[House Report 118-541]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                  House Calendar No. 81

118th Congress }                                              { Report
                           HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session    }                                              { 118-541
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     

                                                  


                      IN THE MATTER OF ALLEGATIONS
                       RELATING TO REPRESENTATIVE
                             BILL HUIZENGA

                               ----------                              

                              R E P O R T

                                 of the

                          COMMITTEE ON ETHICS







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June 7, 2024.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed 










        IN THE MATTER OF ALLEGATIONS RELATING TO REPRESENTATIVE 
                             BILL HUIZENGA 
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             

                                                 House Calendar No. 81

118th Congress }                                             { Report
                           HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session    }                                             { 118-541                                                         
______________________________________________________________________

                                     



                      IN THE MATTER OF ALLEGATIONS

                       RELATING TO REPRESENTATIVE

                             BILL HUIZENGA

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 of the

                          COMMITTEE ON ETHICS

              
              
              
              
              
              
              
              [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] 
              
              
              
              
              
              
              


June 7, 2024.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed 

                                ------- 
                                
                  U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE  

56-006                   WASHINGTON : 2024 
















                          COMMITTEE ON ETHICS

MICHAEL GUEST, Mississippi,          SUSAN WILD, Pennsylvania,
  Chairman                             Ranking Member
DAVID P. JOYCE, Ohio                 VERONICA ESCOBAR, Texas
JOHN H. RUTHERFORD, Florida          MARK DeSAULNIER, California
ANDREW R. GARBARINO, New York        DEBORAH ROSS, North Carolina
MICHELLE FISCHBACH, Minnesota        GLENN IVEY, Maryland

                              REPORT STAFF

              Thomas A. Rust, Chief Counsel/Staff Director
             Brittney Pescatore, Director of Investigations
                 Keelie Broom, Counsel to the Chairman
              David Arrojo, Counsel to the Ranking Member

                         Melissa Chong, Counsel
                     Caroline Taylor, Investigator
                   Peyton Wilmer, Investigative Clerk 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                         LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

                              ----------                              

                          House of Representatives,
                                       Committee on Ethics,
                                      Washington, DC, June 7, 2024.
Hon. Kevin F. McCumber,
Acting Clerk, House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. McCumber: Pursuant to clauses 3(a)(2) and 3(b) of 
Rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, we 
herewith transmit the attached report, ``In the Matter of 
Allegations Relating to Representative Bill Huizenga.''
            Sincerely,
                                   Michael Guest,
                                           Chairman.
                                   Susan Wild,
                                           Ranking Member. 
                                           
                                           
                                           
                                           
                                           
                                           
                                           
                                           
                                           
                                           
                                           
                                           
                            C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page
 I. OVERVIEW..........................................................1
II. INVESTIGATION BACKGROUND..........................................2
III.COMMITTEE FINDINGS................................................3

IV. CONCLUSION........................................................6
 V. STATEMENT UNDER RULE XIII, CLAUSE 3(c) OF THE RULES OF THE HOUSE OF 
    REPRESENTATIVES...................................................7
APPENDIX A: REPORT AND FINDINGS OF THE OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL 
  ETHICS.........................................................     8
APPENDIX B: REPRESENTATIVE HUIZENGA'S RESPONSE TO REPORT AND 
  FINDINGS OF THE OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL ETHICS.................   363






                                                 House Calendar No. 81

118th Congress }                                             { Report
                           HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session    }                                             { 118-541

======================================================================



 
               IN THE MATTER OF ALLEGATIONS RELATING TO  
                    REPRESENTATIVE BILL HUIZENGA

                                _______
                                

June 7, 2024.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

               Mr. Guest, from the Committee on Ethics, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

    In accordance with House Rule XI, clauses 3(a)(2) and 3(b), 
the Committee on Ethics (Committee) hereby submits the 
following Report to the House of Representatives:

                              I. OVERVIEW

    On August 16, 2019, the Office of Congressional Ethics 
(OCE) forwarded to the Committee a Report and Findings (OCE's 
Referral) regarding Representative Bill Huizenga. OCE reviewed 
allegations that Representative Huizenga's principal campaign 
committee, Huizenga for Congress, reported campaign 
disbursements that may not be legitimate and verifiable 
campaign expenditures attributable to bona fide campaign or 
political purposes. Specifically, OCE considered whether 
certain campaign-funded trips and a campaign-funded dinner 
involved personal use. OCE also reviewed allegations that 
Representative Huizenga's campaign accepted contributions from 
individuals employed in his congressional office, and that 
Representative Huizenga authorized expenditures from his 
Members' Representational Allowance (MRA) that were not for 
permissible official expenses. OCE recommended that the 
Committee further review the campaign-related allegations and 
recommended that the Committee dismiss the allegation regarding 
the MRA.
    Following its extensive review of the record in this 
matter, the Committee found that Representative Huizenga and 
his staff generally acted within the bounds of the law when 
spending campaign and official funds. Some expenditures paid 
for by Representative Huizenga's campaign, particularly during 
travel to recreational destinations, fell within unclear areas 
of FEC regulations. However, there was an established campaign 
purpose for each of the trips reviewed and there was no clear 
pattern of misspending.
    The Committee did find that Representative Huizenga's 
campaign did not fully comply with relevant standards with 
respect to its reporting and reimbursement practices, largely 
due to lack of knowledge or confusion about the applicable 
requirements. However, while the Committee's review was 
ongoing, several additional matters were initiated relating to 
the personal use of campaign funds, including matters referred 
by OCE as well as matters that the Committee opened on its own 
initiative. In reviewing all such matters, it was apparent to 
the Committee that the House community would benefit from 
updated guidance on personal use of campaign funds and related 
recordkeeping expectations.
    Based on the totality of the circumstances, including the 
lack of any clear pattern of misspending or intentional 
circumvention of any standards of conduct, as well as 
Representative Huizenga's consistent cooperation with this 
review, the significant remedial steps that his campaign has 
undertaken, and the widespread need for updated guidance on the 
personal use of campaign funds, the Committee determined that 
Representative Huizenga's conduct did not merit a sanction. 
Accordingly, the Committee will close this matter by issuing 
this report, updating its guidance on personal use of campaign 
funds, and sending Representative Huizenga a private letter 
detailing its findings in his matter and conveying its 
expectation that he continue to employ appropriate safeguards 
to ensure proper spending and reporting of both official and 
campaign funds.

                      II. INVESTIGATION BACKGROUND

    The Committee independently reviewed the allegations 
referred by OCE. Representative Huizenga and his staff fully 
cooperated with the Committee's review. Following OCE's 
recommendation that the Committee further review the matter, 
the Committee began an investigation pursuant to Committee Rule 
18(a).\1\ The Committee reviewed all materials provided to it 
by OCE, including the transcript of OCE's interview with 
Representative Huizenga. In addition, the Committee requested 
and received information from Representative Huizenga, and two 
fundraising firms used by Representative Huizenga's campaign. 
In total, the Committee reviewed nearly 10,000 pages of 
material and interviewed five witnesses.
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    \1\Pursuant to House Rule XI, cl. 3(b)(3) and Committee Rule 18(d), 
the Committee voted to determine that the allegations that 
Representative Huizenga may have converted campaign funds to personal 
use and/or reported campaign disbursements that were not legitimate and 
verifiable campaign expenditures in the 113th or 114th Congress are 
directly related to the allegations concerning similar conduct 
occurring during and after the 115th Congress.
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    OCE specifically reviewed campaign expenditures during 
annual fundraising events at Disney World in Orlando, 
disbursements made during a biennial political conference on 
Mackinac Island in Michigan, and a yearly fundraising trip to 
Deer Valley Ski Resort in Park City, Utah. The Committee 
reviewed evidence relating to each of those trips, as well as 
other out-of-district campaign or political travel by the 
congressman. OCE also reviewed additional allegations of 
personal use, including those regarding the amount spent on 
golf-related expenses; mileage reimbursements; and a September 
2014 disbursement for a dinner Representative Huizenga attended 
with his half-brother (who is also his Campaign Manager) and 
their spouses. The Committee also sought and received evidence 
related to those and other discrete expenditures.
    The allegations against Representative Huizenga's campaign 
relating to potential personal use of campaign funds were 
initially raised in a complaint filed with the FEC in November 
2018. The FEC was equally divided on whether to find reason to 
believe a violation occurred and accordingly, the FEC matter 
was closed in June 2019 (while OCE's review was ongoing).\2\ 
The FEC's General Counsel's office recommended the Commission 
dismiss the allegations, direct the campaign to work with FEC 
staff to amend its reports,\3\ and close the file. In making 
its recommendations, the General Counsel's office noted that 
the complaint's assertion that the campaign's spending was 
significantly greater than that of comparable campaign 
committees was not sufficient to ``raise to a reasonable 
inference that Respondents converted campaign funds to personal 
use.''\4\ Thereafter, the campaign implemented changes to 
improve its reporting. Representative Huizenga noted he has 
``worked with a new compliance professional and counsel to 
implement new policies to prevent any even incidental future 
violations,'' and that the new compliance firm works to ensure 
that receipts, expenditures, and reimbursements are properly 
accounted for and reported.\5\
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    \2\See Matter Under Review (MUR) 7534, First Gen. Counsel's Rpt.
    \3\The campaign does not appear to have made amendments to past 
reports to address the reporting issues identified by the FEC.
    \4\Id. at 11-12.
    \5\Appendix B.
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                        III. COMMITTEE FINDINGS

    The Committee found that Representative Huizenga and his 
staff generally acted within the bounds of the law when 
spending campaign and official funds. Some expenditures paid 
for by Representative Huizenga's campaign, particularly during 
travel to recreational destinations, fell within unclear areas 
of FEC regulations.
    Each year, Representative Huizenga attends and/or hosts 
several fundraisers or other political events that take place 
outside of his district or in Washington, D.C., and cause him 
and his family to travel to various resorts and other 
recreational destinations. Several of Representative Huizenga's 
congressional staffers are also involved with his campaign, and 
those staffers sometimes join him on the destination 
fundraising trips, bringing their families at the campaign's 
expense.\6\ Representative Huizenga believed these expenses to 
be legitimate uses of campaign funds because the campaign 
benefited from the general attendance of the staffers and their 
families over the course of the trips, as well as his own 
family's participation in the fundraising weekend.
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    \6\For example, the expenses associated with the Disney trips 
included airfare, lodging, gas or ground transportation, food and 
beverage, park tickets and express passes, unspecified ``merchandise,'' 
and a stroller rental.
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    Campaign finance laws and regulations explicitly prohibit 
the use of campaign funds for ``vacations.'' However, while the 
trips involved recreational destinations and activities, the 
primary purpose of each trip was clearly campaign-related. The 
record supports the general notion that the presence of the 
Member's family at such ``family friendly'' events was to the 
benefit of the campaign. The FEC has explicitly authorized the 
use of campaign funds to pay for the travel expenses of a 
candidate's spouse and children.\7\ While OCE raised concerns 
about whether the participation of the families of the Member's 
staff was also permissible, the Committee found the 
considerations used in examining the Member's family's 
participation also generally applied to his staff's families' 
participation, and there is no clear prohibition on using 
campaign funds to pay for travel by staffers' family members.
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    \7\FEC Advisory Opinion (AO) Roemer (AO 1995-20) (approving payment 
of wife's travel expenses as ``clearly attributable to her 
participation in your campaign for re-election,'' and children's travel 
expenses to the district as necessary due to the children's ages 
(noting ``[t[his is not the same as family travel to vacation 
locales'').); FEC AO Thornberry (AO 1996-34) (noting that the campaign 
represented that the candidate's wife and children would ``play a 
significant role in the political receptions and fundraising events 
that are part of the trip.''); FEC AO Dodd (AO 2005-09) (campaign ``may 
use campaign funds to defray the costs of travel by Senator Dodd's 
minor children to accompany their parents between their home in 
Connecticut and Washington, D.C., provided that the parents are 
traveling to participate in a function directly connected to the 
Senator's bona fide official responsibilities.''); MUR 7100, First Gen. 
Counsel's Rpt. at 14 (``The Commission has previously determined that 
campaign funds may be used to pay for a candidate's immediate family 
members to travel to participate in campaign events.'').
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    In his submission to the Committee, Representative Huizenga 
argued: ``[B]ecause I have determined, under the broad 
discretion provided to me under federal law, that attendance by 
my family and my staffs'' families serves a bona fide campaign 
purpose, the use of campaign funds for these events was 
permissible. This should be sufficient to end the inquiry into 
this allegations.''\8\ The Committee has indeed long recognized 
that Members have ``wide discretion to determine whether any 
particular expenditure would serve'' a bona fide campaign 
purpose.\9\ That is not, however, the end of the inquiry, as 
the Committee has also made clear that Members have no 
discretion to convert campaign funds to personal use, and ``[a] 
bona fide campaign purpose is not established merely because 
the use of campaign money might result in a campaign benefit as 
an incident to benefits personally realized by the recipient of 
such funds.''\10\ In other words, it is not enough that a 
Member can articulate a campaign benefit for an expense; what 
matters is the animating purpose of the disbursement. If, for 
example, the Huizengas planned a family vacation to Disney 
World and decided to meet with some potential donors in the 
area while they were there, that would not convert the personal 
trip to a campaign trip.\11\ But that is not what happened in 
this case; there was a well-established campaign purpose for 
each of the trips reviewed.
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    \8\Appendix B.
    \9\Ethics Manual at 154.
    \10\Id. at 164.
    \11\Cf. FEC AO Jager (AO 2002-05) (in which the FEC rejected the 
argument that, if travel to a destination is campaign-related, 
``campaign funds could be used to pay for all expenses of the trip, 
including the sight-seeing'' and other ``portions,'' noting such a 
result ``would be inconsistent with or even contrary to the 
Commission's personal use regulations.'').
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    Campaign fundraisers and political events are a routine and 
sometimes necessary aspect of serving as a Member of Congress. 
Members also carry a duty to ensure their campaign committees 
comply with appropriate laws and regulations in connection with 
such events and the funds that they raise. The Committee has 
long advised that Members ``must exercise great care'' with 
respect to campaign travel expenditures (as well as 
expenditures for meals, or goods or services provided by the 
Member's family), as ``such outlays by their nature raise a 
concern of personal use.''\12\ It is especially prudent to 
maintain more detailed records of recreational campaign 
activities.
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    \12\Id. at 167.
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    While the Committee's record did not reveal any pattern of 
clear personal use, the Committee notes that Representative 
Huizenga should have exercised more care to avoid even the 
appearance of improper use of campaign funds. As a Member of 
the House, Representative Huizenga has a duty above and beyond 
the technical requirements of campaign finance laws and 
regulations, and the Committee has advised him to exercise more 
circumspection in the future.
    The Committee also found that the campaign did not fully 
comply with relevant standards with respect to its reporting 
and reimbursement practices, largely due to lack of knowledge 
or confusion about the applicable requirements. Representative 
Huizenga has acknowledged some recordkeeping gaps. While he 
made a substantial production of receipts, financial records, 
and other documents relating to the expenditures under review, 
there were instances in which the Committee could not confirm 
the campaign-related purpose of an expenditure based on the 
documentation available. The campaign's inadequate 
recordkeeping practices led to a violation of clause 6 of the 
House Code of Official Conduct.
    Members have broad discretion to determine the bona fide 
needs of their campaign, which can sometimes result in a 
campaign operating within unclear areas of what may or may not 
be permissible under the various laws and regulations. The 
Committee has long recognized that certain areas of spending, 
including spending that involves travel, meals, and/or family 
members, can by their nature raise concerns of abuse. Frequent 
and substantial spending in these areas, coupled with 
maintaining poor records and reporting practices, will invite 
increased scrutiny into a campaign's finances and create the 
appearance that a Member is living a lavish lifestyle by virtue 
of his position.
    For Representative Huizenga, such appearance issues led to 
an FEC complaint, OCE review, and ultimately, an investigation 
by this Committee. Representative Huizenga took full advantage 
of the discretion afforded to him, even in instances where it 
appeared that the campaign spent more to attend fundraisers 
than it raised. By maintaining consistent records verifying the 
campaign purpose of such spending, a Member in Representative 
Huizenga's position would be able to more readily respond to 
questions raised about their spending and exercise more 
restraint in whether to permit certain campaign expenses.\13\
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    \13\The campaign also improperly accepted ``contributions'' from 
congressional staffers in the form of outlays made by those staffers, 
which the campaign properly reimbursed; Representative Huizenga and his 
staff were not aware at the time that such outlays, even when 
reimbursed, are impermissible contributions. Representative Huizenga's 
campaign has since instituted significant remedial efforts and now 
appears to be operating in compliance with applicable requirements.
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    While the Committee's review was ongoing, several 
additional matters were initiated relating to the personal use 
of campaign funds, including matters referred by OCE as well as 
matters that the Committee opened on its own initiative. In 
reviewing all such matters, it was apparent to the Committee 
that the House community would benefit from updated guidance on 
personal use of campaign funds and related recordkeeping 
expectations. With respect to whether the use of campaign funds 
is considered impermissibly ``personal,'' existing law and 
guidance from the FEC is often ambiguous and provides for 
significant gray areas of spending. While House Rules impose 
additional requirements and expectations with respect to 
campaign spending and personal use, the Committee has found 
that those standards are not widely known or understood. 
Accordingly, the Committee will refresh its guidance to the 
House community on these issues based on lessons learned from 
this and other matters.

                             IV. CONCLUSION

    The Committee recognizes Representative Huizenga's 
cooperation with its extensive review, which covered a span of 
years and involved the collection of vast amounts of 
information. The Committee also acknowledges his efforts to 
correct the campaign's practices, both prior to and following 
the Committee's involvement. Based on its review, the Committee 
determined that Representative Huizenga's campaign had 
inadequate recordkeeping practices that led to a violation of 
clause 6 of the Code of Official Conduct. The Committee did not 
find that Representative Huizenga engaged in clear personal use 
of campaign funds. The Committee does, however, advise that 
Members exercise care to avoid even the appearance of improper 
spending.
    In a recent matter involving Representative George Santos, 
the Committee noted that the Member's failure ``to take 
reasonable steps to prevent or correct'' reporting errors, 
despite being made aware of concerns about the campaign's 
reporting practices, resulted in ``the misreporting of 
substantial sums,'' and that related ``poor recordkeeping'' 
meant that the Member's campaign spending could not be verified 
and had ``called into question the integrity of the House, 
contrary to clauses 1 and 6'' of the Code of Official 
Conduct.\14\ In an older matter involving Representative Bud 
Shuster, the Committee found that ``the number and dollar 
amount'' of vague expenditures, ``combined with the record 
keeping practices followed by'' the Member's campaign, 
``created the appearance that certain expenditures may not have 
been attributable to bona fide campaign or political 
purposes.''\15\ Representative Huizenga has acknowledged some 
recordkeeping gaps during his former bookkeeper's tenure. In 
many instances, while there was documentation to confirm what 
expenses were paid for by the campaign, there was no record to 
demonstrate the campaign nexus. This is not a matter, however, 
like that of Representative Shuster, where campaign funds were 
spent ``without making even the most minimal effort to document 
or verify that the expenditures were related to legitimate 
campaign activity.''\16\ Nor is this a matter like that of 
Representative Santos, where campaign reporting was 
deliberately obscured to hide fraudulent financial activity. 
The record reflects that Representative Huizenga and his staff 
often sent receipts or other records of their spending to the 
former bookkeeper. Clause 6 requires more effort, however, and 
Representative Huizenga is ultimately responsible for ensuring 
the legitimacy of his campaign spending can be verified.\17\
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    \14\Comm. on Ethics, In the Matter of Allegations Relating to 
Representative George Santos, H. Rept. 118-274, 118th Cong. 1st Sess. 
(2023).
    \15\Comm. on Ethics, In the Matter of Representative E.G. ``Bud'' 
Shuster, H. Rept. 106-979, 106th Cong. 2d Sess. 64-65 (2000).
    \16\Id. at 78.
    \17\FEC regulations require a campaign to keep records for each 
disbursement for three years, including the amount, date, name and 
address of payee, and a brief but specific description of why the 
disbursement was made. See Recording disbursements, FEC, https://
www.fec.gov/help-candidates-and-committees/keeping-records/records-
disbursements/; see also 11 C.F.R. Sec. 102.9(b). The FEC will consider 
a campaign in compliance with the recordkeeping requirements if it can 
show that ``best efforts have been made'' to obtain the required 
records. 11 C.F.R. Sec. 102.9(d).
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    It is apparent to the Committee that all Members would 
benefit from more direct and updated guidance on how standards 
related to the personal use of campaign funds apply to the 
realities of their campaign. The Committee trusts, however, 
that Representative Huizenga now understands that 
implementation of appropriate verification measures and more 
cautious spending will serve to ensure the public's trust in 
the integrity of Members' campaigns--and reduce the need for 
lengthy and costly investigations into campaign activities. The 
Committee hopes that all who campaign for election or 
reelection to the House learn from his experience.
    Accordingly, the Committee unanimously voted to adopt this 
Report, and take no further action.

   V. STATEMENT UNDER RULE XIII, CLAUSE 3(c) OF THE RULES OF THE 
                   HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

    The Committee made no special oversight findings in this 
Report. No budget statement is submitted. No funding is 
authorized by any measure in this Report. 

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