[Deschler's Precedents, Volume 3, Chapters 10 - 14]
[Chapter 12. Conduct or Discipline of Members, Officers, or Employees]
[A. Introductory; Particular Kinds of Misconduct]
[Â§ 1. In General; Codes of Conduct]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[Page 1699-1701]
 
                               CHAPTER 12
 
        Conduct or Discipline of Members, Officers, or Employees
 
            A. INTRODUCTORY; PARTICULAR KINDS OF MISCONDUCT
 
Sec. 1. In General; Codes of Conduct



    Prior to the 90th Congress,(1) there was no rule setting 
forth a formal code of conduct for Congressmen. However, in 1967 and 
1968 the rules of the House were amended to (1) make the Committee on 
Standards of Official Conduct a standing committee of the House; (2) 
establish, as a new Rule XLIII, a Code of Official Conduct for Members, 
officers, and employees of the House; (3) require Members, officers, 
and certain key aides to disclose financial interests pursuant to 
procedures outlined in new Rule XLIV.(2)
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 1. Pre-1936 precedents on the punishment and expulsion of Members may 
        be found at 2 Hinds' Precedents Sec. Sec. 1236-1289 and 6 
        Cannon's Precedents Sec. Sec. 236-239.
            This chapter includes precedents through the 94th Congress, 
        2d Session.
 2. 114 Cong. Rec. 8802, 90th Cong. 2d Sess., Apr. 1, 1968 [H. Res. 
        1099, amending H. Res. 418]; Rule XLIII, Rule XLIV, House Rules 
        and Manual Sec. Sec. 939, 940 (1973).
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    The Code of Official Conduct requires that each Member, officer, or 
employee conduct himself so as to reflect creditably on the House and 
to adhere to the spirit and letter of the rules of the House and the 
rules of its committees. The code also contains provisions governing 
the receipt of compensation, gifts, and honorariums, as well as the use 
of campaign funds.(3)
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 3. As used in the Code of Official Conduct, the term ``Member'' 
        includes the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico and each 
        Delegate to the House; and the term ``officer or employee of 
        the House of Representatives'' means any individual whose 
        compensation is disbursed by the Clerk of the House of 
        Representatives. Rule XLIII, House Rules and Manual Sec. 939 
        (1973).
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    The 85th Congress adopted by concurrent resolution a Code of Ethics 
to be adhered to by all government employees, including 
officeholders.(4)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. 72 Stat. Pt. 2, B12, July 11, 1958. This Code of Ethics is a 
        guideline for those in government.
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                   Code of Ethics for Government Service

        Any person in Government service should:

[[Page 1700]]

        1. Put loyalty to the highest moral principles and to country 
    above loyalty to persons, party, or Government department.
        2. Uphold the Constitution, laws, and legal regulations of the 
    United States and of all governments therein and never be a party 
    to their evasion.
        3. Give a full day's labor for a full day's pay; giving to the 
    performance of his duties his earnest effort and best thought.
        4. Seek to find and employ more efficient and economical ways 
    of getting tasks accomplished.
        5. Never discriminate unfairly by the dispensing of special 
    favors or privileges to anyone, whether for remuneration, or not; 
    and never accept, for himself or his family, favors or benefits 
    under circumstances which might be construed by reasonable persons 
    as influencing the performance of his governmental duties.
        6. Make no private promises of any kind binding on the duties 
    of office, since a Government employee has no private word which 
    can be binding on public duty.
        7. Engage in no business with the Government, either directly 
    or indirectly, which is inconsistent with the conscientious 
    performance of his governmental duties.
        8. Never use any information coming to him confidentially in 
    the performance of governmental duties as a means for making 
    private profit.
        9. Expose corruption wherever discovered.
        10. Uphold these principles, ever conscious that a public 
    office is a public trust.

    In House Report No. 94-1364, 94th Congress second session, House 
Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, ``In the matter of a 
Complaint against Representative Robert L. F. Sikes,'' July 23, 1976, 
the committee indicated that the Code of Ethics was an expression of 
traditional standards of conduct which continued to be applicable even 
though the code was enacted in the form of a concurrent resolution in 
1958 (pp. 7-8):

        The Committee believes that these standards of conduct 
    traditionally applicable to Members of the House are perhaps best 
    expressed in the Code of Ethics for Government Service embodied in 
    House Concurrent Resolution 175, which was approved on July 11, 
    1958. Although the Code was adopted as a concurrent resolution, 
    and, as such, may have no legally binding effect, the Committee 
    believes the Code of Ethics for Government Service nonetheless 
    remains an expression of the traditional standards of conduct 
    applicable to Members of the House prior both to its adoption and 
    the adoption of the Code of Official Conduct in 1968. As is 
    explained in House Report No. 1208, 85th Congress, 1st Session, 
    August 21, 1957:

            House Concurrent Resolution 175 is essentially a 
        declaration of fundamental principles of conduct that should be 
        observed by all persons in the public service. It spells out in 
        clear and straight forward language long-recognized concepts of 
        the high obligations and responsibilities, as well as the 
        rights and privileges, attendant upon services for our 
        Government. It reaffirms the traditional standard--that those 
        holding public

[[Page 1701]]

        office are not owners of authority but agents of public 
        purpose--concerning which there can be no disagreement and to 
        which all Federal employees unquestionably should adhere. It is 
        not a mandate. It creates no new crime or penalty. Nor does it 
        impose any positive legal requirement for specific acts or 
        omissions. (Emphasis added.)

        Thus, even assuming that House Concurrent Resolution 175 may 
    have ``died'' with the adjournment of the particular Congress in 
    which it was adopted, as one commentator seems to suggest, the 
    traditional standards of ethical conduct which were expressed 
    therein did not.


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