[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 66 (Wednesday, May 24, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5124-S5125]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE RESOLUTION 492--TO AMEND THE STANDING RULES OF THE SENATE TO 
  PROHIBIT MEMBER FROM USING CHARITABLE FOUNDATIONS FOR PERSONAL GAIN

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

                              S. Res. 492

       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.

  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, the resolution I am submitting aims to 
ensure that charities under the control of Senators can be viewed in 
the most ethical terms.
  Mahatma Gandhi once said: ``Men say that I am a saint losing myself 
in politics. The fact is that I am a politician trying my hardest to be 
a saint.''
  That sums up the purpose of my resolution. We in the Senate run for 
office to do good. We try to make the country better. We try to serve. 
We strive to do the right thing.
  As much as we try, however, even innocent gestures can be perceived 
as self-serving, or at worst, unethical.
  Some of us have started charities that we believe help to serve our 
country and important public needs.
  Senators may innocently employ staff who they trust at the charity. 
Senators may use lawyers who they are familiar with to ensure that 
requirements are met. Senators may accept

[[Page S5125]]

contributions from corporations because the funds will be spent on a 
worthy cause.
  The activities that I have listed may betray nothing more than an 
innocent effort to carry out charitable works. But the public has a 
right to be skeptical. The public has a right to know what companies--
that may or may not have business before the Senate--are donating to 
charities controlled by Senators.
  My resolution would not ban Senators from starting charities. But it 
would address the healthy skepticism that the public has expressed 
about the rules governing charities controlled by Members of Congress.
  As the Washington Post noted in an editorial on Tuesday, March 7 
``[W]hen lawmakers have a personal interest in the charity, the 
opportunities for abuse are greatly magnified.''
  Because of the potential for abuse, and because of the perception of 
abuse, I believe that rules governing charities controlled by Senators 
should be ``greatly magnified.''
  I am glad that the bill reported by the Homeland Security Committee 
takes a step to provide more disclosure in this area. The Homeland 
Security Committee bill would require disclosure of gifts by lobbyists 
to charities controlled by Members of Congress.
  This is a good first step, but I think we can do better.
  My resolution would do the following: First, it would require that 
any gift over $200 to a charity substantially influenced by a Senator 
be disclosed if the Senator or their senior staff are aware of the 
gift. While disclosing gifts from lobbyists is important, it is equally 
imperative that gifts from corporations and individuals are also 
disclosed.
  Second, my resolution prohibits Senators from using a charity they 
substantially influence for what can be perceived as their personal 
gain.
  How does the resolution do this? Under Senate Rule XXXVII, concerning 
conflicts of interest, a Senator would be barred from deriving personal 
gain from a charity that they substantially influence.
  The resolution defines personal gain in the following way: (1) When a 
Senator or their family member is employed by the charity in a paid 
capacity (2) When a member of the Senator's staff is employed by the 
charity in a paid capacity (3) When an individual or firm that receives 
income from the Senator's political action committee serves in a paid 
capacity to the charity (4) When the charity pays for travel or lodging 
costs by the Senator on a trip where the Senator also engages in 
political fund raising (5) And, finally, when another charity receives 
payment from the Senator's charity to pay for the Senator's travel and 
lodging.
  In vetting this proposal, I have heard concerns that prohibition on a 
Senator's family serving in a paid capacity of a charity they 
substantially influence may be too broad. The example of my friend 
Senator Elizabeth Dole is raised. When her husband, Senator Bob Dole 
served as our distinguished majority leader, Senator Elizabeth Dole 
served as the president of the American Red Cross. The purpose of my 
resolution is not to clamp down on this from occurring.
  That is why my resolution would allow Senators to seek a waiver from 
the Senate Ethics Committee when a family member has substantial 
influence over a charity, and the family member's influence over the 
charity clearly does not provide any benefit to the Senator.
  I know that some Senators may argue that more rules do not ensure 
ethical conduct. That is true. Every Senator is responsible for 
behaving ethically. My resolution will not automatically make unethical 
arrangements ethical. Nor should the resolution be viewed as a 
statement on the ethical conduct of members that currently maintain and 
control charities. As Ecclesiastes chapter 3, verse 17 says, ``God 
shall judge the righteous and the wicked.''
  My resolution simply aims to do better--to give the public confidence 
that when a Senator starts a charitable organization it is for 
charitable purposes. It is to fulfill the commandment expressed in 
Deuteronomy that ``Every man shall give as he is able. ``
  My resolution has been endorsed by the watchdog groups Public Citizen 
and the National Committee on Responsive Philanthropy.
  I urge the Senate to support my resolution.

                          ____________________