IV

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 160

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

SEPTEMBER 26, 1997

Mr. BALDACCI submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was

referred to the Committee on House Oversight

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;

Whereas negative campaigns are directly related to the cynicism, alienation, and decreasing participation rates

among American voters;
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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;

14 (2) compile a list of the names of all candidates

15 who sign and return such statement to the Clerk or

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

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

18 member of the public.
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1 SEC. 2. CODE OF ELECTION ETHICS DESCRIBED.

2 The Code of Election Ethics described in this section

3 reads as follows:

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

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

6 and compassion.

7 ‘‘HONESTY AND FAIRNESS

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

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

10 and presenting my record with sincerity and frankness.

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

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

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

14 without my approval, I shall repudiate those practices im15 mediately and publicly upon my knowledge of their occur16 rence.

17 ‘‘Factual claims made by my campaign will be sup18 ported by publicly available documents provided by my

19 campaign office.

20 ‘‘RESPECT

21 ‘‘I shall avoid demeaning references to my opponents

22 and demeaning visual images of my opponents.

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

24 to be used personal attacks, innuendo, or stereotyping.
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1 ‘‘RESPONSIBILITY

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

3 supporters will observe these principles of fair campaign

4 practices. I take full responsibility for all advertising cre5 ated or used on my behalf by staff and supporters.

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

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

8 and policies with sincerity and frankness, and criticizing

9 without fear and without malice the record and policies

10 of my opponents and their political parties that merit such

11 criticism.

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

13 which does not meet the principles contained in this docu14 ment. If such practices are used by third parties without

15 my approval, I shall repudiate those practices immediately

16 and publicly upon my knowledge of their occurrence.

17 ‘‘COMPASSION

18 ‘‘In the conduct of my candidacy, I shall show com19 passion at all times for my opponent. I shall remember

20 that the campaign process is fundamental to representa21 tive democracy and that my behavior in the campaign af22 fects the integrity of our society.’’.

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