I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2544 

To establish an Independent Ethics Commission within the House of 

Representatives composed of former Federal judges. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 24, 2007 

Mr. SESTAK introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration, 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 establish an Independent Ethics Commission within the 

House of Representatives composed of former Federal judges. 

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 ‘‘Independent Ethics 

5 Commission Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF INDEPENDENT ETHICS COM7 MISSION. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established an inde9 pendent ethics commission within the House of Representmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 atives to be known as the Independent Ethics Committee 

2 (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

3 (b) MEMBERSHIP AND TERMS OF OFFICE.—(1) The 

4 Commission shall consist of 9 commissioners, 4 appointed 

5 by the Speaker and 4 by the minority leader of the House, 

6 and one selected by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of 

7 the 8 appointed commissioners for a term of 5 years. No 

8 commissioner may serve for more than 5 years. 

9 (2) Commissioners shall be appointed for terms of 5 

10 years, except that of the commissioners first appointed, 

11 2 appointed by the Speaker and 2 by the minority leader 

12 shall be for 3-year terms and 2 appointed by the Speaker 

13 and 2 by the minority leader shall be for 4-year terms 

14 as designated by the Speaker and the minority leader at 

15 the time of appointment. 

16 (c) QUALIFICATIONS.—Only former Federal judges 

17 shall be eligible for appointment to the Commission. 

18 (1) DISQUALIFICATIONS FOR APPOINTMENTS.— 

19 (A) LOBBYING.—No individual who has 

20 been a lobbyist registered under the Lobbying 

21 Disclosure Act of 1995 or engages in, or is oth22 erwise employed in, lobbying of the Congress or 

23 who is an agent of a foreign principal registered 

24 under the Foreign Agents Registration Act 

25 within the 4-year period immediately preceding 

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1 appointment shall be eligible for appointment 

2 to, or service on, the Commission. 

3 (B) INCOMPATIBLE OFFICE.—No member 

4 of the Commission appointed under subsection 

5 (b) may be a Member of the House of Rep6 resentatives or Senator. 

7 (2) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Commission 

8 shall be filled in the manner in which the original 

9 appointment was made. 

10 (d) COMPENSATION.—Members shall each be entitled 

11 to receive the daily equivalent of the maximum annual rate 

12 of basic pay in effect for Level III of the Executive Sched13 ule for each day (including travel time) during which they 

14 are engaged in the actual performance of duties vested in 

15 the Commission. 

16 (e) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the 

17 Commission shall constitute a quorum. 

18 (f) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at the 

19 call a majority of its members. 

20 SEC. 3. DUTIES OF COMMISSION. 

21 (a) DUTIES.—The Commission is authorized— 

22 (1) to receive, monitor, and oversee financial 

23 disclosure and other reports filed by Members of the 

24 House and officers and employees of the House 

25 under the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, and 

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1 reports filed by registered lobbyists under the Lob2 bying Disclosure Act of 1995; 

3 (2) to investigate any alleged violation, by a 

4 Member, officer, or employee of the House of Rep5 resentatives, of any rule or other standard of con6 duct applicable to the conduct of such Member, offi7 cer, or employee under House rules in the perform8 ance of his duties or the discharge of his responsibil9 ities; 

10 (3) to present a case of probable ethics viola11 tions to the Committee on Standards of Official 

12 Conduct of the House of Representatives; 

13 (4) to make recommendations to the Committee 

14 on Standards of Official Conduct of the House of 

15 Representatives that it report to the appropriate 

16 Federal or State authorities any substantial evidence 

17 of a violation by a Member, officer, or employee of 

18 the House of Representatives of any law applicable 

19 to the performance of his duties or the discharge of 

20 his responsibilities, which may have been disclosed in 

21 an investigation by the Office; 

22 (5) to provide information and informal guid23 ance to Members, officers and employees of the 

24 House of Representatives regarding any rules and 

25 other standards of conduct applicable to such indimstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 viduals in their official capacities, and develop and 

2 carry out periodic educational briefings for Mem3 bers, officers, and employees of the House of Rep4 resentatives on those laws, rules, regulations, or 

5 other standards; and 

6 (6) to give consideration to the request of any 

7 Member, officer, or employee of the House of Rep8 resentatives for a formal advisory opinion or other 

9 formal ruling, subject to the review of the Com10 mittee on Standards of Official Conduct of the 

11 House of Representatives, as applicable, with respect 

12 to the general propriety of any current or proposed 

13 conduct of such Member, officer, or employee and, 

14 with appropriate deletions to assure the privacy of 

15 the individual concerned, to publish such opinion for 

16 the guidance of other Members, officers, and em17 ployees of the House of Representatives. 

18 SEC. 4. POWERS OF COMMISSION. 

19 (a) HEARINGS AND EVIDENCE.—The Commission 

20 may for the purpose of carrying out this Act— 

21 (1) hold such hearings and sit and act at such 

22 times and places, take such testimony, receive such 

23 evidence, administer such oaths; and 

24 (2) subject to subsection (b), require, by sub25 poena or otherwise, the attendance and testimony of 

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1 such witnesses and the production of such books, 

2 records, correspondence, memoranda, papers, and 

3 documents, as the Commission may determine advis4 able. 

5 (b) SUBPOENAS.—A subpoena may be issued only 

6 with a majority of the Commission. 

7 (c) OBTAINING INFORMATION.—Upon request of the 

8 Commission, the head of any agency or instrumentality 

9 of the Government shall furnish information deemed nec10 essary by the Commission to enable it to carry out its du11 ties. 

12 (d) REFERRALS TO THE DEPARTMENT OF JUS13 TICE.—Whenever the Commission has reason to believe 

14 that a violation of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 

15 may have occurred, that matter may be referred to the 

16 Department of Justice for it to investigate. 

17 (e) GENERAL AUDITS.—The Commission shall have 

18 the authority to conduct general audits of filings under 

19 the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995. 

20 SEC. 5. INVESTIGATIONS AND INTERACTION WITH THE 

21 HOUSE COMMITTEE ON STANDARDS OF OFFI22 CIAL CONDUCT. 

23 (a) NOTIFICATION.—Whenever the Commission de24 termines that there are sufficient grounds to conduct an 

25 investigation— 

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1 (1) the Commission shall notify the Committee 

2 on Standards of Official Conduct of this determina3 tion; 

4 (2) the applicable committee may overrule the 

5 determination of the Commission if, within 10 legis6 lative days— 

7 (A) the committee by an affirmative, roll8 call vote of two-thirds of the full committee 

9 votes to overrule the determination of the Com10 mission; 

11 (B) the committee issues a public report 

12 detailing its reasoning for overruling the Com13 mission; 

14 (C) the vote of each member of the com15 mittee on such roll-call vote is included in the 

16 report; 

17 (D) dissenting members are allowed to 

18 issue their own report detailing their reasons 

19 for disagreeing with the majority vote; and 

20 (E) if the committee votes to overrule the 

21 determination of the Commission pursuant to 

22 subparagraph (B), the Commission may publish 

23 and make available to the general public a re24 port detailing the reasons that the Commission 

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1 concluded there were sufficient grounds to con2 duct an investigation. 

3 (b) CONDUCTING INVESTIGATIONS.—(1) If the Com4 mission determines that there are sufficient grounds to 

5 conduct an investigation and his determination is not over6 ruled under subsection (a)(5), the Commission shall con7 duct an investigation to determine if probable cause exists 

8 that a violation occurred. 

9 (2) As part of an investigation, the Commission 

10 may— 

11 (A) administer oaths; 

12 (B) issue subpoenas; 

13 (C) compel the attendance of witnesses and the 

14 production of papers, books, accounts, documents, 

15 and testimony; and 

16 (D) take the deposition of witnesses. 

17 (3) If a person disobeys or refuses to comply with 

18 a subpoena, or if a witness refuses to testify to a matter, 

19 he may be held in contempt of Congress. 

20 (c) PRESENTATION OF CASE TO HOUSE COMMITTEE

21 ON STANDARDS OF OFFICIAL CONDUCT.—(1) If the Com22 mission determines, upon conclusion of an investigation, 

23 that probable cause exists that an ethics violation has oc24 curred, the Commission shall notify the Committee on 

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1 Standards of Official Conduct of the House of Representa2 tives of this determination. 

3 (2) The committee may overrule the determination of 

4 the Commission if, within 10 legislative days— 

5 (A) the committee by an affirmative, roll-call 

6 vote of two-thirds of the full committee votes to 

7 overrule the determination of the Commission; 

8 (B) the committee issues a public report detail9 ing its reasoning for overruling the Commission; 

10 (C) the vote of each member of the committee 

11 on such roll-call vote is included in the report; and 

12 (D) dissenting members are allowed to issue 

13 their own report detailing their reasons for dis14 agreeing with the majority vote. 

15 (3) If the committee votes to overrule the determina16 tion of the Commission pursuant to paragraph (2), the 

17 Commission may publish and make available to the gen18 eral public a report detailing the reasons that he concluded 

19 there were sufficient grounds to present such case to the 

20 committee. 

21 (4)(A) If the Commission determines there is prob22 able cause that an ethics violation has occurred and the 

23 Commission’s determination is not overruled, the Commis24 sion shall present the case and evidence to the Committee 

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1 resentatives to hear and make a determination pursuant 

2 to its rules. 

3 (B) The committee shall vote upon whether the indi4 vidual who is the subject of the investigation has violated 

5 any rules or other standards of conduct applicable to that 

6 individual in his official capacity. Such votes shall be a 

7 roll-call vote of the full committee, a quorum being 

8 present. The committee shall issue a public report which 

9 shall include the vote of each member of the committee 

10 on such roll-call vote. Dissenting members may issue their 

11 own report detailing their own reasons for disagreeing 

12 with the majority vote. 

13 (d) SANCTIONS.—Whenever the Committee on Stand14 ards of Official Conduct of the House of Representatives 

15 finds that an ethics violation has occurred the Commission 

16 shall recommend appropriate sanctions to the committee 

17 and whether a matter should be referred to the Depart18 ment of Justice for investigation. 

19 SEC. 6. PROCEDURAL RULES. 

20 (a) MAJORITY APPROVAL.—No report or rec21 ommendation relating to the official conduct of a Member, 

22 officer, or employee of the House of Representatives shall 

23 be made by the Commission, and no investigation of such 

24 conduct shall be undertaken by the Commission, unless 

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1 approved by the affirmative vote of a majority of the mem2 bers of the Commission. 

3 (b) INVESTIGATIONS.—Except in the case of an in4 vestigation undertaken by the Commission on its own ini5 tiative, the Commission may undertake an investigation 

6 relating to the official conduct of an individual Member, 

7 officer, or employee of the House of Representatives 

8 only— 

9 (1) upon receipt of a complaint, in writing and 

10 under oath, made by or submitted to a Member of 

11 the House of Representatives and transmitted to the 

12 Commission by such Member, or 

13 (2) upon receipt of a complaint from the chair14 man of the Committee on Standards of Official Con15 duct of the House of Representatives, in writing and 

16 under oath, made by that committee. 

17 (c) PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN INVESTIGATIONS.—No 

18 investigation shall be undertaken by the Commission of 

19 any alleged violation of a law, rule, regulation, or standard 

20 of conduct not in effect at the time of the alleged violation. 

21 (d) DISCLOSURE.—No information or testimony re22 ceived, or the contents of a complaint or the fact of its 

23 filing, shall be publicly disclosed by any member of the 

24 Commission or staff of the Commission unless specifically 

25 authorized in each instance by a vote of the Commission. 

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1 SEC. 7. STAFF OF COMMISSION. 

2 The Commission may appoint and fix the compensa3 tion of such staff as the Commission considers necessary 

4 to perform its duties. The Commission shall be appointed 

5 jointly by the Speaker and minority leader and shall be 

6 paid at a rate not to exceed the rate of basic pay payable 

7 for Level III of the Executive Schedule. 

8 SEC. 8. AMENDMENTS TO THE RULES OF THE HOUSE TO 

9 CHANGE THE DUTIES OF THE COMMITTEE ON 

10 STANDARDS OF OFFICIAL CONDUCT. 

11 (a) HOUSE RULES AMENDMENTS.—Clause 3 of rule 

12 XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives is amend13 ed as follows: 

14 (1) In paragraph (a), strike subparagraphs (1), 

15 (2), and (3), and redesignate subparagraphs (4), 

16 (5), and (6), as subparagraphs (1), (2), and (3), re17 spectively. 

18 (2)(A) Paragraph (b)(1) is amended by striking 

19 ‘‘(A)’’, by striking ‘‘a resolution, report, rec20 ommendation, or’’ and inserting ‘‘an’’, and by strik21 ing ‘‘, or, except as provided in subparagraph (2), 

22 undertake an investigation’’, and by striking subdivi23 sion (B). 

24 (B) Paragraph (b) is further amended by strik25 ing subparagraphs (2), (3), (4), and (5) and by remstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 designating subparagraphs (6) and (7) as subpara2 graphs (2) and (3), respectively. 

3 (3) Strike paragraphs (j) (k), (l), (m), (n), (o), 

4 (p), and (q). 

5 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 803 of the 

6 Ethics Reform Act of 1989 (2 U.S.C. 29d) is amended 

7 by striking subsections (c) and (d). 

8 SEC. 9. ACTION ON COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS. 

9 (a) PRINTING OF REPORTS IN CONGRESSIONAL

10 RECORD.—Upon receipt by the Committee on Standards 

11 of Official Conduct of the House of Representatives of any 

12 report of the Commission, the Speaker of the House of 

13 Representatives shall have the report printed in the Con14 gressional Record. 

15 (b) HOUSE CONSIDERATION OF INDEPENDENT ETH16 ICS COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS.—Within 14 cal17 endar days after a report referred to in subsection (a) is 

18 printed in the Congressional Record, that portion of the 

19 report recommending action by the House of Representa20 tives respecting any alleged violation, by a Member, offi21 cer, or employee of the House of Representatives, of any 

22 law, rule, regulation, or other standard of conduct applica23 ble to the conduct of such Member, officer, or employee 

24 in the performance of his duties or the discharge of his 

25 responsibilities shall be introduced (by request) in the 

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1 House by the Speaker of the House, for himself and the 

2 minority leader of the House in the form of a resolution. 

3 This resolution shall constitute a question of privilege 

4 under rule IX of the Rules of the House of Representa5 tives. Any Member favoring the resolution may call it up 

6 as a question of privilege but only on the third day after 

7 the calendar date upon which such Member announces to 

8 the House his intention to do so. 

9 SEC. 10. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

10 This Act shall take effect upon the date of its enact11 ment, except that sections 3, 4, and 8 shall not take effect 

12 immediately prior to noon January 3, 2009. 

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