[Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 106th Congress]
[106th Congress]
[House Document 105-358]
[Rules of the House of Representatives]
[Pages 849-854]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 849]]


 


                 Rule XXIV.--CODE OF OFFICIAL CONDUCT                  

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



Sec. 1095. Official conduct of Members, officers, or 
employees of the House.

      1.  A Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, 
officer, or employee of the House shall conduct himself at all times in 
a manner that shall reflect creditably on the House.


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

      3. A Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee 
of the House may not receive compensation and may not permit 
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 Congress.

      4. A Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee 
of the House may not accept gifts except as provided by clause 5 of rule 
XXVI.


[[Page 850]]

      5. A Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee 
of the House may not accept an honorarium for a speech, a writing for 
publication, or other similar activity, except as otherwise provided 
under rule XXVI.

      6. A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner--

          (a) shall keep his campaign funds separate from his personal 
funds;

          (b) may not convert campaign funds to personal use in excess 
of an amount representing reimbursement for legitimate and verifiable 
campaign expenditures; and

          (c) may not expend funds from his campaign account that are 
not attributable to bona fide campaign or political purposes.

      7. A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner shall treat as 
campaign contributions all proceeds from testimonial dinners or other 
fund-raising events.

      8. (a) A Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, or officer of 
the House may not retain an employee who does not perform duties for the 
offices of the employing authority commensurate with the compensation he 
receives.

      (b) In the case of a committee employee who works under the direct 
supervision of a member of the committee other than a chairman, the 
chairman may require that such member affirm in writing that the 
employee has complied with clause 8(a) (subject to clause 9 of rule X) 
as evidence of compliance by the chairman with this clause and with 
clause 9 of rule X.


[[Page 851]]

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

      10. A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner 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 a Member should refrain from voting on any question at 
a meeting of the House or of the Committee of the Whole House on the 
state of the Union, 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.

      11. A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner may not authorize 
or otherwise allow an individual, group, or organization not under the 
direction and control of the House to use the words ``Congress of the 
United States,'' ``House of Representatives,'' or ``Official Business,'' 
or any combination of words thereof, on any letterhead or envelope.


[[Page 852]]

pate personally and substantially as an employee of the House in a 
contact with an agency of the executive or judicial branches of 
Government with respect to nonlegislative matters affecting any 
nongovernmental person in which the employee has a significant financial 
interest.
      12. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), an employee of the 
House who is required to file a report under rule XXVII may not partici

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

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

          ``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.''

    Copies of the executed oath (or affirmation) shall be retained by 
the Clerk as part of the records of the House.


[[Page 853]]

an individual whose compensation is disbursed by the Chief 
Administrative Officer.
      14. (a) In this Code of Official Conduct, the term ``officer or 
employee of the House'' means


      (b) An individual whose services are compensated by the House 
pursuant to a consultant contract shall be considered an employee of the 
House for purposes of clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, and 13 of this rule.


[[Page 854]]

app. 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. 468). 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. ----). In the 
106th Congress: (1) clause 8 was amended to permit telecommuting by 
House employees; (2) clause 14 was amended to include consultants among 
employees covered by certain provisions of the code of conduct; and (3) 
clerical and stylistic changes were effected, and the rule was 
transferred from rule XLIII, when the House recodified its rules (H. 
Res. 5, Jan. 6, 1999, p. ----).
  This rule (former rule XLIII) 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 
amended 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 antidiscrimination 
rules to the Fair Employment Practices resolution adopted in the 100th 
Congress (now rule LI; see Sec. 1101, 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.

  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).