[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).