[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 150 (Monday, September 22, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9192-S9193]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               INTERNET SERVICES USAGE RULES AND POLICIES

  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I wish to inform all Senators that on 
Friday, September 19, 2008, the Committee on Rules and Administration 
approved amendments to the U.S. Senate Internet Services Usage Rules 
and Policies. These regulations are effective immediately.
  The regulations were amended to accommodate Senate offices interested 
in utilizing social networking sites. I wish to emphasize that all 
Senate Web sites must be located in the senate.gov host domain, except 
for the exceptions specified in A3 of the regulations.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have the amended 
regulations printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

         U.S. Senate Internet Services Usage Rules and Policise


                      A. SCOPE AND RESPONSIBILITY

       1. Senate Internet Services (``World Wide Web and 
     electronic mail, blogs, podcasting, streaming media, etc.'') 
     may only be used for official purposes. The use of Senate 
     Internet Services for personal, promotional, commercial, or 
     partisan political/campaign purposes is prohibited.
       2. Members of the Senate, as well as Committee Chairmen and 
     Officers of the Senate may post to the Internet Servers 
     information files which contain matter relating to

[[Page S9193]]

     their official business, activities, and duties. All other 
     offices must request approval from the Committee on Rules and 
     Administration before posting material on the Internet 
     Information Servers.
       3. Websites covered by this policy must be located in the 
     Senate.gov host-domain.
       a. Exceptions: A Member, Committee or Officer of the Senate 
     (``Office'') may separately maintain websites or channels or 
     otherwise post material on third-party websites that are 
     available to the general public subject to Senate Rules, 
     Regulations, Standing Orders and Statutes governing Senate 
     operations, including the prohibition on using Senate 
     internet resources for personal, promotional, commercial, or 
     partisan political/campaign purposes.
       To provide assistance and guidance to Offices, the Rules 
     and Administration Committee may provide a non-exhaustive 
     list of examples of third-party websites that, at the time 
     they are reviewed by the Committee, agree:
       a. to provide naming protocols or other methods that will 
     enable the public to know when a site or channel is 
     maintained by an office;
       b. not to add personal, promotional, commercial or partisan 
     political/campaign-related content or links to an Office-
     maintained website or channel; and
       c. not to use data gathering tools on an Office-maintained 
     website or channel that allow for collecting personal 
     information on users and distributing it to outside parties.
       b. If the use of a particular website is determined to pose 
     a possible threat to the security of the Senate's computer 
     network, the Committee on Rules and Administration reserves 
     the right to direct offices to cease using these websites 
     until the issue can be resolved.
       c. The Rules Committee shall require the removal of a 
     website or channel maintained by the Member on such third-
     party website or channel at the end of a Member's term.
       4. It is the responsibility of each Senator, Committee 
     Chairman (on behalf of the committee), Officer of the Senate, 
     or office head to oversee the use of the Internet Services by 
     his or her office and to ensure that the use of the services 
     is consistent with the requirements established by this 
     policy and applicable laws and regulations.
       5. Official records may not be placed on the Internet 
     Servers unless otherwise approved by the Secretary of the 
     Senate and prepared in accordance with Section 501 of Title 
     44 of the United States Code. Such records include, but are 
     not limited to: bills, public laws, committee reports, and 
     other legislative materials.


      B. POSTING OR LINKING TO THE FOLLOWING MATTER IS PROHIBITED

       1. Political Matter
       a. Matter which specifically solicits political support for 
     the sender or any other person or political party, or a vote 
     or financial assistance for any candidate for any political 
     office is prohibited.
       b. Matter which mentions a Senator or an employee of a 
     Senator as a candidate for political office, or which 
     constitutes electioneering, or which advocates the election 
     or defeat of any individuals, or a political party is 
     prohibited.
       2. Personal Matter
       a. Matter which by its nature is purely personal and is 
     unrelated to the official business activities and duties of 
     the sender is prohibited.
       b. Matter which constitutes or includes any article, 
     account, sketch, narration, or other text laudatory and 
     complimentary of any Senator on a purely personal or 
     political basis rather than on the basis of performance of 
     official duties as a Senator is prohibited.
       c. Reports of how or when a Senator, the Senator's spouse, 
     or any other member of the Senator's family spends time other 
     than in the performance of, or in connection with, the 
     legislative, representative, and other official functions of 
     such Senator is prohibited.
       d. Any transmission expressing holiday greetings from a 
     Senator is prohibited. This prohibition does not preclude an 
     expression of holiday greetings at the commencement or 
     conclusion of an otherwise proper transmission.
       3. Promotional Matter
       a. The solicitation of funds for any purpose is prohibited.
       b. The placement of logos or links used for personal, 
     promotional, commercial, or partisan political/campaign 
     purposes is prohibited.


            C. RESTRICTIONS ON THE USE OF INTERNET SERVICES

       1. During the 60-day period immediately preceding the date 
     of any primary or general election (whether regular, special, 
     or runoff) for any national, state, or local office in which 
     the Senator is a candidate, no Member may solicit constituent 
     input or inquiries (such as online petitions or opinion polls 
     or issue alerts) using a Senate Internet Server (``World Wide 
     Web and electronic mail, blogs, podcasting, streaming media, 
     etc.''), unless the candidacy of the Senator in such election 
     is uncontested.
       2. Electronic mail may not be transmitted by a Member 
     during the 60-day period before the date of the Member's 
     primary or general election unless it is in response to a 
     direct inquiry. Exceptions to this moratorium include the 
     following: press release distribution to press organizations 
     and email to perform administrative communication. Direct 
     inquiries do not include a request to be added to a mailing 
     list, subscription list, or other request to receive future 
     mailings. During the 60-day period, electronic news letters 
     may not be sent out.
       3. During the 60-day period immediately before the date of 
     a biennial general Federal election, no Member may solicit 
     constituent input or inquiries (such as online petitions or 
     opinion polls, issue alerts or request to be added to 
     newsletter mailing lists electronic or otherwise, on behalf 
     of another Senator who is a candidate for election, unless 
     the candidacy of the Senator in such election is uncontested.
       4. An uncontested candidacy is established when the Rules 
     Committee receives written certification from the appropriate 
     state official that the Senator's candidacy may not be 
     contested under state law. Since the candidacy of a Senator 
     who is running for re-election from a state which permits 
     write-in votes on elections day without prior registration or 
     other advance qualification by the candidate may be 
     contested, such a Member is subject to the above 
     restrictions.
       5. If a Member is under the restrictions as defined in 
     subtitle C, paragraph (1), above, the following statement 
     must appear on the homepage: (``Pursuant to Senate policy, 
     newsletters, petitions, opinion polls and issue alerts and 
     other electronic communications cannot be initiated by this 
     office for the 60-day period immediately before the date of a 
     primary or general election.''). The words ``Senate Policy'' 
     must be hypertext linked to the Internet services policy on 
     the Senate Home Page.
       6. A Senator's homepage may not refer or be hypertext 
     linked to another Member's site or electronic mail address 
     without authorization from that Member.
       7. Any Links to Information not located on a Senate 
     Internet Server must be identified as a link to a non-Senate 
     entity, subject to the exceptions noted in (A)(3).


                            D. MISCELLANEOUS

       Domains and Names (URL)--Senate entities must reside 
     exclusively on Senate.gov domains, subject to the exceptions 
     noted in (A)(3). The URL name for an official Senate Website 
     located in the Senate.gov domain must:
       1. Member sites--contain the Senator's last name.
       2. Committee sites--contain the name of the committee.
       3. Officer sites--contain the name of the office.

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