[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 492 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 492

  To amend the Standing Rules of the Senate to prohibit Members from 
            using charitable foundations for personal gain.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 24, 2006

 Mr. Baucus submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
               the Committee on Rules and Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  To amend the Standing Rules of the Senate to prohibit Members from 
            using charitable foundations for personal gain.

    Resolved,

SECTION 1. PROHIBITION ON USING CHARITIES FOR PERSONAL OR POLITICAL 
              GAIN.

    (a) In General.--Rule XXXVII of the Standing Rules of the Senate is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``13. (a) A Member of the Senate shall not use for personal or 
political gain any organization--
            ``(1) which is described in section 501(c)(3) of the 
        Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 
        501(a) of such Code; and
            ``(2) the affairs over which such Member or the spouse of 
        such Member is in a position to exercise substantial influence.
    ``(b) For purposes of this paragraph, a Member of the Senate shall 
be considered to have used an organization described in subparagraph 
(a) for personal or political gain if--
            ``(1) a member of the family (within the meaning of section 
        4946(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) of the Member is 
        employed by the organization;
            ``(2) any of the Member's staff is employed by the 
        organization;
            ``(3) an individual or firm that receives money from the 
        Member's campaign committee or a political committee 
        established, maintained, or controlled by the Member serves in 
        a paid capacity with or receives a payment from the 
        organization;
            ``(4) the organization pays for travel or lodging costs 
        incurred by the Member for a trip on which the Member also 
        engages in political fundraising activities; or
            ``(5) another organization that receives support from such 
        organization pays for travel or lodging costs incurred by the 
        Member.
    ``(c)(1) A Member of the Senate and any employee on the staff of a 
Member to which paragraph 9(c) applies shall disclose to the Secretary 
of the Senate the identity of any person who makes an applicable 
contribution and the amount of any such contribution.
    ``(2) For purposes of this subparagraph, an applicable contribution 
is a contribution--
            ``(A) which is to an organization described in subparagraph 
        (a);
            ``(B) which is over $200; and
            ``(C) of which such Member or employee, as the case may be, 
        knows.
    ``(3) The disclosure under this subparagraph shall be made not 
later than 6 months after the date on which such Member or employee 
first knows of the applicable contribution.
    ``(4) The Secretary of the Senate shall make available to the 
public all disclosures filed pursuant to this subparagraph as soon as 
possible after they are received.
    ``(d)(1) The Select Committee on Ethics may grant a waiver to any 
Member with respect to the application of this paragraph in the case of 
an organization which is described in subparagraph (a)(1) and the 
affairs over which the spouse of the Member, but not the Member, is in 
a position to exercise substantial influence.
    ``(2) In granting a waiver under this subparagraph, the Select 
Committee on Ethics shall consider all the facts and circumstances 
relating to the relationship between the Member and the organization, 
including--
            ``(A) the independence of the Member from the organization;
            ``(B) the degree to which the organization receives 
        contributions from multiple sources not affiliated with the 
        Member;
            ``(C) the risk of abuse; and
            ``(D) whether the organization was formed prior to and 
        separately from such spouse's involvement with the 
        organization.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall take 
effect on January 1, 2007.
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