III

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. RES. 158

To provide for Senate gift reform.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JULY 28 (legislative day, JULY 10), 1995

Mr. MCCAIN (for himself, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. COHEN, Mr. WELLSTONE, Mr.

FEINGOLD, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. KYL, Mr. MCCONNELL, Mr. GRAMS,

Mr. ABRAHAM, Mr. WARNER, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. BINGAMAN, and Mr.

BAUCUS) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and

agreed to

RESOLUTION

To provide for Senate gift reform.

1 Resolved,

2 SECTION 1. AMENDMENTS TO SENATE RULES.

3 Rule XXXV of the Standing Rules of the Senate is

4 amended to read as follows:

5 ‘‘1. (a)(1) No Member, officer, or employee of the

6 Senate shall knowingly accept a gift except as provided

7 in this rule.

8 ‘‘(2) A Member, officer, or employee may accept a

9 gift (other than cash or cash equivalent) which the Mem10 ber, officer, or employee reasonably and in good faith be-
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1 lieves to have a value of less than $50, and a cumulative

2 value from one source during a calendar year of less than

3 $100. No gift with a value below $10 shall count toward

4 the $100 annual limit. No formal recordkeeping is re5 quired by this paragraph, but a Member, officer, or em6 ployee shall make a good faith effort to comply with this

7 paragraph.

8 ‘‘(b)(1) For the purpose of this rule, the term ‘gift’

9 means any gratuity, favor, discount, entertainment, hospi10 tality, loan, forbearance, or other item having monetary

11 value. The term includes gifts of services, training, trans12 portation, lodging, and meals, whether provided in kind,

13 by purchase of a ticket, payment in advance, or reimburse14 ment after the expense has been incurred.

15 ‘‘(2)(A) A gift to a family member of a Member, offi16 cer, or employee, or a gift to any other individual based

17 on that individual’s relationship with the Member, officer,

18 or employee, shall be considered a gift to the Member, offi19 cer, or employee if it is given with the knowledge and ac20 quiescence of the Member, officer, or employee and the

21 Member, officer, or employee has reason to believe the gift

22 was given because of the official position of the Member,

23 officer, or employee.

24 ‘‘(B) If food or refreshment is provided at the same

25 time and place to both a Member, officer, or employee and
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1 the spouse or dependent thereof, only the food or refresh2 ment provided to the Member, officer, or employee shall

3 be treated as a gift for purposes of this rule.

4 ‘‘(c) The restrictions in subparagraph (a) shall not

5 apply to the following:

6 ‘‘(1) Anything for which the Member, officer, or

7 employee pays the market value, or does not use and

8 promptly returns to the donor.

9 ‘‘(2) A contribution, as defined in the Federal

10 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et

11 seq.) that is lawfully made under that Act, or at12 tendance at a fundraising event sponsored by a po13 litical organization described in section 527(e) of the

14 Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

15 ‘‘(3) A gift from a relative as described in sec16 tion 107(2) of title I of the Ethics in Government

17 Act of 1978 (Public Law 95–521).

18 ‘‘(4)(A) Anything provided by an individual on

19 the basis of a personal friendship unless the Mem20 ber, officer, or employee has reason to believe that,

21 under the circumstances, the gift was provided be22 cause of the official position of the Member, officer,

23 or employee and not because of the personal friend24 ship.
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1 ‘‘(B) In determining whether a gift is provided

2 on the basis of personal friendship, the Member, of3 ficer, or employee shall consider the circumstances

4 under which the gift was offered, such as:

5 ‘‘(i) The history of the relationship be6 tween the individual giving the gift and the re7 cipient of the gift, including any previous ex8 change of gifts between such individuals.

9 ‘‘(ii) Whether to the actual knowledge of

10 the Member, officer, or employee the individual

11 who gave the gift personally paid for the gift or

12 sought a tax deduction or business reimburse13 ment for the gift.

14 ‘‘(iii) Whether to the actual knowledge of

15 the Member, officer, or employee the individual

16 who gave the gift also at the same time gave

17 the same or similar gifts to other Members, of18 ficers, or employees.

19 ‘‘(5) A contribution or other payment to a legal

20 expense fund established for the benefit of a Mem21 ber, officer, or employee, that is otherwise lawfully

22 made, subject to the disclosure requirements of the

23 Select Committee on Ethics, except as provided in

24 paragraph 3(c).
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1 ‘‘(6) Any gift from another Member, officer, or

2 employee of the Senate or the House of Representa3 tives.

4 ‘‘(7) Food, refreshments, lodging, and other

5 benefits—

6 ‘‘(A) resulting from the outside business or

7 employment activities (or other outside activi8 ties that are not connected to the duties of the

9 Member, officer, or employee as an officeholder)

10 of the Member, officer, or employee, or the

11 spouse of the Member, officer, or employee, if

12 such benefits have not been offered or enhanced

13 because of the official position of the Member,

14 officer, or employee and are customarily pro15 vided to others in similar circumstances;

16 ‘‘(B) customarily provided by a prospective

17 employer in connection with bona fide employ18 ment discussions; or

19 ‘‘(C) provided by a political organization

20 described in section 527(e) of the Internal Rev21 enue Code of 1986 in connection with a fund22 raising or campaign event sponsored by such an

23 organization.
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1 ‘‘(8) Pension and other benefits resulting from

2 continued participation in an employee welfare and

3 benefits plan maintained by a former employer.

4 ‘‘(9) Informational materials that are sent to

5 the office of the Member, officer, or employee in the

6 form of books, articles, periodicals, other written

7 materials, audiotapes, videotapes, or other forms of

8 communication.

9 ‘‘(10) Awards or prizes which are given to com10 petitors in contests or events open to the public, in11 cluding random drawings.

12 ‘‘(11) Honorary degrees (and associated travel,

13 food, refreshments, and entertainment) and other

14 bona fide, nonmonetary awards presented in recogni15 tion of public service (and associated food, refresh16 ments, and entertainment provided in the presen17 tation of such degrees and awards).

18 ‘‘(12) Donations of products from the State

19 that the Member represents that are intended pri20 marily for promotional purposes, such as display or

21 free distribution, and are of minimal value to any in22 dividual recipient.

23 ‘‘(13) Training (including food and refresh24 ments furnished to all attendees as an integral part

25 of the training) provided to a Member, officer, or
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1 employee, if such training is in the interest of the

2 Senate.

3 ‘‘(14) Bequests, inheritances, and other trans4 fers at death.

5 ‘‘(15) Any item, the receipt of which is author6 ized by the Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act, the

7 Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act, or

8 any other statute.

9 ‘‘(16) Anything which is paid for by the Federal

10 Government, by a State or local government, or se11 cured by the Government under a Government con12 tract.

13 ‘‘(17) A gift of personal hospitality (as defined

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

15 of an individual other than a registered lobbyist or

16 agent of a foreign principal.

17 ‘‘(18) Free attendance at a widely attended

18 event permitted pursuant to subparagraph (d).

19 ‘‘(19) Opportunities and benefits which are—

20 ‘‘(A) available to the public or to a class

21 consisting of all Federal employees, whether or

22 not restricted on the basis of geographic consid23 eration;
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1 ‘‘(B) offered to members of a group or

2 class in which membership is unrelated to con3 gressional employment;

4 ‘‘(C) offered to members of an organiza5 tion, such as an employees’ association or con6 gressional credit union, in which membership is

7 related to congressional employment and similar

8 opportunities are available to large segments of

9 the public through organizations of similar size;

10 ‘‘(D) offered to any group or class that is

11 not defined in a manner that specifically dis12 criminates among Government employees on the

13 basis of branch of Government or type of re14 sponsibility, or on a basis that favors those of

15 higher rank or rate of pay;

16 ‘‘(E) in the form of loans from banks and

17 other financial institutions on terms generally

18 available to the public; or

19 ‘‘(F) in the form of reduced membership or

20 other fees for participation in organization ac21 tivities offered to all Government employees by

22 professional organizations if the only restric23 tions on membership relate to professional

24 qualifications.
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1 ‘‘(20) A plaque, trophy, or other item that is

2 substantially commemorative in nature and which is

3 intended solely for presentation.

4 ‘‘(21) Anything for which, in an unusual case,

5 a waiver is granted by the Select Committee on Eth6 ics.

7 ‘‘(22) Food or refreshments of a nominal value

8 offered other than as a part of a meal.

9 ‘‘(23) An item of little intrinsic value such as

10 a greeting card, baseball cap, or a T-shirt.

11 ‘‘(d)(1) A Member, officer, or employee may accept

12 an offer of free attendance at a widely attended conven13 tion, conference, symposium, forum, panel discussion, din14 ner, viewing, reception, or similar event, provided by the

15 sponsor of the event, if—

16 ‘‘(A) the Member, officer, or employee partici17 pates in the event as a speaker or a panel partici18 pant, by presenting information related to Congress

19 or matters before Congress, or by performing a cere20 monial function appropriate to the Member’s, offi21 cer’s, or employee’s official position; or

22 ‘‘(B) attendance at the event is appropriate to

23 the performance of the official duties or representa24 tive function of the Member, officer, or employee.
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1 ‘‘(2) A Member, officer, or employee who attends an

2 event described in clause (1) may accept a sponsor’s unso3 licited offer of free attendance at the event for an accom4 panying individual if others in attendance will generally

5 be similarly accompanied or if such attendance is appro6 priate to assist in the representation of the Senate.

7 ‘‘(3) A Member, officer, or employee, or the spouse

8 or dependent thereof, may accept a sponsor’s unsolicited

9 offer of free attendance at a charity event, except that re10 imbursement for transportation and lodging may not be

11 accepted in connection with an event that does not meet

12 the standards provided in paragraph 2.

13 ‘‘(4) For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘free

14 attendance’ may include waiver of all or part of a con15 ference or other fee, the provision of local transportation,

16 or the provision of food, refreshments, entertainment, and

17 instructional materials furnished to all attendees as an in18 tegral part of the event. The term does not include enter19 tainment collateral to the event, nor does it include food

20 or refreshments taken other than in a group setting with

21 all or substantially all other attendees.

22 ‘‘(e) No Member, officer, or employee may accept a

23 gift the value of which exceeds $250 on the basis of the

24 personal friendship exception in subparagraph (c)(4) un25 less the Select Committee on Ethics issues a written deter-
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1 mination that such exception applies. No determination

2 under this subparagraph is required for gifts given on the

3 basis of the family relationship exception.

4 ‘‘(f) When it is not practicable to return a tangible

5 item because it is perishable, the item may, at the discre6 tion of the recipient, be given to an appropriate charity

7 or destroyed.

8 ‘‘2. (a)(1) A reimbursement (including payment in

9 kind) to a Member, officer, or employee from an individual

10 other than a registered lobbyist or agent of a foreign prin11 cipal for necessary transportation, lodging and related ex12 penses for travel to a meeting, speaking engagement, fact13 finding trip or similar event in connection with the duties

14 of the Member, officer, or employee as an officeholder

15 shall be deemed to be a reimbursement to the Senate and

16 not a gift prohibited by this rule, if the Member, officer,

17 or employee—

18 ‘‘(A) in the case of an employee, receives ad19 vance authorization, from the Member or officer

20 under whose direct supervision the employee works,

21 to accept reimbursement, and

22 ‘‘(B) discloses the expenses reimbursed or to be

23 reimbursed and the authorization to the Secretary of

24 the Senate within 30 days after the travel is com25 pleted.
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1 ‘‘(2) For purposes of clause (1), events, the activities

2 of which are substantially recreational in nature, shall not

3 be considered to be in connection with the duties of a

4 Member, officer, or employee as an officeholder.

5 ‘‘(b) Each advance authorization to accept reimburse6 ment shall be signed by the Member or officer under whose

7 direct supervision the employee works and shall include—

8 ‘‘(1) the name of the employee;

9 ‘‘(2) the name of the person who will make the

10 reimbursement;

11 ‘‘(3) the time, place, and purpose of the travel;

12 and

13 ‘‘(4) a determination that the travel is in con14 nection with the duties of the employee as an office15 holder and would not create the appearance that the

16 employee is using public office for private gain.

17 ‘‘(c) Each disclosure made under subparagraph

18 (a)(1) of expenses reimbursed or to be reimbursed shall

19 be signed by the Member or officer (in the case of travel

20 by that Member or officer) or by the Member or officer

21 under whose direct supervision the employee works (in the

22 case of travel by an employee) and shall include—

23 ‘‘(1) a good faith estimate of total transpor24 tation expenses reimbursed or to be reimbursed;
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1 ‘‘(2) a good faith estimate of total lodging ex2 penses reimbursed or to be reimbursed;

3 ‘‘(3) a good faith estimate of total meal ex4 penses reimbursed or to be reimbursed;

5 ‘‘(4) a good faith estimate of the total of other

6 expenses reimbursed or to be reimbursed;

7 ‘‘(5) a determination that all such expenses are

8 necessary transportation, lodging, and related ex9 penses as defined in this paragraph; and

10 ‘‘(6) in the case of a reimbursement to a Mem11 ber or officer, a determination that the travel was in

12 connection with the duties of the Member or officer

13 as an officeholder and would not create the appear14 ance that the Member or officer is using public of15 fice for private gain.

16 ‘‘(d) For the purposes of this paragraph, the term

17 ‘necessary transportation, lodging, and related ex18 penses’—

19 ‘‘(1) includes reasonable expenses that are nec20 essary for travel for a period not exceeding 3 days

21 exclusive of travel time within the United States or

22 7 days exclusive of travel time outside of the United

23 States unless approved in advance by the Select

24 Committee on Ethics;
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1 ‘‘(2) is limited to reasonable expenditures for

2 transportation, lodging, conference fees and mate3 rials, and food and refreshments, including reim4 bursement for necessary transportation, whether or

5 not such transportation occurs within the periods de6 scribed in clause (1);

7 ‘‘(3) does not include expenditures for rec8 reational activities, not roes it include entertainment

9 other than that provided to all attendees as an inte10 gral part of the event, except for activities or enter11 tainment otherwise permissible under this rule; and

12 ‘‘(4) may include travel expenses incurred on

13 behalf of either the spouse or a child of the Member,

14 officer, or employee, subject to a determination

15 signed by the Member or officer (or in the case of

16 an employee, the Member or officer under whose di17 rect supervision the employee works) that the at18 tendance of the spouse or child is appropriate to as19 sist in the representation of the Senate.

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

21 to the public all advance authorizations and disclosures

22 of reimbursement filed pursuant to subparagraph (a) as

23 soon as possible after they are received.

24 ‘‘3. A gift prohibited by paragraph 1(a) includes the

25 following:
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1 ‘‘(a) Anything provided by a registered lobbyist

2 or an agent of a foreign principal to an entity that

3 is maintained or controlled by a Member, officer, or

4 employee.

5 ‘‘(b) A charitable contribution (as defined in

6 section 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of

7 1986) made by a registered lobbyist or an agent of

8 a foreign principal on the basis of a designation, rec9 ommendation, or other specification of a Member,

10 officer, or employee (not including a mass mailing or

11 other solicitation directed to a broad category of per12 sons or entities), other than a charitable contribu13 tion permitted by paragraph 4.

14 ‘‘(c) A contribution or other payment by a reg15 istered lobbyist or an agent of a foreign principal to

16 a legal expense fund established for the benefit of a

17 Member, officer, or employee.

18 ‘‘(d) A financial contribution or expenditure

19 made by a registered lobbyist or an agent of a for20 eign principal relating to a conference, retreat, or

21 similar event, sponsored by or affiliated with an offi22 cial congressional organization, for or on behalf of

23 Members, officers, or employees.

24 ‘‘4. (a) A charitable contribution (as defined in sec25 tion 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) made
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1 by a registered lobbyist or an agent of a foreign principal

2 in lieu of an honorarium to a Member, officer, or employee

3 shall not be considered a gift under this rule if it is re4 ported as provided in subparagraph (b).

5 ‘‘(b) A Member, officer, or employee who designates

6 or recommends a contribution to a charitable organization

7 in lieu of honoraria described in subparagraph (a) shall

8 report within 30 days after such designation or rec9 ommendation to the Secretary of the Senate—

10 ‘‘(1) the name and address of the registered

11 lobbyist who is making the contribution in lieu of

12 honoraria;

13 ‘‘(2) the date and amount of the contribution;

14 and

15 ‘‘(3) the name and address of the charitable or16 ganization designated or recommended by the Mem17 ber.

18 The Secretary of the Senate shall make public information

19 received pursuant to this subparagraph as soon as possible

20 after it is received.

21 ‘‘5. For purposes of this rule—

22 ‘‘(a) the term ‘registered lobbyist’ means a lob23 byist registered under the Federal Regulation of

24 Lobbying Act or any successor statute; and
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1 ‘‘(b) the term ‘agent of a foreign principal’

2 means an agent of a foreign principal registered

3 under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

4 ‘‘6. All the provisions of this rule shall be interpreted

5 and enforced solely by the Select Committee on Ethics.

6 The Select Committee on Ethics is authorized to issue

7 guidance on any matter contained in this rule.’’.

8 SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL DISCLOSURE IN THE SENATE OF THE

9 VALUE OF CERTAIN ASSETS UNDER THE ETH10 ICS IN GOVERNMENT ACT OF 1978.

11 (a) CATEGORIES OF INCOME.—Rule XXXIV of the

12 Standing Rules of the Senate is amended by adding at

13 the end the following new paragraph:

14 ‘‘3. In addition to the requirements of paragraph 1,

15 Members, officers, and employees of the Senate shall in16 clude in each report filed under paragraph 2 the following

17 additional information:

18 ‘‘(a) For purposes of section 102(a)(1)(B) of

19 the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 additional

20 categories of income as follows:

21 ‘‘(1) greater than $1,000,000 but not more

22 than $5,000,000, or

23 ‘‘(2) greater than $5,000,000.
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1 ‘‘(b) for purposes of section 102(d)(1) of the

2 Ethics in Government Act of 1978 additional cat3 egories of income as follows:

4 ‘‘(1) greater than $1,000,000 but not more

5 than $5,000,000;

6 ‘‘(2) greater than $5,000,000 but not more

7 than $25,000,000;

8 ‘‘(3) greater than $25,000,000 but not

9 more than $50,000,000; and

10 ‘‘(4) greater than $50,000,000.

11 ‘‘(c) For purposes of this paragraph and section

12 102 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, addi13 tional categories with amounts or values greater

14 than $1,000,000 set forth in section 102(a)(1)(B)

15 and 102(d)(1) shall apply to the income, assets, or

16 liabilities of spouses and dependent children only if

17 the income, assets, or liabilities are held jointly with

18 the reporting individual. All other income, assets, or

19 liabilities of the spouse or dependent children re20 quired to be reported under section 102 and this

21 paragraph in an amount or value greater than

22 $1,000,000 shall be categorized only as an amount

23 or value greater than $1,000,000.’’.

24 (b) BLIND TRUST ASSETS.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Rule XXXIV of the Stand2 ing Rules of the Senate is further amended by add3 ing at the end following new paragraph:

4 ‘‘4. In addition to the requirements of paragraph 1,

5 Members, officers, and employees of the Senate shall in6 clude in each report filed under paragraph 2 an additional

7 statement under section 102(a) of the Ethics in Govern8 ment Act of 1978 listing the category of the total cash

9 value of any interest of the reporting individual in a quali10 fied blind trust as provided in section 102(d)(1) of the

11 Ethics in Government Act of 1978, unless the trust instru12 ment was executed prior to July 24, 1995 and precludes

13 the beneficiary from receiving information on the total

14 cash value of any interest in the qualified blind trust.’’.

15 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made

16 by this subsection shall apply with respect to reports

17 filed under title I of the Ethics in Government Act

18 of 1978 for calendar year 1996 and thereafter.

19 SEC. 3. GIFTS IN THE JUDICIAL BRANCH.

20 It is the sense of the Senate that the Judicial Con21 ference of the United States should review and reevaluate

22 its regulations pertaining to the acceptance of gifts and

23 the acceptance of travel and travel-related expenses and

24 that such regulations should cover all judicial branch em-
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1 ployees, including members and employees of the Supreme

2 Court of the United States.

3 SEC. 4. ACCEPTANCE OF GIFTS BY THE COMMITTEE ON

4 RULES AND ADMINISTRATION.

5 The Senate Committee on Rules and Administration,

6 on behalf of the Senate, may accept a gift if the gift does

7 not involve any duty, burden, or condition, or is not made

8 dependent upon some future performance by the United

9 States Senate. The Committee on Rules and Administra10 tion is authorized to promulgate regulations to carry out

11 this section.

12 SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

13 This resolution and the amendment made by this res14 olution shall take effect on and be effective for calendar

15 years beginning on January 1, 1996.

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