III 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 492 

To amend the Standing Rules of the Senate to prohibit Members from 

using charitable foundations for personal gain. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 24, 2006 

Mr. BAUCUS submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Rules and Administration 

RESOLUTION 

To amend the Standing Rules of the Senate to prohibit 

Members from using charitable foundations for personal gain. 

1 Resolved, 

2 SECTION 1. PROHIBITION ON USING CHARITIES FOR PER3 SONAL OR POLITICAL GAIN. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Rule XXXVII of the Standing 

5 Rules of the Senate is amended by adding at the end the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘13. (a) A Member of the Senate shall not use for 

8 personal or political gain any organization— 


hmoore on PROD1PC68 with HMBILLS
2 

•SRES 492 IS

1 ‘‘(1) which is described in section 501(c)(3) of 

2 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from 

3 tax under section 501(a) of such Code; and 

4 ‘‘(2) the affairs over which such Member or the 

5 spouse of such Member is in a position to exercise 

6 substantial influence. 

7 ‘‘(b) For purposes of this paragraph, a Member of 

8 the Senate shall be considered to have used an organiza9 tion described in subparagraph (a) for personal or political 

10 gain if— 

11 ‘‘(1) a member of the family (within the mean12 ing of section 4946(d) of the Internal Revenue Code 

13 of 1986) of the Member is employed by the organi14 zation; 

15 ‘‘(2) any of the Member’s staff is employed by 

16 the organization; 

17 ‘‘(3) an individual or firm that receives money 

18 from the Member’s campaign committee or a polit19 ical committee established, maintained, or controlled 

20 by the Member serves in a paid capacity with or re21 ceives a payment from the organization; 

22 ‘‘(4) the organization pays for travel or lodging 

23 costs incurred by the Member for a trip on which 

24 the Member also engages in political fundraising ac25 tivities; or 


hmoore on PROD1PC68 with HMBILLS
3 

•SRES 492 IS

1 ‘‘(5) another organization that receives support 

2 from such organization pays for travel or lodging 

3 costs incurred by the Member. 

4 ‘‘(c)(1) A Member of the Senate and any employee 

5 on the staff of a Member to which paragraph 9(c) applies 

6 shall disclose to the Secretary of the Senate the identity 

7 of any person who makes an applicable contribution and 

8 the amount of any such contribution. 

9 ‘‘(2) For purposes of this subparagraph, an applica10 ble contribution is a contribution— 

11 ‘‘(A) which is to an organization described in 

12 subparagraph (a); 

13 ‘‘(B) which is over $200; and 

14 ‘‘(C) of which such Member or employee, as the 

15 case may be, knows. 

16 ‘‘(3) The disclosure under this subparagraph shall be 

17 made not later than 6 months after the date on which 

18 such Member or employee first knows of the applicable 

19 contribution. 

20 ‘‘(4) The Secretary of the Senate shall make available 

21 to the public all disclosures filed pursuant to this subpara22 graph as soon as possible after they are received. 

23 ‘‘(d)(1) The Select Committee on Ethics may grant 

24 a waiver to any Member with respect to the application 

25 of this paragraph in the case of an organization which is 


hmoore on PROD1PC68 with HMBILLS
4 

•SRES 492 IS

1 described in subparagraph (a)(1) and the affairs over 

2 which the spouse of the Member, but not the Member, is 

3 in a position to exercise substantial influence. 

4 ‘‘(2) In granting a waiver under this subparagraph, 

5 the Select Committee on Ethics shall consider all the facts 

6 and circumstances relating to the relationship between the 

7 Member and the organization, including— 

8 ‘‘(A) the independence of the Member from the 

9 organization; 

10 ‘‘(B) the degree to which the organization re11 ceives contributions from multiple sources not affili12 ated with the Member; 

13 ‘‘(C) the risk of abuse; and 

14 ‘‘(D) whether the organization was formed prior 

15 to and separately from such spouse’s involvement 

16 with the organization.’’. 

17 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

18 this section shall take effect on January 1, 2007. 

Æ 


hmoore on PROD1PC68 with HMBILLS