[Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 104th Congress]
[104th Congress]
[House Document 103-342]
[Rules of the House of Representatives]
[Pages 800-806]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



 

                               Rule XLVII.


          LIMITATIONS ON OUTSIDE EMPLOYMENT AND EARNED INCOME.



Sec. 943a. Income Limitations.

  1. (a)(1) Except  as provided 
by subparagraph (2), in calendar year 1991 or thereafter, a Member or an 
officer or employee of the House may not--


          (A) have outside earned income attributable to such calendar 
year which exceeds 15 percent of the annual rate of basic pay for level 
II of the Executive Schedule under section 5313 of title 5, United 
States Code, as of January 1 of such calendar year; or

          (B) receive any honorarium. 

[[Page 801]]

        

  (2) In the case of any individual who becomes a Member or an officer 
or employee of the House during calendar year 1991 or thereafter, such 
individual may not have outside earned income attributable to the 
portion of that calendar year which occurs after such individual becomes 
a Member, officer or employee which exceeds 15 percent of the annual 
rate of basic pay for level II of the Executive Schedule under section 
5313 of title 5, United States Code, as of January 1 of such calendar 
year multiplied by a fraction the numerator of which is the number of 
days such individual is a Member, officer, or employee during such 
calendar year and the denominator of which is 365.

  (3) In calendar year 1991 or thereafter, any payment in lieu of an 
honorarium which is made to a charitable organization on behalf of a 
Member, officer or employee of the House may not be received by such 
individual. No such payment shall exceed $2,000 or be made to a 
charitable organization from which such individual or a parent, sibling, 
spouse, child, or dependent relative of such individual derives any 
financial benefit.


[[Page 802]]

  (b)(1) Except as provided by subparagraph (2), in calendar year 1990, 
a Member may not have outside earned income (including honoraria 
received in such calendar year) attributable to such calendar year which 
exceeds 30 percent of the annual pay as a Member to which the Member was 
entitled in 1989. 

  (2) In the case of any individual who becomes a Member during calendar 
year 1990, such individual may not have outside earned income (including 
honoraria) attributable to the portion of that calendar year which 
occurs after such individual becomes a Member which exceeds 30 percent 
of $89,500 multiplied by a fraction the numerator of which is the number 
of days such individual is a Member during such calendar year and the 
denominator of which is 365.

  2. On or after January 1, 1991, a Member or an officer or employee of 
the House shall not--

          (1) receive compensation for affiliating with or being 
employed by a firm, partnership, association, corporation, or other 
entity which provides professional services involving a fiduciary 
relationship;

          (2) permit that Member's, officer's, or employee's name to be 
used by any such firm, partnership, association, corporation, or other 
entity;

          (3) receive compensation for practicing a profession which 
involves a fiduciary relationship;

          (4) serve for compensation as an officer or member of the 
board of any association, corporation, or other entity; or

          (5) receive compensation for teaching, without the prior 
notification and approval of the Committee on Standards of Official 
Conduct.


[[Page 803]]

  3. For the purposes of this rule-- 

          (a) The term ``Member'' means any Member of the House of 
Representatives, a Delegate to the House of Representatives, or the 
Resident Commissioner in the House of Representatives.

          (b)(1) Except as provided by paragraph (2), the term ``officer 
or employee of the House'' means any individual (other than a Member) 
whose pay is disbursed by the Clerk and who is paid at a rate equal to 
or greater than the annual rate of basic pay in effect for grade GS-16 
of the General Schedule under section 5332 of title 5, United States 
Code, and so employed for more than 90 days in a calendar year.

          (2) When used with respect to honoraria, the term ``officer or 
employee of the House'' means any individual (other than a Member) whose 
salary is disbursed by the Clerk.

  (c) The term ``honorarium'' means a payment of money or any thing of 
value for an appearance, speech, or article by a Member or an officer or 
employee of the House, excluding any actual and necessary travel 
expenses incurred by such individual (and one relative) to the extent 
that such expenses are paid or reimbursed by any other person, and the 
amount otherwise determined shall be reduced by the amount of any such 
expenses to the extent that such expenses are not paid or reimbursed.


[[Page 804]]
the cost of transportation, and the cost of lodging and meals while 
away from his or her residence or principal place of employment.
  (d) The term ``travel expenses'' means, with respect to a Member or an 
officer or employee of the House, or a relative of any such individual, 

  (e) The term ``outside earned income'' means, with respect to a 
Member, officer or employee, wages, salaries, fees, and other amounts 
received or to be received as compensation for personal services 
actually rendered but does not include--

          (1) the salary of such individual as a Member, officer or 
employee;

          (2) any compensation derived by such individual for personal 
services actually rendered prior to the effective date of this rule or 
becoming such a Member, officer or employee, whichever occurs later;

          (3) any amount paid by, or on behalf of, a Member, officer or 
employee, to a tax-qualified pension, profit-sharing, or stock bonus 
plan and received by such individual from such a plan;


[[Page 805]]

          (4) in the case of a Member, officer or employee engaged in a 
trade or business in which the individual or his family holds a 
controlling interest and in which both personal services and capital are 
income-producing factors, any amount received by such individual so long 
as the personal services actually rendered by the individual in the 
trade or business do not generate a significant amount of income; and 

          (5) copyright royalties received from established publishers 
pursuant to usual and customary contractual terms.
Outside earned income shall be determined without regard to any 
community property law.


  (f) The term ``charitable organization'' means an organization 
described in section 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

  The rule on outside earned income was adopted in the 95th Congress (H. 
Res. 287, Mar. 2, 1977, pp. 5933-53). It was amended for the first time 
in the 96th Congress to increase the limit on a single honorarium from 
$750 to $1000 (H. Res. 5, Jan. 15, 1979, pp. 7-16). The rule was amended 
further in the 97th Congress to (1) increase the limitation on outside 
earned income for a calendar year from 15 to 30 percent of a Member's 
salary; (2) strike the $1000 limitation on a single honorarium; and (3) 
provide that honoraria shall be attributable to the calendar year in 
which payment is received, effective January 1, 1981 (H. Res. 305, Dec. 
15, 1981, p. 31529). In the 99th Congress, paragraphs (a) and (b) were 
amended to delete the 30 percent of aggregate salary limitation on 
outside earned income and to conform the limitation to that contained in 
law (2 U.S.C. 31-1 provides that a Member of Congress may not accept 
honoraria in excess of 40 percent of his aggregate salary) (H. Res. 427, 
Apr. 22, 1986, p. 8328). The next day, the House adopted a resolution 
vacating the proceedings by which that resolution had been adopted and 
laying that resolution on the table (H. Res. 432, Apr. 23, 1986, p. 
8474). The Ethics Reform Act of 1989: (1) amended the title of the rule; 
(2) amended clause 1 to effect for 1991 and future years the elimination 
of honoraria not assigned to charity and closer restrictions on outside 
earned income (including limitation to 15 percent of Executive Level II 
pay); (3) amended clause 2 to effect for 1991 and future years new 
limits on outside employment; and (4) amended clause 3 to revise certain 
definitions (P.L. 101-194, Nov. 30, 1989). In the 102d Congress clause 2 
was further amended to specify that the ban on affiliation with a firm 
applies only if compensation is received and only with respect to a 
professional services firm, and clause 3 was further amended to specify 
the applicability of outside earned income restrictions to officers and 
employees of the House (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1991, p. ----).

  For an in depth discussion of this rule prepared by the Committee on 
Standards of Official Conduct, see the House Ethics Manual (102d Cong., 
2d Sess.).


[[Page 806]]
pointed Federal employee who accepts an honorarium of more than $2000 
per speech. A statutory ceiling of $25,000 from honoraria in a calendar 
year was repealed in 1981 (P.L. 97-51, Oct. 1, 1981). The Senate 
repealed its rule on outside earned income in the 97th Congress (S. Res. 
512, Dec. 14, 1982, p. 30640).
  Before its coverage was restricted to the Senate in the Ethics Reform 
Act of 1989 (sec. 601(b), P.L. 101-194, Nov. 30, 1989), a separate 
provision of law (2 U.S.C. 441i) provided criminal penalties for any 
elected or ap


  For provisions of the federal criminal code restricting postemployment 
activities, see 18 U.S.C. 207, which was originally enacted in title V 
of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (P.L. 95-521) and most recently 
amended in the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 (P.L. 101-194, Nov. 30, 1989) 
and a related technical corrections Act (P.L. 101-280, May 4, 1990).






Sec. 943b. Former Select Committee on 
Ethics.

  The House  established in the 95th Congress a Select Committee on Ethics 
to ``consider and report to the House on any bills or resolutions which 
may include provisions incorporating into permanent law applicable 
provisions and appropriate modifications of rule XLIII, rule XLIV, rule 
XLV, rule XLVI, and rule XLVII which may be referred to the select 
committee by the Speaker.'' The select committee was given exclusive 
jurisdiction over the bills and resolutions referred to it, and 
jurisdiction to adopt regulations and to issue advisory opinions 
respecting the application of those rules. The resolution creating that 
committee (H. Res. 383, Mar. 9, 1977, pp. 6811-16) provided that it 
expire on December 31, 1977, but the committee and its functions 
ultimately were extended through the ``completion of its official 
business'' (H. Res. 871, Oct. 31, 1977, p. 35957). The advisory opinions 
compiled by the former Select Committee on Ethics have been incorporated 
in the House Ethics Manual (102d Cong., 2d Sess.) prepared by the 
Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.