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104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3140

To prohibit gifts by lobbyists to Members of the House of Representatives,

Senators, and officers and employees of the House of Representatives

and the Senate.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 21, 1996

Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania introduced the following bill; which was referred to

the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To prohibit gifts by lobbyists to Members of the House

of Representatives, Senators, and officers and employees

of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

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

3 SECTION 1. PROHIBITION ON GIFTS.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—No lobbyist who is registered

5 under section 4 may provide any gift to a Member of the

6 House of Representatives, a Senator, or an officer or em7 ployee of the House of Representatives or the Senate un8 less the lobbyist is related to the Member, Senator, or offi9 cer or employee.
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1 (b) DEFINITION.—

2 (1) For the purpose of subsection (a), the term

3 ‘‘gift’’ means any gratuity, favor, discount, enter4 tainment, hospitality, loan, forbearance, or other

5 item having monetary value. The term includes gifts

6 of services, training, transportation, lodging, and

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

8 ticket, payment in advance, or reimbursement after

9 the expense has been incurred.

10 (2) A gift to a family member of a Member, a

11 Senator, officer, or employee, or a gift to any other

12 individual based on that individual’s relationship

13 with the Member, Senator, officer, or employee, shall

14 be considered a gift to the Member, Senator, officer,

15 or employee if it is given with the knowledge and ac16 quiescence of the Member, Senator, officer, or em17 ployee and the Member, Senator, officer, or em18 ployee has reason to believe the gift was given be19 cause of the official position of the Member, Sen20 ator, officer, or employee.

21 (3) If food or refreshment is provided at the

22 same time and place to both a Member, Senator, of23 ficer, or employee and the spouse or dependent

24 thereof, only the food or refreshment provided to the
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1 Member, Senator, officer, or employee shall be treat2 ed as a gift for purposes of subsection (a).

3 (c) EXCEPTION.—The restrictions in subsection (a)

4 shall not apply to the following:

5 (1) Anything for which the Member, Senator,

6 officer, or employee pays the market value, or does

7 not use and promptly returns to the donor.

8 (2) A contribution, as defined in section 301(8)

9 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2

10 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) that is lawfully made under that

11 Act, a lawful contribution for election to a State or

12 local government office, or attendance at a fundrais13 ing event sponsored by a political organization de14 scribed in section 527(e) of the Internal Revenue

15 Code of 1986.

16 (3) A gift from a relative as described in section

17 109(16) of title I of the Ethics in Government Act

18 of 1978 (Public Law 95–521).

19 (4)(A) Anything provided by an individual on

20 the basis of a personal friendship unless the Mem21 ber, Senator, officer, or employee has reason to be22 lieve that, under the circumstances, the gift was pro23 vided because of the official position of the Member,

24 Senator, officer, or employee and not because of the

25 personal friendship.
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1 (B) In determining whether a gift is provided

2 on the basis of personal friendship, the Member,

3 Senator, officer, or employee shall consider the cir4 cumstances under which the gift was offered, such

5 as:

6 (i) The history of the relationship between

7 the individual giving the gift and the recipient

8 of the gift, including any previous exchange of

9 gifts between such individuals.

10 (ii) Whether to the actual knowledge of the

11 Member, Senator, officer, or employee the indi12 vidual who gave the gift personally paid for the

13 gift or sought a tax deduction or business reim14 bursement for the gift.

15 (iii) Whether to the actual knowledge of

16 the Member, Senator, officer, or employee the

17 individual who gave the gift also at the same

18 time gave the same or similar gifts to other

19 Members, officers, or employees.

20 (5) A contribution or other payment to a legal

21 expense fund established for the benefit of a Mem22 ber, Senator, officer, or employee that is otherwise

23 lawfully made in accordance with the restrictions

24 and disclosure requirements of the Committee on

25 Standards of Official Conduct of the House of Rep-
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1 resentatives and the Select Committee on Ethics of

2 the Senate.

3 (6) Any gift from another Member, Senator, of4 ficer, or employee of the Senate or the House of

5 Representatives.

6 (7) Food, refreshments, lodging, transportation,

7 and other benefits—

8 (A) resulting from the outside business or

9 employment activities (or other outside activi10 ties that are not connected to the duties of the

11 Member, Senator, officer, or employee as an of12 ficeholder) of the Member, Senator, officer, or

13 employee, or the spouse of the Member, Sen14 ator, officer, or employee, if such benefits have

15 not been offered or enhanced because of the of16 ficial position of the Member, Senator, officer,

17 or employee and are customarily provided to

18 others in similar circumstances;

19 (B) customarily provided by a prospective

20 employer in connection with bona fide employ21 ment discussions; or

22 (C) provided by a political organization de23 scribed in section 527(e) of the Internal Reve24 nue Code of 1986 in connection with a fund-
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1 raising or campaign event sponsored by such an

2 organization.

3 (8) Pension and other benefits resulting from

4 continued participation in an employee welfare and

5 benefits plan maintained by a former employer.

6 (9) Informational materials that are sent to the

7 office of the Member, Senator, officer, or employee

8 in the form of books, articles, periodicals, other writ9 ten materials, audiotapes, videotapes, or other forms

10 of communication.

11 (10) Awards or prizes which are given to com12 petitors in contests or events open to the public, in13 cluding random drawings.

14 (11) Honorary degrees (and associated travel,

15 food, refreshments, and entertainment) and other

16 bona fide, nonmonetary awards presented in recogni17 tion of public service (and associated food, refresh18 ments, and entertainment provided in the presen19 tation of such degrees and awards).

20 (12) Training (including food and refreshments

21 furnished to all attendees as an integral part of the

22 training) provided to a Member, Senator, officer, or

23 employee, if such training is in the interest of the

24 House of Representatives or the Senate.
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1 (13) Bequests, inheritances, and other transfers

2 at death.

3 (14) Any item, the receipt of which is author4 ized by the Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act, the

5 Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act, or

6 any other statute.

7 (15) Anything which is paid for by the Federal

8 Government, by a State or local government, or se9 cured by the Government under a Government con10 tract.

11 (16) A gift of personal hospitality (as defined in

12 section 109(14) of the Ethics in Government Act of

13 1978) of an individual other than a registered lobby14 ist or agent of a foreign principal.

15 (17) Free attendance at a widely attended

16 event.

17 (18) Opportunities and benefits which are—

18 (A) available to the public or to a class

19 consisting of all Federal employees, whether or

20 not restricted on the basis of geographic consid21 eration;

22 (B) offered to members of a group or class

23 in which membership is unrelated to congres24 sional employment;
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1 (C) offered to members of an organization,

2 such as an employees’ association or congres3 sional credit union, in which membership is re4 lated to congressional employment and similar

5 opportunities are available to large segments of

6 the public through organizations of similar size;

7 (D) offered to any group or class that is

8 not defined in a manner that specifically dis9 criminates among Government employees on the

10 basis of branch of Government or type of re11 sponsibility, or on a basis that favors those of

12 higher rank or rate of pay;

13 (E) in the form of loans from banks and

14 other financial institutions on terms generally

15 available to the public; or

16 (F) in the form of reduced membership or

17 other fees for participation in organization ac18 tivities offered to all Government employees by

19 professional organizations if the only restric20 tions on membership relate to professional

21 qualifications.

22 (19) A plaque, trophy, or other item that is

23 substantially commemorative in nature and which is

24 intended for presentation.
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1 (20) Anything for which, in an unusual case, a

2 waiver is granted by the Committee on Standards of

3 Official Conduct of the House of Representatives or

4 the Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate.

5 (21) Food or refreshments of a nominal value

6 offered other than as a part of a meal.

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