I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3177

To prohibit registered lobbyists from making gifts to Members of Congress 

and to congressional employees, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 30, 2005

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL

To prohibit registered lobbyists from making gifts to Members of Congress and to congressional employees, and 

for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Lobby Gift Ban Act 

5 of 2005’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON GIFTS BY REGISTERED LOBBY2 ISTS TO MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AND TO 

3 CONGRESSIONAL EMPLOYEES. 

4 (a) PROHIBITION.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—A registered lobbyist may 

6 not knowingly make a gift to a Member, Delegate, 

7 Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee of Con8 gress except as provided in this section. 

9 (2) GIFT DEFINED.—In this section, the term 

10 ‘‘gift’’ means a gratuity, favor, discount, entertain11 ment, hospitality, loan, forbearance, or other item 

12 having monetary value. The term includes gifts of 

13 services, training, transportation, lodging, and 

14 meals, whether provided in kind, by purchase of a 

15 ticket, payment in advance, or reimbursement after 

16 the expense has been incurred. 

17 (3) REGISTERED LOBBYIST DEFINED.—In this 

18 section, the term ‘‘registered lobbyist’’ means—

19 (A) a lobbyist registered under the Lob20 bying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601 et 

21 seq.); 

22 (B) a lobbyist who, as an employee of an 

23 organization, is covered by the registration of 

24 that organization under that Act; or 

25 (C) an organization registered under that 

26 Act. 
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1 (4) GIFTS TO FAMILY MEMBERS AND OTHER

2 INDIVIDUALS.—For the purposes of this section, a 

3 gift to a family member of a Member, Delegate, 

4 Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee of Con5 gress, or a gift to any other individual based on that 

6 individual’s relationship with the Member, Delegate, 

7 Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee, shall 

8 be considered a gift to the Member, Delegate, Resi9 dent Commissioner, officer, or employee if the gift 

10 was given because of the official position of the 

11 Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, 

12 or employee. 

13 (5) EXCEPTIONS.—The restrictions in para14 graph (1) do not apply to the following: 

15 (A) CERTAIN LAWFUL POLITICAL FUND16 RAISING ACTIVITIES.—A contribution, as de17 fined in section 301(8) of the Federal Election 

18 Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431) that is 

19 lawfully made under that Act, a lawful con20 tribution for election to a State or local govern21 ment office, or attendance at a fundraising 

22 event sponsored by a political organization de23 scribed in section 527(e) of the Internal Rev24 enue Code of 1986. 
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1 (B) GIFT FROM A RELATIVE.—A gift from 

2 a relative as described in section 109(16) of 

3 title I of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 

4 (2 U.S.C. App. 109(16)). 

5 (C) EMPLOYEE BENEFITS.—Pension and 

6 other benefits resulting from continued partici7 pation in an employee welfare and benefits plan 

8 maintained by a former employer. 

9 (D) INFORMATIONAL MATERIALS.—Infor10 mational materials that are sent to the office of 

11 the Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, 

12 officer, or employee in the form of books, arti13 cles, periodicals, other written materials, audio14 tapes, videotapes, or other forms of communica15 tion. 

16 (E) ITEMS OF NOMINAL VALUE.—An item 

17 of nominal value such as a greeting card, base18 ball cap, or a T-shirt. 

19 (F) PERSONAL FRIENDSHIP.—

20 (i) IN GENERAL.—Anything provided 

21 by an individual on the basis of a personal 

22 friendship unless the gift was given be23 cause of the official position of the Mem24 ber, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, offi25 cer, or employee. 
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1 (ii) CIRCUMSTANCES.—In determining 

2 whether a gift is provided on the basis of 

3 personal friendship, the following cir4 cumstances shall be considered: 

5 (I) The history of the relation6 ship between the Member, Delegate, 

7 Resident Commissioner, officer, or 

8 employee and the individual giving the 

9 gift, including any previous exchange 

10 of gifts between them. 

11 (II) Whether the individual who 

12 gave the gift personally paid for the 

13 gift or sought a tax deduction or busi14 ness reimbursement for the gift. 

15 (III) Whether the individual who 

16 gave the gift also gave the same or 

17 similar gifts to other Members, Dele18 gates, the Resident Commissioners, 

19 officers, or employees of Congress. 

20 (G) CERTAIN OUTSIDE BUSINESS OR EM21 PLOYMENT ACTIVITIES PROVIDED TO

22 SPOUSE.—Food, refreshments, lodging, trans23 portation, and other benefits provided to the 

24 spouse of the Member, Delegate, Resident Com25 missioner, officer, or employee, resulting from 
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1 the outside business or employment activities of 

2 the spouse or in connection with bona fide em3 ployment discussions with respect to the spouse, 

4 if such benefits have not been offered or en5 hanced because of the official position of the 

6 Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, offi7 cer, or employee and are customarily provided 

8 to others in similar circumstances. 

9 (H) OPPORTUNITIES AND BENEFITS UN10 RELATED TO CONGRESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT.—

11 Opportunities and benefits that are offered to 

12 members of a group or class in which member13 ship is unrelated to congressional employment. 

14 (I) CERTAIN FOODS OR REFRESHMENTS.—

15 Food or refreshments of a nominal value of16 fered other than as a part of a meal. 

17 (b) PENALTY.—Any registered lobbyist who violates 

18 this section shall be subject to a civil fine of not more 

19 than $50,000, depending on the extent and gravity of the 

20 violation. 

21 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON MEMBERS ACCEPTING GIFTS 

22 FROM LOBBYISTS. 

23 Clause 5(a)(1)(A) of rule XXV of the Rules of the 

24 House of Representatives is amended by adding at the end 

25 the following new sentence: ‘‘Notwithstanding any other 
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1 provision of this clause, in no event may a Member, Dele2 gate, or Resident Commissioner accept a gift from a reg3 istered lobbyist prohibited by section 2 of the Lobby Gift 

4 Ban Act of 2005.’’.

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