IV

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 12

Directing the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of

the Senate to compile and make available to the public the names

of candidates for election to the House of Representatives and the Senate

who agree to conduct campaigns in accordance with a Code of Election

Ethics.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 19, 1999

Mr. BALDACCI (for himself, Mr. ALLEN, and Mr. HINCHEY) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on

House Administration

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Directing the Clerk of the House of Representatives and

the Secretary of the Senate to compile and make available to the public the names of candidates for election

to the House of Representatives and the Senate who

agree to conduct campaigns in accordance with a Code

of Election Ethics.

Whereas electoral campaigns throughout the Nation are subject to unacceptable levels of negativism, attack advertising, and other practices which demean representative democracy;
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Whereas negative campaigns are directly related to the cynicism, alienation, and decreasing participation rates

among American voters;

Whereas all Americans have a stake in positive electoral processes, the centerpiece of civil society;

Whereas each candidate is responsible for fair and ethical

practices by or on behalf of the candidate’s campaign;

and

Whereas the five core values of honesty, respect, responsibility, fairness, and compassion are fundamental to our society and are widely shared throughout the United

States: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring),

3 SECTION 1. COMPILATION OF NAMES OF CANDIDATES

4 AGREEING TO FOLLOW CODE OF ELECTION

5 ETHICS.

6 The Clerk of the House of Representatives and the

7 Secretary of the Senate shall—

8 (1) provide upon request to any candidate for

9 election to the House of Representatives or the Sen10 ate (as the case may be) a statement of agreement

11 to conduct the campaign for election for such office

12 in accordance with the Code of Election Ethics de13 scribed in section 2;
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1 (2) compile a list of the names of all candidates

2 who sign and return such statement to the Clerk or

3 the Secretary (as the case may be); and

4 (3) make such list available upon request to any

5 member of the public.

6 SEC. 2. CODE OF ELECTION ETHICS DESCRIBED.

7 The Code of Election Ethics described in this section

8 reads as follows:

9 ‘‘My campaign will be committed to the principles of

10 honesty, fairness, respect for my opponents, responsibility,

11 and compassion.

12 ‘‘HONESTY AND FAIRNESS

13 ‘‘I shall emphasize my views, beliefs, and experiences.

14 I am committed to an open and public discussion of issues

15 and presenting my record with sincerity and frankness.

16 ‘‘I shall not use or agree to let third parties use subtle

17 deceptions, half-truths, falsifications, or such practices as

18 push polling. If such practices are used by third parties

19 without my approval, I shall repudiate those practices im20 mediately and publicly upon my knowledge of their occur21 rence.

22 ‘‘Factual claims made by my campaign will be sup23 ported by publicly available documents provided by my

24 campaign office.
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1 ‘‘RESPECT

2 ‘‘I shall avoid demeaning references to my opponents

3 and demeaning visual images of my opponents.

4 ‘‘I shall respect my opponents. I shall not use or allow

5 to be used personal attacks, innuendo, or stereotyping.

6 ‘‘RESPONSIBILITY

7 ‘‘I shall ensure that my campaign staff and campaign

8 supporters will observe these principles of fair campaign

9 practices. I take full responsibility for all advertising cre10 ated or used on my behalf by staff and supporters.

11 ‘‘I shall conduct my campaign openly and publicly,

12 discussing the issues as I see them, presenting my record

13 and policies with sincerity and frankness, and criticizing

14 without fear and without malice the record and policies

15 of my opponents and their political parties that merit such

16 criticism.

17 ‘‘I will not condone or allow third-party advertising

18 which does not meet the principles contained in this docu19 ment. If such practices are used by third parties without

20 my approval, I shall repudiate those practices immediately

21 and publicly upon my knowledge of their occurrence.

22 ‘‘COMPASSION

23 ‘‘In the conduct of my candidacy, I shall show com24 passion at all times for my opponent. I shall remember

25 that the campaign process is fundamental to representa-
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1 tive democracy and that my behavior in the campaign af2 fects the integrity of our society.’’.

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