7 days, exclusive of travel time, 
        outside the United States, to meetings, speaking engagements, 
        fact-finding trips, or similar events directly related to the 
        official duties of the Member, officer, or employee if--
                    ``(A) any payment or reimbursement does not include 
                expenditures for any recreational activity or 
                attendance at a congressional retreat;
                    ``(B) any payment or reimbursement does not include 
                expenditures for entertainment other than that provided 
                to all attendees as an integral part of an event which 
                is directly related to such official duties; and
                    ``(C) within 30 days after the travel is completed, 
                the Member, officer, or employee discloses to the 
                Committee on Standards of Official Conduct for 
                immediate public disclosure--
                            ``(i) such travel,
                            ``(ii) the name of the Member, officer, or 
                        employee for whom the travel was provided,
                            ``(iii) the dates and destination of the 
                        travel,
                            ``(iv) the name of the person or entity 
                        providing any payments or reimbursements for 
                        travel,
                            ``(v) the purpose of the travel, and
                            ``(vi) a good faith estimate to total 
                        transportation expenses, total lodging 
                        expenses, total meal expenses, and any other 
                        expenses related to such travel reimbursed or 
                        to be reimbursed.
Such term does not include an item which it is not practical to return 
because it is perishable and the item is either shared with the 
recipient's office, destroyed, or given to a charity on the basis of a 
designation, recommendation, or other specification by a Member, 
officer, or employee.
    ``(e) The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct may grant a 
waiver from the requirements of this clause in unusual circumstances 
and shall make public any such waiver granted.''.
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