    [Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 105th Congress]
    [105th Congress]
    [House Document 104-272]
    [Rules of the House of Representatives]
    [Pages 804-809]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

                                   Rule XLIII.

                            code of official conduct.

      There is hereby established by and for the House of Representatives
    the following code of conduct, to be known as the ``Code of Official
    Conduct'':

    Sec. 939. Official conduct of Members, officers,
    or employees of the House.

      1. A Member,  officer, or employee of the House of
    Representatives shall conduct himself at all times in a manner which
    shall reflect creditably on the House of Representatives.

    [[Page 805]]

      2. A Member, officer, or employee of the House of Representatives
    shall adhere to the spirit and the letter of the Rules of the House of
    Representatives and to the rules of duly constituted committees thereof.

      3. A Member, officer, or employee of the House of Representatives
    shall receive no compensation nor shall he permit any compensation to
    accrue to his beneficial interest from any source, the receipt of which
    would occur by virtue of influence improperly exerted from his position
    in the Congress.

      4. A Member, officer, or employee of the House of Representatives
    shall not accept gifts except as provided by the provisions of rule LI
    (Gift Rule).

      5. A Member, officer, or employee of the House of Representatives
    shall accept no honorarium for a speech, writing for publication, or
    other similar activity.

      6. A Member of the House of Representatives shall keep his campaign
    funds separate from his personal funds. A Member shall convert no
    campaign funds to personal use in excess of reimbursement for legitimate
    and verifiable campaign expenditures and shall expend no funds from his
    campaign account not attributable to bona fide campaign or political
    purposes.

      7. A Member of the House of Representatives shall treat as campaign
    contributions all proceeds from testimonial dinners or other fund
    raising events.

    [[Page 806]]

    under the direct supervision of a Member other than a chairman, the
    chairman may require that such Member affirm in writing that the
    employees have complied with the preceding sentence (subject to clause
    6 of rule XI) as evidence of the chairman's compliance with this clause
    and with clause 6 of rule XI.
      8. A Member or officer of the House of Representatives shall retain no
    one under his payroll authority who does not perform official duties
    commensurate with the compensation received in the offices of the
    employing authority. In the case of committee employees who work

      9. A Member, officer, or employee of the House of Representatives
    shall not discharge or refuse to hire any individual, or otherwise
    discriminate against any individual with respect to compensation, terms,
    conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's
    race, color, religion, sex (including marital or parental status),
    handicap, age, or national origin, but may take into consideration the
    domicile or political affiliation of such individual.

      10. A Member of the House of Representatives who has been convicted by
    a court of record for the commission of a crime for which a sentence of
    two or more years' imprisonment may be imposed should refrain from
    participation in the business of each committee of which he is a member
    and should refrain from voting on any question at a meeting of the
    House, or of the Committee of the Whole House, unless or until judicial
    or executive proceedings result in reinstatement of the presumption of
    his innocence or until he is reelected to the House after the date of
    such conviction.

    [[Page 807]]

    the words ``Congress of the United States,'' ``House of
    Representatives,'' or ``Official Business,'' or any combination of words
    thereof, on any letterhead or envelope.
      11. A Member of the House of Representatives shall not authorize or
    otherwise allow a non-House individual, group, or organization to use

      12. (a) Except as provided by paragraph (b), any employee of the House
    of Representatives who is required to file a report pursuant to rule
    XLIV shall refrain from participating personally and substantially as an
    employee of the House of Representatives in any contact with any agency
    of the executive or judicial branch of Government with respect to
    nonlegislative matters affecting any nongovernmental person in which the
    employee has a significant financial interest.

      (b) Paragraph (a) shall not apply if an employee first advises his
    employing authority of his significant financial interest and obtains
    from his employing authority a written waiver stating that the
    participation of the employee is necessary. A copy of each such waiver
    shall be filed with the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.

      13. Before any Member, officer, or employee of the House of
    Representatives may have access to classified information, the following
    oath (or affirmation) shall be executed:

    [[Page 808]]

    Copies of the executed oath shall be retained by the Clerk of the House
    as part of the records of the House.
            ``I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will not disclose any
    classified information received in the course of my service with the
    House of Representatives, except as authorized by the House of
    Representatives or in accordance with its Rules.''

      As used in this Code of Official Conduct of the House of
    Representatives--(a) the terms ``Member'' and ``Member of the House of
    Representatives'' include the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico and
    each Delegate to the House; and (b) 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.

    [[Page 809]]

    crimination rules to the Fair Employment
    Practices resolution adopted in the 100th Congress (now rule LI; see
    Sec. 946a, infra); (6) clause 12 was added to proscribe certain contacts
    as involving conflicts of interest; and (7) the last undesignated
    paragraph was amended to make conforming changes in the definition of
    ``relative'' (P.L. 101-194, Nov. 30, 1989). The Act also established a
    civil cause of action against an individual who violates the limitations
    on outside earned income and employment (5 U.S.C. app. Sec. 504). The
    threshold and aggregate values in clause 4 were again adjusted by
    section 314(d) of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act for fiscal
    year 1992 (P.L. 102-90, Aug. 14, 1991). Clause 13 was added in the 104th
    Congress (sec. 220, H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. ----). In the 104th
    Congress clause 4 was rewritten, and a final undesignated paragraph
    defining terms for the former version of clause 4 was deleted, to
    reflect the adoption of a Gift Rule in rule LI (H. Res. 254, Nov. 30,
    1995, p. ----). In the 105th Congress the rule was amended to effect
    three clerical corrections (H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 1997, p. ----).
      This rule was adopted in the 90th Congress (H. Res. 1099, Apr. 3,
    1968, p. 8803). The jurisdiction of the Committee on Standards of
    Official Conduct was redefined in the same resolution. The rule was
    amended in the 92d Congress to bring the Delegates from the District of
    Columbia, Guam and the Virgin Islands within the definition of
    ``Member'' (H. Res. 5, Jan. 22, 1971, p. 144; H. Res. 1153, Oct. 13,
    1972, pp. 36021-23). The rule was further amended in the 94th Congress
    by adding clause 9 (H. Res. 5, Jan. 14, 1975, p. 20). Clause 10 was
    adopted in the 94th Congress (H. Res. 46, Apr. 16, 1975, p. 10340). In
    the 95th Congress: (1) clause 4 was amended to change the prohibition
    against acceptance of gifts of ``substantial value''; (2) clause 6 was
    amended to delete from the second sentence the exception ``unless
    specifically provided by law,'' which had been added in the 94th
    Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 4, 1975, p. 20); (3) clause 7 was amended to
    eliminate an exception permitting sponsors to give notice of purpose;
    and (4) definitions for purposes of clause 4 were added (H. Res. 287,
    Mar. 2, 1977, pp. 5933-53). Clause 11 was adopted in the 96th Congress
    (H. Res. 5, Jan. 15, 1979, pp. 7-16). In the 100th Congress clause 4 was
    again amended in the 100th Congress to increase from $35 to $50 the
    value of personal hospitality of an individual that is not to be counted
    when computing the aggregate amount of gifts per calendar year, and
    clause 9 was amended to prohibit discrimination in employment based upon
    age (H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 1987, p. 6). In the Ethics Reform Act of 1989:
    (1) clause 4 was again amended to revise the rules governing the
    acceptance of gifts, including value thresholds, waivers, and defined
    ``relatives''; (2) clause 5 was amended to prohibit the acceptance of
    honoraria effective January 1, 1991; (3) clause 6 was amended to specify
    that campaign funds be used only for bona fide campaign or political
    purposes; (4) clause 8 was amended to broaden Members' accountability
    for the pay and performance of staff; (5) clause 9 was amended to
    conform existing staff anti-dis-

      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.).

      It is not a proper parliamentary inquiry to ask the Chair to interpret
    the application of a criminal statute to a Member's conduct, as it is
    for the House and not the Chair to judge the conduct of Members (Nov.
    17, 1987, p. 32153). The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct has
    opined that ``conviction'' in clause 10 includes a plea of guilty or a
    certified finding of guilty even though sentencing may occur later (H.
    Rept. 94-76).