    [Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 111th Congress]
    [111st Congress]
    [House Document 110-162]
    [Rules of the House of Representatives]
    [Pages 918-928]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 918]]

                                   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 behave 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 the beneficial interest of such individual
    from any source, the receipt of which would occur by virtue of influence
    improperly exerted from the position of such individual 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.

    [[Page 919]]

          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 the campaign funds of such individual separate
    from the personal funds of such individual;

              (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 a campaign accounts of such individual 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
    such employee receives.

    [[Page 920]]

          (b) In the case of a committee employee who works under the direct
    supervision of a member of the committee other than a chair, the chair
    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 chair with this clause and with clause 9 of rule X.

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

              (A) a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner may not
    retain the spouse of such individual in a paid position; and

              (B) an employee of the House may not accept compensation for
    work for a committee on which the spouse of such employee 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 921]]

    state of the Union, unless or until judicial or executive proceedings
    result in reinstatement of the presumption of the innocence of such
    Member or until the Member 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 participation in the business of each committee of which
    such individual 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

          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 922]]

          (b) Paragraph (a) does not apply if an employee first advises the
    employing authority of such employee of a significant financial interest
    described in paragraph (a) and obtains from such 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. 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.

          14. A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner may not, with the
    intent to influence on the basis of partisan political affiliation an
    employment decision or employment practice of any private entity--

              (a) take or withhold, or offer or threaten to take or
    withhold, an official act; or

    [[Page 923]]

              (b) influence, or offer or threaten to influence, the official
    act of another.

          15. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), a Member, Delegate,
    or Resident Commissioner may not use personal funds, official funds, or
    campaign funds for a flight on an aircraft.

          (b) Paragraph (a) does not apply if--

              (1) the aircraft is operated by an air carrier or commercial
    operator certificated by the Federal Aviation Administration and the
    flight is required to be conducted under air carrier safety rules, or,
    in the case of travel which is abroad, by an air carrier or commercial
    operator certificated by an appropriate foreign civil aviation authority
    and the flight is required to be conducted under air carrier safety
    rules;

              (2) the aircraft is owned or leased by a Member, Delegate,
    Resident Commissioner or a family member of a Member, Delegate, or
    Resident Commissioner (including an aircraft owned by an entity that is
    not a public corporation in which the Member, Delegate, Resident
    Commissioner or a family member of a Member, Delegate, or Resident
    Commissioner has an ownership interest, provided that such Member,
    Delegate, or Resident Commissioner does not use the aircraft any more
    than the Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, or family member's
    proportionate share of ownership allows);

    [[Page 924]]

    an individual on the basis of personal friendship; or
              (3) the flight consists of the personal use of an aircraft by
    a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner that is supplied by

              (4) the aircraft is operated by an entity of the Federal
    government or an entity of the government of any State.

          (c) In this clause--

              (1) the term ``campaign funds'' includes funds of any
    political committee under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971,
    without regard to whether the committee is an authorized committee of
    the Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner involved under such Act;

              (2) the term ``family member'' means an individual who is
    related to the Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner, as father,
    mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, husband, wife, father-in-law, or
    mother-in-law; and

              (3) the term ``on the basis of personal friendship'' has the
    same meaning as in clause 5 of rule XXV and shall be determined as under
    clause 5(a)(3)(D)(ii) of rule XXV.

    [[Page 925]]

    another Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner. For purposes of this
    clause and clause 17, the terms ``congressional earmark,'' ``limited tax
    benefit,'' and ``limited tariff benefit'' shall have the meanings given
    them in clause 9 of rule XXI.
          16. A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner may not condition
    the inclusion of language to provide funding for a congressional
    earmark, a limited tax benefit, or a limited tariff benefit in any bill
    or joint resolution (or an accompanying report) or in any conference
    report on a bill or joint resolution (including an accompanying joint
    explanatory statement of managers) on any vote cast by

          17. (a) A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner who requests
    a congressional earmark, a limited tax benefit, or a limited tariff
    benefit in any bill or joint resolution (or an accompanying report) or
    in any conference report on a bill or joint resolution (or an
    accompanying joint statement of managers) shall provide a written
    statement to the chair and ranking minority member of the committee of
    jurisdiction, including--

              (1) the name of the Member, Delegate, or Resident
    Commissioner;

              (2) in the case of a congressional earmark, the name and
    address of the intended recipient or, if there is no specifically
    intended recipient, the intended location of the activity;

              (3) in the case of a limited tax or tariff benefit,
    identification of the individual or entities reasonably anticipated to
    benefit, to the extent known to the Member, Delegate, or Resident
    Commissioner;

              (4) the purpose of such congressional earmark or limited tax
    or tariff benefit; and

    [[Page 926]]

    sional earmark or limited tax or tariff benefit.
              (5) a certification that the Member, Delegate, or Resident
    Commissioner or spouse has no financial interest in such congres

          (b) Each committee shall maintain the information transmitted
    under paragraph (a), and the written disclosures for any congressional
    earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits included in
    any measure reported by the committee or conference report filed by the
    chair of the committee or any subcommittee thereof shall be open for
    public inspection.

          18. (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.

    [[Page 927]]

    restrictions on lobbying that apply to the individual under this
    paragraph.

          (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. In the case of such an individual who is a
    member or employee of a firm, partnership, or other business
    organization, the other members and employees of the firm, partnership,
    or other business organization shall be subject to the same

    [[Page 928]]

    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 18 (which was an undesignated paragraph at
    the end of the rule before being numbered as clause 14 when 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 paragraph (b) (sec. 2(v), H.
    Res. 5, Jan. 3, 2001, p. 24). Paragraph (b) was amended during the 110th
    Congress with regard to firms, partnerships, and other business
    organizations (sec. 303, P.L. 110-81). 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). Clauses 14 through
    17 were added in the 110th Congress (secs. 202, 207, H. Res. 6, Jan. 4,
    2007, p. _; sec. 404(b), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 2007, p. _ (adopted Jan. 5,
    2007)). Clause 15 was amended in its entirety during the 110th Congress
    (H. Res. 363, May 2, 2007, p. _). Gender-based references were
    eliminated in the 111th Congress (sec. 2(l), H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 2009, p.
    _).
      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). Before
    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 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 in the 101st Congress to conform existing staff
    antidiscrimination rules to the Fair Employment

      For an in-depth discussion of this rule prepared by the Committee on
    Standards of Official Conduct, see the House Ethics Manual (110th 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, because it
    is for the House and not the Chair to judge the conduct of Members (Nov.
    17, 1987, p. 32153). In response to a parliamentary inquiry, the Chair
    advised that the operation of clause 16 was not affected by a special
    order of the House waiving various points of order against a measure and
    against its consideration (Mar. 23, 2007, p. _). 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).