[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 167 (Tuesday, November 10, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7906-S7908]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
INTERNET SERVICES AND TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES USAGE RULES
Mr. BLUNT. Mr. President, I wish to inform all Senators that on
November 9, 2015, the Committee on Rules and Administration adopted the
U.S. Senate Internet Services and Technology Resources Usage Rules
which will supersede and replace the U.S. Senate Internet Services
Usage Rules and Policies previously adopted in 2008.
Given the many advances in technology since the last regulations were
adopted, an update was required to facilitate the use of modern
communication tools. The new regulations modernize our rules so Senate
offices can utilize new technologies, such as third-party social
networking sites and data analytics, to more effectively communicate
with constituents.
While in some cases, outmoded restrictions on these technologies have
been eased, certain restrictions necessarily remain in place including
prohibitions on campaign content or links on official sites, for
example. The regulations should be reviewed carefully to see where new
methods have been authorized as well as what restrictions remain.
These rules are effective immediately. I hope Senate offices will be
able to make use of the new technologies and methods they authorize to
enhance constituent communications.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the rules as
adopted be 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 and Technology Resources Usage Rules
Adopted by the Committee on Rules and Administration on November 9,
2015
1.0 definitions
For purposes of these Rules, the following terms shall have
the meaning specified--
1.1 Senate Office. Means--
1.1.1 A Member or Member office;
1.1.2 A Committee Chair, Committee Ranking Member or
Committee office;
1.1.3 Senate Officers; and
1.1.4 Leadership Offices.
1.2 Senate Rules Committee. Means the U.S. Senate
Committee on Rules and Administration.
1.3 Senate Internet Services. Include, but are not limited
to, the Senate Computer Network, World Wide Web, electronic
mail, blogs, Podcasts, and streaming media used for official
purposes.
1.4 Senate Technology Resources. Include, but are not
limited to,--
1.4.1 Hardware such as servers, computers, laptops,
telephones, cell phones, wireless devices, and software that
are owned, managed, maintained, leased, or otherwise provided
by the U.S. Senate or a Senate office; and
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1.4.2 Handheld communications devices, including tablet
computers, and associated information technology services,
including dual use devices that meet the limited exception
provided by the Senate Select Committee on Ethics.
1.5 Official Senate Office Website. Means a website
supported by Senate resources and dedicated to official
business of the Senate Office.
1.6 Official Third-Party Website. A Third-Party Website
means any website or online application, profile, or channel
residing outside of the Senate.gov domain and available to
the general public, including but not limited to social media
(e.g., Facebook, Twitter, etc.). An Official Third-Party
Website is a Third-Party Website that a Senate Office uses
for official business pursuant to these rules.
1.7 Official Website. Means an Official Senate Office
Website or Official Third-Party Website.
1.8 Official Business. Means activities and duties which
directly or indirectly pertain to the legislative process or
to any congressional representative functions generally, or
to the functioning, working, or operating of the Congress and
the performance of official duties in connection therewith,
and shall include, but not be limited to, the conveying of
information to the public, and the requesting and collection
of the views of the public (including through surveys,
opinion polls, and web data analytics), or the views and
information of other governmental entities, as a guide or a
means of assistance in the performance of those functions.
1.9 Campaign Purposes. Include, but are not limited to,--
1.9.1 Solicitation of 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; or
1.9.2 Matter which mentions a Member or a staff member of
a Member as a candidate for political office, or which
constitutes electioneering, or which advocates the election
or defeat of any individuals, or a political party.
1.10 Commercial Purposes. Include, but are not limited to,
direct or indirect pursuit of private commercial business
activities or profit-making ventures or advertising therefor,
direct or indirect solicitation of funds or the purchase of
goods or services, and identification and solicitation of
investors or other sources of capital for for-profit
enterprises.
1.11 Fundraising Purposes. Include, but are not limited
to, direct or indirect solicitation of funds, pledges or
other types of contributions, e.g., for political parties or
campaigns, nonprofit or charitable organizations, or disaster
or humanitarian relief efforts.
1.12 Promotional Purposes. Include, but are not limited
to, publicizing or advertising a product, organization,
institution, or venture so as to increase sales or public
awareness.
2.0 scope, responsibilities, and prohibited uses
2.1 Official Business Use Only. Use of Senate Internet
Services and Senate technology resources is for activities
and duties directly connected with the official business of
the Senate.
2.2 Prohibited Uses. Use of Senate Internet Services and
Senate technology resources for campaign, fundraising,
commercial, or promotional purposes is prohibited, except for
authorized ``dual use devices'' which, subject to certain
restrictions, may be used for both campaign and official
business purposes.
2.3 Use of Official Websites. Information provided on or
through an Official Website must relate to activities and
duties directly connected with the official and
representational business of the Senate.
2.4 Oversight of Internet and Information Security. It is
the responsibility of each Senate office to oversee the use
of Senate Internet Services and Senate technology resources
by that office and to ensure their use is consistent with the
requirements of these Rules and applicable laws and
regulations. The office has sole responsibility for
effectively applying and complying with information security
guidelines set out by the Senate Sergeant-At-Arms.
2.5 Decorum Rule. Use of Senate Internet Services and
Senate technology resources to impute to another Senator or
to other Senators any conduct or motive unworthy or
unbecoming a Senator, or to refer offensively to any State of
the Union, is prohibited.
2.6 Personal Use. Senate Internet Services and Senate
technology resources are provided for the conduct of official
business. Personal use is permitted on a de minimis basis
only in a manner that does not supersede or contradict these
Rules such as the general rule prohibiting the use of Senate
Internet Resources and Senate technology resources for
campaign, fundraising, commercial and promotional purposes.
3.0 official senate office websites
3.1 Host Domain. An Official Senate Office Website must be
located in the ``senate.gov'' host domain.
3.2 URL Name. The URL name of an Official Senate Office
Website located in the ``senate.gov'' domain is limited to
one of the following formulations--
3.2.1 Member Website. Must contain the Member's last name.
3.2.2 Committee or Senate Officer Website, including a
Committee website maintained by the Committee Chair or the
Committee Ranking Member. Must contain the name of the
Committee or title of the Senate Officer.
3.2.3 Leadership Offices. Must contain the name of, or
acronym for, the office. For example, the offices of the
Senate Majority Leader, Senate Minority Leader, Senate
Majority Whip and Senate Minority Whip websites may utilize:
Majority Leader, Majority Whip, Minority Leader, Minority
Whip, Republican Leader, Republican Whip, Democratic Leader,
Democratic Whip, as appropriate, to access the website
directly or via a URL redirection. Web domains are to be
surrendered in the event of a change in leadership.
3.3 Task Force, Caucus, and Issue-Oriented Websites. Use
of the ``senate.gov'' host domain for task force, caucus, or
other issue-oriented websites is prohibited. However, this
does not prohibit a Member from referencing such issues or a
task force on an Official Website.
3.4 Senate Staff. Senate staff are prohibited from
establishing or maintaining an Official Senate Office Website
in their own name in the ``senate.gov'' domain.
4.0 official third-party websites and official accounts
4.1 In General. A Senate office may maintain an official
account or official public profile for each Official Third-
Party Website.
4.2 The Senate Rules Committee maintains a non-exhaustive
list of approved sites that have a terms-of-service agreement
with the Senate. Use of an Official Third-Party Website not
on the approved list may be restricted for security reasons
and/or for failure to comply with applicable Senate rules and
regulations.
4.3 An Official Third-Party Website shall identify itself
as follows--
4.3.1 Member. The username, display name, or title of the
Member's website must include the title ``U.S. Senator'' or
an abbreviation thereof and the Member's last name.
4.3.2 Committee. The username, display name, or title of
the website, including one maintained by the Committee Chair
or the Committee Ranking Member, must include the name of the
Committee or an abbreviation thereof, but may not include a
Member's name.
4.3.3 Senate Officer. The username, display name, or title
of a Senate Officer's website must include the name of the
Office or an abbreviation thereof, but may not include the
Officer's name.
4.3.4 Leadership Office. The username, display name, or
title of the Leadership Office website must include the name
of the Office or an abbreviation thereof.
4.3.5 Identifying Statement. The website shall display a
statement identifying the account or profile as the
``official account of'' the Member, Committee, Leadership
Office, or Senate Officer, as applicable.
4.4 Use of the Senate Seal. Use of any likeness of the
Seal of the United States Senate on a non-Senate website or
application is prohibited.
4.5 Security. Use of an Official Third-Party Website
determined to pose a possible threat to the security of the
Senate computer network shall be discontinued, per the
direction of the Senate Rules Committee, until the risk is
fully assessed and the risk mitigated to a level acceptable
to the Senate Rules Committee.
4.6 Last Day of a Member's Term. A Member's official
account on an Official Third- Party Website cannot be
supported by Senate resources beyond the last day of the
Member's term. Official Third-Party Websites must be
deactivated or converted at the expiration of the term.
Converted third-party websites cannot be supported with
Senate resources and may no longer be identified as official.
5.0 links between websites
5.1 The following is prohibited--
5.1.1 Linking or posting from an Official Website to
campaign, fundraising, commercial, or promotional sites
except as provided for in section 5.3.
5.1.2 Linking or posting from an Official Website to a
Member's campaign or personal website.
5.1.3 Linking or posting from a campaign website
controlled by or under the direction of a Member or group of
Members to an Official Website.
5.2 The following is permitted--
5.2.1 Linking or posting from an Official Website to
another Official Website of the same Member.
5.2.2 Linking or posting from an Official Website to
another Member, Committee, Leadership Office, or Senate
Officer's Official Website.
5.2.3 Linking or posting from a Member's personal website
to a Member's Official Website.
5.2.4 Linking or posting from a Member's Official Website
to an official government website, including an official
federal, state, or local government site.
5.3 Linking or posting from an Official Website to non-
governmental sites (including commercial and promotional
sites) only for official business purposes is permitted,
provided the Senate office does not endorse, direct, control,
support or discourage action by the non-governmental
organization by means of the post or link. Links to
fundraising or campaign sites do not fit within this
exception and are prohibited.
6.0 special rules for 60-day moratorium period
6.1 For purposes of this section, the following terms
shall have the meaning specified--
6.1.1 Moratorium period. Means the 60 days immediately
preceding the date of any primary or general election
(whether regular,
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special, or runoff) in which the Member is a candidate.
6.1.2 Uncontested candidate. When the Senate Rules
Committee receives written certification from the appropriate
state official that the Member's candidacy may not be
contested under state law, that candidate is uncontested. A
Member running for re-election in a state that permits write-
in votes for the Member's election shall be considered a
contested candidate and is subject to the restrictions in
this section.
6.1.3 Mass communication. Means an electronic
communication including, but not limited to, posting to an
Official Website, automated telephone calls for events such
as Tele-Town Halls, and electronic mail transmission of
substantially identical content to 500 or more recipients.
6.2 During the moratorium period, no Member office may
seek constituent input or inquiries (such as online petitions
or opinion polls) via a mass communication using Senate
Internet Services unless the Member is an uncontested
candidate. Nor shall a Member do so on behalf of another
Member unless the other Member is an uncontested candidate.
6.3 No Member office may transmit an unsolicited mass
communication during the moratorium period unless the Member
is an uncontested candidate. A mass communication to a
subscriber list or a post on an Official Website available to
voluntary followers is deemed to be solicited and is
therefore permitted during the moratorium period (subject to
the limitations of 6.2).
6.4 Communications in the normal course of Senate official
business such as in direct response to a constituent, another
Member of Congress, or a federal, state or local government
official and a news release to the communications media are
permitted during the moratorium period.
6.5 A Member subject to the restrictions in this section
shall display the following statement on the Member's
Official Senate Website homepage: ``Pursuant to Senate
Policy, petitions, opinion polls and unsolicited mass
electronic communications cannot be initiated by this office
for the 60-day period immediately before the date of a
primary or general election. Subscribers currently receiving
electronic communications from this office who wish to
unsubscribe may do so here (link).'' The words ``Senate
Policy'' must be hypertext linked to these rules displayed on
the Member's home page.
6.6 A Member may not use another Senate office such as a
Senate committee to circumvent these Rules.
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