    [Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 115th Congress]
    [115th Congress]
    [House Document 114-192]
    [Rules of the House of Representatives]
    [Pages 955-968]
    [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 behave at all times in a manner
    that shall reflect creditably on the House.

    [[Page 956]]

          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.

          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 account of such individual that are not
    attributable to bona fide campaign or political purposes.

    [[Page 957]]

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

          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.

          (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 relative 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 relative of such employee serves as a
    member.

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

    [[Page 958]]

    er, sister, uncle, aunt, first cousin, nephew, niece, husband, wife,
    father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-
    law, sister-in-law, stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter,
    stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, half sister, grandson, or
    granddaughter.
          (3) As used in this paragraph, the term ``relative'' means an
    individual who is related to the Member, Delegate, or Resident
    Commissioner as father, mother, son, daughter, broth

          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 959]]

          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 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.

          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.

          (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 Ethics.

    [[Page 960]]

          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 as
    part of the records of the House, in the case of a Member, Delegate, or
    the Resident Commissioner, by the Clerk, and in the case of an officer
    or employee of the House, by the Sergeant-at-Arms. The Clerk shall make
    the signatories 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

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

    [[Page 961]]

    missioner may not use personal funds, official funds, or campaign funds
    for a flight on an aircraft.
          15. (a) Except as provided in paragraphs (b) and (c), a Member,
    Delegate, or Resident Com

          (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 962]]

              (3) the flight consists of the personal use of an aircraft by
    a Member, Delegate, or the Resident Commissioner that is supplied by--

                  (A) an individual on the basis of personal friendship; or

                  (B) another Member, Delegate, or the Resident
    Commissioner;

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

              (5) the owner or operator of the aircraft is paid a pro rata
    share of the fair market value of the normal and usual charter fare or
    rental charge for a comparable plane of comparable size as determined by
    dividing such cost by the number of Members, Delegates, or the Resident
    Commissioner, officers, or employees of Congress on the flight.

          (c) An advance written request for a waiver of the restriction in
    paragraph (a) may be granted jointly by the chair and ranking minority
    member of the Committee on Ethics, subject to such conditions as they
    may prescribe.

          (d) 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;

    [[Page 963]]

    husband, wife, father-in-law, or mother-in-law; and
              (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,

              (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.

          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 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.

    [[Page 964]]

          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

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

          (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.

    [[Page 965]]

          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.

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

    [[Page 966]]

    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. 43). 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) and expanded in the 113th Congress
    to apply to a defined group of relatives instead of just spouses (sec.
    2(e)(2), H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 2013, p. _). 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
    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 13 was amended in the 112th Congress to
    clarify that it does not require the disclosure of actual signatures
    (sec. 2(f), H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 2011, p. 80) and in the 113th Congress to
    shift from the Clerk to the Sergeant-at-Arms some responsibility for the
    oath (sec. 2(e)(3), H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 2013, p. _). 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 consult

    [[Page 967]]

    ants 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); 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); and in the 112th Congress a technical
    change was made (sec. 2(f), H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 2011, p. 80). Clauses 14
    through 17 were added in the 110th Congress (secs. 202, 207, H. Res. 6,
    Jan. 4, 2007, p. 19; sec. 404(b), H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 2007, p. 19
    (adopted Jan. 5, 2007)). Clause 15 was amended in its entirety during
    the 110th Congress (H. Res. 363, May 2, 2007, p. 11119) and amended in
    the 113th Congress to expand paragraph (b) and add paragraph (c) (sec.
    2(e)(4), H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 2013, p. _). Gender-based references were
    eliminated in the 111th Congress (sec. 2(l), H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 2009, p.
    7). An amendment was effected in the 112th Congress to reflect a change
    in committee name (sec. 2(e)(8), H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 2011, p. 80).
      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 (now Ethics) 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 95th 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,

      For an in-depth discussion of this rule prepared by the Committee on
    Standards of Official Conduct (now Ethics), see the House Ethics Manual
    (110th Cong., 2d Sess.).

    [[Page 968]]

      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. 7457). The Committee on
    Standards of Official Conduct (now Ethics) 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).