III

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. RES. 222

To revise the procedures of the Select Committee on Ethics.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

NOVEMBER 5, 1999

Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire (for himself and Mr. REID) submitted the

following resolution; which was considered and agreed to

RESOLUTION

To revise the procedures of the Select Committee on Ethics.

1 Resolved,

2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

3 This resolution may be cited as the ‘‘Senate Ethics

4 Procedure Reform Resolution of 1999’’.

5 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT AND MEMBERSHIP OF THE SE6 LECT COMMITTEE.

7 The first section of Senate Resolution 338, agreed to

8 July 24, 1964 (88th Congress, 2d Session) (referred to

9 as the ‘‘resolution’’) is amended—

10 (1) in subsection (c), by amending paragraph

11 (1) to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘(1) A majority of the members of the Select Com2 mittee shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of

3 business involving complaints or allegations of, or informa4 tion about, misconduct, including resulting preliminary in5 quiries, adjudicatory reviews, recommendations or reports,

6 and matters relating to Senate Resolution 400, agreed to

7 May 19, 1976.’’;

8 (2) in subsection (d), by amending paragraph

9 (1) to read as follows:

10 ‘‘(1) A member of the Select Committee shall be ineli11 gible to participate in—

12 ‘‘(A) any preliminary inquiry or adjudicatory

13 review relating to—

14 ‘‘(i) the conduct of—

15 ‘‘(I) such member;

16 ‘‘(II) any officer or employee the

17 member supervises; or

18 ‘‘(III) any employee of any officer the

19 member supervises; or

20 ‘‘(ii) any complaint filed by the member;

21 and

22 ‘‘(B) the determinations and recommendations

23 of the Select Committee with respect to any prelimi24 nary inquiry or adjudicatory review described in sub25 paragraph (A).
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1 For purposes of this paragraph, a member of the Select

2 Committee and an officer of the Senate shall be deemed

3 to supervise any officer or employee consistent with the

4 provision of paragraph 12 of rule XXXVII of the Standing

5 Rules of the Senate.’’;

6 (3) in subsection (d)(2), by amending the first

7 sentence to read as follows: ‘‘A member of the Select

8 Committee may, at the discretion of the member,

9 disqualify himself or herself from participating in

10 any preliminary inquiry or adjudicatory review pend11 ing before the Select Committee and the determina12 tions and recommendations of the Select Committee

13 with respect to any such preliminary inquiry or adju14 dicatory review.’’; and

15 (4) in subsection (d), by amending paragraph

16 (3) to read as follows:

17 ‘‘(3) Whenever any member of the Select Committee

18 is ineligible under paragraph (1) to participate in any pre19 liminary inquiry or adjudicatory review or disqualifies

20 himself or herself under paragraph (2) from participating

21 in any preliminary inquiry or adjudicatory review, another

22 Senator shall, subject to the provisions of subsection (d),

23 be appointed to serve as a member of the Select Com24 mittee solely for purposes of such preliminary inquiry or

25 adjudicatory review and the determinations and rec-
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1 ommendations of the Select Committee with respect to

2 such preliminary inquiry or adjudicatory review. Any

3 Member of the Senate appointed for such purposes shall

4 be of the same party as the Member who is ineligible or

5 disqualifies himself or herself.’’.

6 SEC. 3. DUTIES OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE.

7 Section 2 of the resolution is amended—

8 (1) in subsection (a), by striking paragraphs

9 (2), (3), and (4) and inserting the following:

10 ‘‘(2)(A) recommend to the Senate by report or

11 resolution by a majority vote of the full committee

12 disciplinary action to be taken with respect to such

13 violations which the Select Committee shall deter14 mine, after according to the individual concerned

15 due notice and opportunity for a hearing, to have oc16 curred;

17 ‘‘(B) pursuant to subparagraph (A) recommend

18 discipline, including—

19 ‘‘(i) in the case of a Member, a rec20 ommendation to the Senate for expulsion, cen21 sure, payment of restitution, recommendation to

22 a Member’s party conference regarding the

23 Member’s seniority or positions of responsi24 bility, or a combination of these; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) in the case of an officer or employee,

2 dismissal, suspension, payment of restitution, or

3 a combination of these;

4 ‘‘(3) subject to the provisions of subsection (e),

5 by a unanimous vote of 6 members, order that a

6 Member, officer, or employee be reprimanded or pay

7 restitution, or both, if the Select Committee deter8 mines, after according to the Member, officer, or

9 employee due notice and opportunity for a hearing,

10 that misconduct occurred warranting discipline less

11 serious than discipline by the full Senate;

12 ‘‘(4) in the circumstances described in sub13 section (d)(3), issue a public or private letter of ad14 monition to a Member, officer, or employee, which

15 shall not be subject to appeal to the Senate;

16 ‘‘(5) recommend to the Senate, by report or

17 resolution, such additional rules or regulations as

18 the Select Committee shall determine to be nec19 essary or desirable to insure proper standards of

20 conduct by Members of the Senate, and by officers

21 or employees of the Senate, in the performance of

22 their duties and the discharge of their responsibil23 ities;

24 ‘‘(6) by a majority vote of the full committee,

25 report violations of any law, including the provision
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1 of false information to the Select Committee, to the

2 proper Federal and State authorities; and

3 ‘‘(7) develop and implement programs and ma4 terials designed to educate Members, officers, and

5 employees about the laws, rules, regulations, and

6 standards of conduct applicable to such individuals

7 in the performance of their duties.’’;

8 (2) by amending subsection (b) to read as fol9 lows:

10 ‘‘(b) For the purposes of this resolution—

11 ‘‘(1) the term ‘sworn complaint’ means a writ12 ten statement of facts, submitted under penalty of

13 perjury, within the personal knowledge of the com14 plainant alleging a violation of law, the Senate Code

15 of Official Conduct, or any other rule or regulation

16 of the Senate relating to the conduct of individuals

17 in the performance of their duties as Members, offi18 cers, or employees of the Senate;

19 ‘‘(2) the term ‘preliminary inquiry’ means a

20 proceeding undertaken by the Select Committee fol21 lowing the receipt of a complaint or allegation of, or

22 information about, misconduct by a Member, officer,

23 or employee of the Senate to determine whether

24 there is substantial credible evidence which provides

25 substantial cause for the Select Committee to con-
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1 clude that a violation within the jurisdiction of the

2 Select Committee has occurred; and

3 ‘‘(3) the term ‘adjudicatory review’ means a

4 proceeding undertaken by the Select Committee

5 after a finding, on the basis of a preliminary inquiry,

6 that there is substantial credible evidence which pro7 vides substantial cause for the Select Committee to

8 conclude that a violation within the jurisdiction of

9 the Select Committee has occurred.’’;

10 (3) in subsection (c), by amending paragraph

11 (1) to read as follows:

12 ‘‘(1) No—

13 ‘‘(A) adjudicatory review of conduct of a Mem14 ber or officer of the Senate may be conducted;

15 ‘‘(B) report, resolution, or recommendation re16 lating to such an adjudicatory review of conduct may

17 be made; and

18 ‘‘(C) letter of admonition pursuant to sub19 section (d)(3) may be issued,

20 unless approved by the affirmative recorded vote of no

21 fewer than 4 members of the Select Committee.’’;

22 (4) by amending subsection (d) to read as fol23 lows:

24 ‘‘(d)(1) When the Select Committee receives a sworn

25 complaint or other allegation or information about a Mem-
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1 ber, officer, or employee of the Senate, it shall promptly

2 conduct a preliminary inquiry into matters raised by that

3 complaint, allegation, or information. The preliminary in4 quiry shall be of duration and scope necessary to deter5 mine whether there is substantial credible evidence which

6 provides substantial cause for the Select Committee to

7 conclude that a violation within the jurisdiction of the Se8 lect Committee has occurred. The Select Committee may

9 delegate to the chairman and vice chairman the discretion

10 to determine the appropriate duration, scope, and conduct

11 of a preliminary inquiry.

12 ‘‘(2) If, as a result of a preliminary inquiry under

13 paragraph (1), the Select Committee determines by a re14 corded vote that there is not such substantial credible evi15 dence, the Select Committee shall dismiss the matter. The

16 Select Committee may delegate to the chairman and vice

17 chairman the authority, on behalf of the Select Committee,

18 to dismiss any matter that they determine, after a prelimi19 nary inquiry, lacks substantial merit. The Select Com20 mittee shall inform the individual who provided to the Se21 lect Committee the complaint, allegation, or information,

22 and the individual who is the subject of the complaint,

23 allegation, or information, of the dismissal, together with

24 an explanation of the basis for the dismissal.
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1 ‘‘(3) If, as a result of a preliminary inquiry under

2 paragraph (1), the Select Committee determines that a

3 violation is inadvertent, technical, or otherwise of a de

4 minimis nature, the Select Committee may dispose of the

5 matter by issuing a public or private letter of admonition,

6 which shall not be considered discipline. The Select Com7 mittee may issue a public letter of admonition upon a simi8 lar determination at the conclusion of an adjudicatory re9 view.

10 ‘‘(4) If, as the result of a preliminary inquiry under

11 paragraph (1), the Select Committee determines that

12 there is such substantial credible evidence and the matter

13 cannot be appropriately disposed of under paragraph (3),

14 the Select Committee shall promptly initiate an adjudica15 tory review. Upon the conclusion of such adjudicatory re16 view, the Select Committee shall report to the Senate, as

17 soon as practicable, the results of such adjudicatory re18 view, together with its recommendations (if any) pursuant

19 to subsection (a)(2).’’;

20 (5) by amending subsection (e) to read as fol21 lows:

22 ‘‘(e)(1) Any individual who is the subject of a rep23 rimand or order of restitution, or both, pursuant to sub24 section (a)(3) may, within 30 days of the Select Commit25 tee’s report to the Senate of its action imposing a rep-
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1 rimand or order of restitution, or both, appeal to the Sen2 ate by providing written notice of the basis for the appeal

3 to the Select Committee and the presiding officer of the

4 Senate. The presiding officer of the Senate shall cause the

5 notice of the appeal to be printed in the Congressional

6 Record and the Senate Journal.

7 ‘‘(2) A motion to proceed to consideration of an ap8 peal pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be highly privileged

9 and not debatable. If the motion to proceed to consider10 ation of the appeal is agreed to, the appeal shall be decided

11 on the basis of the Select Committee’s report to the Sen12 ate. Debate on the appeal shall be limited to 10 hours,

13 which shall be divided equally between, and controlled by,

14 those favoring and those opposing the appeal.’’;

15 (6) by amending subsection (g) to read as fol16 lows:

17 ‘‘(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this sec18 tion, no adjudicatory review shall be initiated of any al19 leged violation of any law, the Senate Code of Official Con20 duct, rule, or regulation which was not in effect at the

21 time the alleged violation occurred. No provisions of the

22 Senate Code of Official Conduct shall apply to or require

23 disclosure of any act, relationship, or transaction which

24 occurred prior to the effective date of the applicable provi25 sion of the Code. The Select Committee may initiate an
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1 adjudicatory review of any alleged violation of a rule or

2 law which was in effect prior to the enactment of the Sen3 ate Code of Official Conduct if the alleged violation oc4 curred while such rule or law was in effect and the viola5 tion was not a matter resolved on the merits by the prede6 cessor Select Committee.’’; and

7 (7) by amending subsection (h) to read as fol8 lows:

9 ‘‘(h) The Select Committee shall adopt written rules

10 setting forth procedures to be used in conducting prelimi11 nary inquiries and adjudicatory reviews.’’.

12 SEC. 4. AUTHORITY OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE.

13 Section 3 of the resolution is amended—

14 (1) in subsection (b), by amending paragraph

15 (2) to read as follows:

16 ‘‘(2) Any adjudicatory review as defined in section

17 2(b)(3) shall be conducted by outside counsel as author18 ized in paragraph (1), unless the Select Committee deter19 mines not to use outside counsel.’’; and

20 (2) by amending subsection (d) to read as fol21 lows:

22 ‘‘(d)(1) Subpoenas may be authorized by—

23 ‘‘(A) the Select Committee; or

24 ‘‘(B) the chairman and vice chairman, acting

25 jointly.
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1 ‘‘(2) Any such subpoena shall be issued and signed

2 by the chairman and the vice chairman and may be served

3 by any person designated by the chairman and vice chair4 man.

5 ‘‘(3) The chairman or any member of the Select Com6 mittee may administer oaths to witnesses.’’.

7 SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE OF AMENDMENTS.

8 The amendments made by this resolution shall take

9 effect on the date this resolution is agreed to, except that

10 the amendments shall not apply with respect to further

11 proceedings in any preliminary inquiry, initial review, or

12 investigation commenced before that date under Senate

13 Resolution 338, agreed to July 24, 1964 (88th Congress,

14 2d Session).

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