[Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 109th Congress]
[109th Congress]
[House Document 108-241]
[Rules of the House of Representatives]
[Pages 894-901]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


 




                               Rule XXIII


                        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.


[[Page 895]]

      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 
XXV.

      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 XXV.

      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) except as provided in clause 1(b) of rule XXIV, 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.


[[Page 896]]

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.
      (b) In the case of a committee employee who works under the direct 
supervision of a member of the committee other than a chairman,

      (c)(1) Except as specified in subparagraph (2)--

          (A) a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner may not 
retain his spouse in a paid position; and

          (B) an employee of the House may not accept compensation for 
work for a committee on which his spouse serves as a member.

      (2) Subparagraph (1) shall not apply in the case of a spouse whose 
pertinent employment predates the One Hundred Seventh Congress.

      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 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.


[[Page 897]]

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.
      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

      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.

      12. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), an employee of the 
House who is required to file a report under rule XXVI may not 
participate 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.


[[Page 898]]

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.
      (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

      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. The Clerk shall make 
signatures a matter of public record, causing the names of each Member, 
Delegate, or Resident Commissioner who has signed the oath during a week 
(if any) to be published in a portion of the Congressional Record 
designated for that purpose on the last legislative day of the week and 
making cumulative lists of such names available each day for public 
inspection in an appropriate office of the House.


[[Page 899]]

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


      (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. An 
individual whose services are compensated by the House pursuant to a 
consultant contract may not lobby the contracting committee or the 
members or staff of the contracting committee on any matter. Such an 
individual may lobby other Members, Delegates, or the Resident 
Commissioner or staff of the House on matters outside the jurisdiction 
of the contracting committee.


[[Page 900]]

permit campaign funds to be used to defray certain official expenses 
(sec. 2(j), H. Res. 5, Jan. 4, 2005, p. ----). Clause 6 was also amended 
by the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 (P.L. 101-194) to specify that campaign 
funds be used only for bona fide campaign or political purposes. Clause 
7 was amended in the 95th Congress to eliminate an exception permitting 
sponsors to give notice of purpose (H. Res. 5, Jan. 4, 1975, p. 20). The 
Ethics Reform Act of 1989 (P.L. 101-194) amended clause 8 to broaden 
Members' accountability for the pay and performance of staff. Clause 8 
was again amended in the 106th Congress to permit telecommuting by House 
employees (H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 1999, p. 47). Clause 8(c) was added in the 
107th Congress (sec. 2(t), H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 2001, p. 24). Clause 9 was 
added in the 94th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 14, 1975, p. 20). Clause 9 
was amended in the 100th Congress to prohibit discrimination in 
employment based upon age (H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 1987, p. 6) and again the 
101st Congress to conform existing staff antidiscrimination rules to the 
Fair Employment Practices resolution adopted in the 100th Congress (now 
contained in the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (P.L. 104-1; 2 
U.S.C. 1301; see Sec. 1101, infra)). Clause 10 was added in the 94th 
Congress (H. Res. 46, Apr. 16, 1975, p. 10340). Clause 11 was added in 
the 96th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 15, 1979, pp. 7-16). Clause 12 was 
added by the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 (P.L. 101-194) to proscribe 
certain contacts as involving conflicts of interest. Clause 13 was added 
in the 104th Congress (sec. 220, H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 1995, p. 468), 
except the last sentence, which was added in the 107th Congress (sec. 
2(t), H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 2001, p. 24). Clause 14 (which was an 
undesignated paragraph at the end of the rule before the rules were 
recodified in the 106th Congress) was amended in the 92d Congress to 
bring the Delegates and Resident Commissioner within the definition of 
``Member'' (H. Res. 5, Jan. 22, 1971, p. 144; H. Res. 1153, Oct. 13, 
1972, pp. 36021-23). It was again amended in the 106th Congress to 
include consultants among employees covered by certain provisions of the 
code of conduct (H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 1999, p. 47) and in the 107th 
Congress to add the last two sentences of clause 14(b) (sec. 2(v), H. 
Res. 5, Jan. 3, 2001, p. 24). In the 105th Congress the rule was amended 
to effect three clerical corrections (H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 1997, p. 121); 
in the 106th Congress clerical and stylistic changes were effected when 
the rules were recodified (H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 1999, p. 47); and in the 
107th Congress conforming changes were made to reflect the redesignation 
of several rules (sec. 2(s), H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 2001, p. 24) and a 
clerical correction to a cross reference in clause 8(b) was effected 
(sec. 2(x), H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 2001, p. 26).
  This rule was transferred from rule XLIII to rule XXIV when the House 
recodified its rules in the 106th Congress (H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 1999, p. 
47). It was redesignated as rule XXIII in the 107th Congress (sec. 2(s), 
H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 2001, p. 24). The rule was originally 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. Clause 4 was entirely rewritten (and definitions for the 
purpose of clause 4 were deleted) in the 104th Congress to reflect the 
adoption of a Gift Rule (H. Res. 254, Nov. 30, 1995, p. 35077). Prior to 
the 104th Congress, clause 4 had been amended in the 95th Congress to 
change the prohibition against acceptance of gifts of ``substantial 
value'' (H. Res. 5, Jan. 4, 1975, p. 20) and definitions for purposes of 
clause 4 were added in the 96th Congress (H. Res. 287, Mar. 2, 1977, pp. 
5933-53). Those definitions were amended in the Ethics Reform Act of 
1989 to make conforming changes in the definition of ``relative'' (P.L. 
101-194). Clause 4 was also amended: (1) 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 (H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 1987, p. 6); and (2) in 
the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 to revise the rules governing the 
acceptance of gifts, including value thresholds and waivers (P.L. 101-
194). Those threshold and aggregate values were again adjusted by 
section 314(d) of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act for fiscal 
year 1992 (P.L. 102-90). The Ethics Reform Act of 1989 (P.L. 101-194) 
amended clause 5 to prohibit the acceptance of honoraria. Clause 6 was 
amended in the 95th Congress 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) and was again 
amended in the 109th Congress to conform it to the change in clause 1 of 
rule XXIV to

  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.). The committee also has compiled a complete statement of the 
rules on gifts and travel, which supersedes Chapter 2 of the 1992 House 
Ethics Manual (Gifts and Travel, 106th Cong., 2d Sess.).


[[Page 901]]

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).



  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