I 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4920 

To amend the Rules of the House of Representatives to reform the ethics 

process, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 9, 2006 

Mr. CASTLE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration and Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Rules of the House of Representatives to 

reform the ethics process, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Accountability and 

5 Transparency in Ethics Act’’. 


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1 TITLE I—OUTSIDE INVESTIGA2 TIONS COMMISSION AS SEPA3 RATE INVESTIGATORY ARM 

4 SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT AND MEMBERSHIP OF COMMIS5 SION. 

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established an inde7 pendent ethics commission within the legislative branch of 

8 the Government to be known as the Investigations Com9 mission (in this title referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

10 (b) MEMBERSHIP AND CHAIR.—The Commission 

11 shall consist of 7 individuals, 3 appointed by the Speaker, 

12 3 by the minority leader of the House of Representatives, 

13 and 1 appointed jointly by the Speaker and the minority 

14 leader and who shall serve as chairman. 

15 (c) QUALIFICATIONS.— 

16 (1) SPECIFIC QUALIFICATIONS.—(A) Only 

17 former Members of Congress and retired Federal 

18 judges shall be eligible for appointment to the Com19 mission. 

20 (B) RETIRED JUDGE.— 

21 (i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘retired 

22 judge’’ means any judge who has retired from 

23 the office and is not serving as a judge pursu24 ant to recall or otherwise. 

25 (ii) JUDGE.—The term ‘‘judge’’— 


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1 (I) means any judge of a court cre2 ated by Act of Congress under article III 

3 or article I of the United States Constitu4 tion; and 

5 (II) includes any bankruptcy judge or 

6 magistrate judge. 

7 (2) DISQUALIFICATIONS FOR APPOINTMENTS.— 

8 (A) LOBBYING.—No individual who has 

9 been a lobbyist registered under the Lobbying 

10 Disclosure Act of 1995 or engages in, or is oth11 erwise employed in, lobbying of the Congress or 

12 who is an agent of a foreign principal registered 

13 under the Foreign Agents Registration Act 

14 within the 5-year period immediately preceding 

15 appointment shall be eligible for appointment 

16 to, or service on, the Commission. 

17 (B) INCOMPATIBLE OFFICE.—No member 

18 of the Commission appointed under subsection 

19 (b) may be an elected public official or an offi20 cer or employee of the Federal Government. 

21 (3) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Commission 

22 shall be filled in the manner in which the original 

23 appointment was made. 

24 (d) TERM OF OFFICE.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para2 graph (2), membership on the Commission shall be 

3 for 3 Congresses. A member of the Commission who 

4 is appointed to a term of office shall only be eligible 

5 for appointment for a single term of office. 

6 (2) FIRST APPOINTMENTS.—Of the members 

7 first appointed to the Commission, 2 appointed by 

8 the Speaker, 2 appointed by the minority leader, and 

9 1 appointed jointly by them shall have a term of of10 fice of 3 Congresses, and the other 4 shall have 

11 terms of 2 Congresses. 

12 (e) COMPENSATION.—Members of the Commission 

13 shall each be paid at a rate equal to the rate of basic pay 

14 for level V of the Executive Schedule. 

15 (f) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the 

16 Commission shall constitute a quorum. 

17 (g) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at the 

18 call of the chairperson or a majority of its members. 

19 SEC. 102. DUTIES OF COMMISSION. 

20 The Commission is authorized— 

21 (1) to investigate any alleged violation, by a 

22 Member, officer, or employee of the House of Rep23 resentatives, of any law, rule, regulation, or other 

24 standard of conduct applicable to the conduct of 

25 such Member, officer, or employee in the performVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:37 Mar 10, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4920.IH H4920

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1 ance of his duties or the discharge of his responsibil2 ities, and after notice and hearing (unless the right 

3 to a hearing is waived by the Member, officer, or 

4 employee), shall report to the Committee on Stand5 ards of Official Conduct of the House of Representa6 tives its findings of fact and recommendations, if 

7 any, upon the final disposition of any such investiga8 tion, and such action as the Commission may deem 

9 appropriate in the circumstances; 

10 (2) to report to the appropriate Federal or 

11 State authorities, with the approval of the House of 

12 Representatives, any substantial evidence of a viola13 tion, by a Member, officer, or employee of the House 

14 of Representatives, of any law applicable to the per15 formance of his duties or the discharge of his re16 sponsibilities, which may have been disclosed in a 

17 Commission investigation; and 

18 (3) adopt rules governing its procedures to af19 ford protections to respondents comparable those 

20 that were provided by clause 3 of rule XI of the 

21 Rules of the House of Representatives in effect im22 mediately before the amendments to such rule made 

23 by section 107. 


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1 SEC. 103. POWERS OF COMMISSION. 

2 (a) HEARINGS AND EVIDENCE.—The Commission or, 

3 on the authority of the Commission, any subcommittee or 

4 member thereof, may, for the purpose of carrying out this 

5 title— 

6 (1) hold such hearings and sit and act at such 

7 times and places, take such testimony, receive such 

8 evidence, administer such oaths; and 

9 (2) subject to subsection (b), require, by sub10 poena or otherwise, the attendance and testimony of 

11 such witnesses and the production of such books, 

12 records, correspondence, memoranda, papers, and 

13 documents, as the Commission or such designated 

14 subcommittee or designated member may determine 

15 advisable. 

16 (b) SUBPOENAS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—A subpoena may be issued 

18 under this subsection only— 

19 (A) by the agreement of the chair and the 

20 vice chair; or 

21 (B) by the affirmative vote of 5 members 

22 of the Commission. 

23 (2) SIGNATURE.—Subject to paragraph (1), 

24 subpoenas issued under this subsection may be 

25 issued under the signature of the chairman or any 

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1 sion, and may be served by any person designated 

2 by the chairman or by a member designated by a 

3 majority of the Commission. 

4 (c) OBTAINING INFORMATION.—Upon request of the 

5 Commission, the head of any agency or instrumentality 

6 of the Government shall furnish information deemed nec7 essary by the panel to enable it to carry out its duties. 

8 (d) TREATMENT OF TIE VOTES.—Whenever the vote 

9 to conduct an investigation has the same number of mem10 bers voting in the affirmative as in the negative, then the 

11 professional staff, pursuant to rules adopted by the Com12 mission, shall conduct a fact-finding investigation and re13 port its findings and recommendations to the Commission. 

14 Such report would either recommend a dismissal of the 

15 complaint or the commencement of a formal investigation. 

16 The Commission shall, upon receipt of the findings and 

17 recommendation, make the report public. An affirmative 

18 vote of a majority of the members of the Commission 

19 would be required to commence a formal investigation if 

20 the Commission determines that the matter merits further 

21 inquiry. 

22 SEC. 104. PROCEDURAL RULES. 

23 (a) MAJORITY APPROVAL.—No report or rec24 ommendation relating to the official conduct of a Member, 

25 officer, or employee of the House of Representatives shall 


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1 be made by the Commission, and no investigation of such 

2 conduct shall be undertaken by the Commission, unless 

3 approved by the affirmative vote of a majority of the mem4 bers of the Commission. 

5 (b) INVESTIGATIONS.—Except in the case of an in6 vestigation undertaken by the Commission on its own ini7 tiative, the Commission may undertake an investigation 

8 relating to the official conduct of an individual Member, 

9 officer, or employee of the House of Representatives 

10 only— 

11 (1) upon receipt of a complaint, in writing and 

12 under oath, made by or submitted to a Member of 

13 the House of Representatives and transmitted to the 

14 Commission by such Member, or 

15 (2) upon receipt of a complaint, in writing and 

16 under oath, directly from any citizen of the United 

17 States. 

18 (c) PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN INVESTIGATIONS.—No 

19 investigation shall be undertaken by the Commission of 

20 any alleged violation of a law, rule, regulation, or standard 

21 of conduct not in effect at the time of the alleged violation. 

22 (d) DISCLOSURE.—No information or testimony re23 ceived, or the contents of a complaint or the fact of its 

24 filing, shall be publicly disclosed by any member of the 


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1 Commission or staff of the Commission unless specifically 

2 authorized in each instance by a vote of the Commission. 

3 SEC. 105. STAFF OF COMMISSION. 

4 The Commission may appoint and fix the compensa5 tion of such staff as the Commission considers necessary 

6 to perform its duties. The director shall be appointed 

7 jointly by the Speaker and minority leader and shall be 

8 paid at a rate not exceed the rate of basic pay payable 

9 for Level V of the Executive Schedule. 

10 SEC. 106. ACTION ON HOUSE ETHICS COMMISSION REC11 OMMENDATIONS. 

12 (a) PRINTING OF REPORTS IN CONGRESSIONAL

13 RECORD.—Upon receipt by the Committee on Standards 

14 of Official Conduct of the House of Representatives of any 

15 report of the House Ethics Commission, the chairman of 

16 the committee shall have the report printed in the Con17 gressional Record. 

18 (b) COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION OF HOUSE ETHICS

19 COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS.—After a report re20 ferred to in subsection (a) is printed in the Congressional 

21 Record recommending action by the Committee on Stand22 ards of Official Conduct of the House of Representatives 

23 respecting any alleged violation by a Member, officer, or 

24 employee of the House of Representatives, of any law, 

25 rule, regulation, or other standard of conduct applicable 


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1 to the conduct of such Member, officer, or employee in 

2 the performance of his duties or the discharge of his re3 sponsibilities, the committee shall vote upon whether to 

4 dismiss the underlying complaint, establish an adjudica5 tory subcommittee, or proceed to consider the matter in 

6 the full committee. 

7 SEC. 107. AMENDMENTS TO THE RULES OF THE HOUSE TO 

8 CHANGE THE DUTIES OF THE COMMITTEE ON 

9 STANDARDS OF OFFICIAL CONDUCT. 

10 (a) HOUSE RULES AMENDMENTS.—Clause 3 of rule 

11 XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives is amend12 ed as follows: 

13 (1) Paragraph (a)(2) is amended by striking 

14 the first sentence and by inserting ‘‘before the 

15 House Ethics Commission’’ after ‘‘hearing’’ in the 

16 second sentence. 

17 (2)(A) Paragraph (b)(1) is amended by striking 

18 ‘‘(A)’’, by striking ‘‘, or, except as provided in sub19 paragraph (2), undertake an investigation’’, and by 

20 striking subdivision (B). 

21 (B) Paragraph (b) is further amended by strik22 ing subparagraphs (2), (3), and (5) and by redesig23 nating subparagraphs (4), (6), and (7) as subpara24 graphs (2), (3), and (4), respectively. 

25 (3) Strike paragraphs (k), (l), (m), and (n). 


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1 (4) Paragraph (o) is amended by striking 

2 ‘‘(1)’’, by striking ‘‘an investigative subcommittee 

3 or’’, by striking subparagraphs (2) and (3), and by 

4 redesignating such paragraph as paragraph (k). 

5 (5) Strike paragraphs (p) and (q). 

6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 803 of the 

7 Ethics Reform Act of 1989 (2 U.S.C. 29d) is amended— 

8 (1) by striking subsection (c); and 

9 (2) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘an investiga10 tive subcommittee’’ each place it appears and insert11 ing ‘‘the House Ethics Commission’’. 

12 SEC. 108. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

13 This title shall take effect immediately prior to noon 

14 on January 3, 2007. 

15 TITLE II—BETTER ORGANIZA16 TION OF OVERSIGHT AND AC17 COUNTABILITY 

18 SEC. 201. MANDATORY ANNUAL ETHICS TRAINING FOR 

19 MEMBERS AND HOUSE EMPLOYEES. 

20 Clause 3 of rule XI of the Rules of the House of Rep21 resentatives is amended by adding at the end the following 

22 new paragraphs: 

23 ‘‘(r)(1) The committee shall provide annual ethics 

24 training to each Member, Delegate, Resident Commis25 sioner, and employee of the House of Representatives 


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1 which shall include knowledge of the Code of Official Con2 duct, related House rules, and applicable provisions of law. 

3 ‘‘(2) A new employee of the House shall receive train4 ing under this section not later than 30 days after begin5 ning service to the House. 

6 ‘‘(3) At the end of each session of Congress, the 

7 chairman of the committee shall have printed in the Con8 gressional Record the names of any such individuals who 

9 failed to participate in such training during that session. 

10 ‘‘(s)(1) The committee shall provide an 8-hour ethics 

11 training course to persons desiring to register as lobbyists 

12 under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 during a Con13 gress. The committee shall issue to any person who suc14 cessfully completes such training a license to engage in 

15 lobbying activities under that Act during that Congress. 

16 Such license shall be valid only during that Congress. A 

17 fee shall be charged for each license in an amount deter18 mined by the committee. 

19 ‘‘(2) Training under subparagraph (1) shall cover in20 formation on the code of conduct and disclosure require21 ments applicable to Members, officers, and employees of 

22 the House, including rules relating to acceptance of gifts 

23 (including travel and meals), and financial disclosure re24 quirements under the Ethics in Government Act of 1978. 


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1 ‘‘(3) The committee shall suspend the license of any 

2 person who commits an offense under chapter 11 of title 

3 18, United States Code (relating to bribery, graft, and 

4 conflicts of interest), or who violates section 7(b) of the 

5 Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (relating to penalties for 

6 offering certain gifts).’’. 

7 SEC. 202. ETHICS COMMITTEE ADVANCED AUTHORIZATION 

8 OF TRAVEL. 

9 Clause 5(b) of rule XXV of the Rules of the House 

10 of Representatives is amended by inserting at the end the 

11 following new subparagraph: 

12 ‘‘(6) Before a Member, Delegate, Resident Commis13 sioner, officer, or employee of the House may take a pri14 vately-funded trip— 

15 ‘‘(A) that individual shall provide the estimated 

16 cost of the trip, the name of the entity paying for 

17 the trip, the purpose of the trip, and the proposed 

18 itinerary to the Committee on Standards of Official 

19 Conduct; and 

20 ‘‘(B) that committee issues a letter stating that 

21 the trip complies with the applicable rules of the 

22 House.’’. 


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1 SEC. 203. STRENGTHENING NONPARTISANSHIP AND PRO2 FESSIONALISM OF THE COMMITTEE ON 

3 STANDARDS OF OFFICIAL CONDUCT. 

4 Clause 3(g)(1)(A) of rule XI of the Rules of the 

5 House of Representatives is amended by inserting ‘‘and 

6 may only be removed from their positions for cause’’ be7 fore the semicolon. 

8 TITLE III—LOBBYING REFORMS 

9 SEC. 301. TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS UNDER LOBBYING DIS10 CLOSURE ACT TO COMMITTEE ON STAND11 ARDS OF OFFICIAL CONDUCT. 

12 (a) FILING OF REGISTRATIONS.—Section 4 of the 

13 Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1603) is 

14 amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘Clerk’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘Committee on Standards of Official 

17 Conduct’’; and 

18 (2) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘Clerk’’ and 

19 inserting ‘‘Committee on Standards of Official Con20 duct’’. 

21 (b) PENALTIES.—Section 7 of the Lobbying Disclo22 sure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1606) is amended by striking 

23 ‘‘Clerk’’ and inserting ‘‘Committee on Standards of Offi24 cial Conduct’’. 

25 (c) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—Section 8(c) of the 

26 Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1607(c)) is 


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1 amended by striking ‘‘Clerk’’ and inserting ‘‘Committee 

2 on Standards of Official Conduct’’. 

3 (d) ESTIMATES BASED ON TAX REPORTING SYS4 TEM.—Section 15(c)(1) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 

5 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1610(c)(1)) is amended by striking 

6 ‘‘Clerk’’ and inserting ‘‘Committee on Standards of Offi7 cial Conduct’’. 

8 SEC. 302. REGISTRATION FEES. 

9 Section 4(a)(1) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 

10 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1603(a)(1)) is amended by adding at the 

11 end the following: ‘‘The Committee on Standards of Offi12 cial Conduct of the House of Representatives shall charge 

13 a fee for each registration filed with the committee, in an 

14 amount determined by the committee.’’. 

15 SEC. 303. TIMING OF REPORTS; ELECTRONIC FILING. 

16 Section 5 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 

17 U.S.C. 1604) is amended— 

18 (1) in subsection (a)— 

19 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘RE20 PORT.—No later than’’ and inserting ‘‘AND

21 QUARTERLY REPORTS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) FILING IN THE SENATE.—No later than’’; 

23 (B) by striking ‘‘and the Clerk of the 

24 House of Representatives’’; and 


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1 (C) by striking the last sentence and in2 serting the following: 

3 ‘‘(2) FILING IN THE HOUSE.—No later than 30 

4 days after the end of each 3-month period beginning 

5 on the first day of each calendar quarter of each 

6 year in which a registrant is registered under section 

7 4, each registrant shall file a report with the Com8 mittee on Standards of Official Conduct of the 

9 House of Representatives on its lobbying activities 

10 during that 3-month period. 

11 ‘‘(3) SEPARATE REPORTS.—A separate report 

12 under this subsection shall be filed for each client of 

13 the registrant.’’; and 

14 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(d) ELECTRONIC FILING.—Each report filed under 

16 paragraph (2) of subsection (a) shall be filed in electronic 

17 form, in addition to any other form that may be required 

18 by the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct of the 

19 House of Representatives.’’. 

20 SEC. 304. ELECTRONIC DATABASE. 

21 Section 6 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 

22 U.S.C. 1605) is amended— 

23 (1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; and 

25 (3) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(b) ELECTRONIC DATABASE.—The Committee on 

2 Standards of Official Conduct of the House of Representa3 tives shall maintain, and make available to the public over 

4 the Internet, without a fee or other access charge, in a 

5 searchable, sortable, and downloadable manner, an elec6 tronic database that— 

7 ‘‘(1) includes the information contained in re8 ports filed with the committee under this Act; and 

9 ‘‘(2) is searchable and sortable, at a minimum, 

10 by each of the categories of information described in 

11 section 5(b).’’. 

12 SEC. 305. PENALTIES FOR OFFERING GIFTS. 

13 Section 7 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 

14 U.S.C. 1606) is amended— 

15 (1) by striking ‘‘Whoever’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) 

16 IN GENERAL.—Whoever’’; and 

17 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(b) PENALTIES FOR OFFERING CERTAIN GIFTS.— 

19 Any person who is— 

20 ‘‘(1) a lobbyist registered under this Act, 

21 ‘‘(2) a lobbyist who is an employee of an orga22 nization registered under this Act, or 

23 ‘‘(3) the client of any such lobbyist or organiza24 tion, 


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1 and who offers to a covered legislative branch employee 

2 who is Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Com3 missioner to, the Congress, or any officer of employee of 

4 the House of Representatives, any gift, knowing that such 

5 gift violates the rules of the House of Representatives, 

6 shall, upon proof thereof by a preponderance of the evi7 dence, be subject to a civil fine of not more than 

8 $50,000.’’. 

9 SEC. 306. REVOLVING DOOR. 

10 Section 207(e) of title 18, United States Code, is 

11 amended— 

12 (1) by striking paragraphs (1) through (6) and 

13 inserting the following: 

14 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITIONS.—Any person who is a cov15 ered legislative branch official and who— 

16 ‘‘(A) within 1 year after the date on which 

17 that person leaves office or on which the em18 ployment of that person terminates, as the case 

19 may be, or 

20 ‘‘(B) before the end of the Congress during 

21 which that person leaves office or on which the 

22 employment of that person terminates, as the 

23 case may be, 

24 whichever period is longer, knowingly makes, with 

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1 pearance before any of the persons described in 

2 paragraph (2), on behalf of any other person (except 

3 the United States) in connection with any matter 

4 which such former covered legislative branch official 

5 seeks action by a Member, officer, or employee of ei6 ther House of Congress, in his or her official capac7 ity, shall be punished as provided in section 216 of 

8 this title. 

9 ‘‘(2) PERSONS WHO MAY NOT BE CON10 TACTED.—The persons referred to in paragraph (1) 

11 with respect to appearances or communications by a 

12 former covered legislative branch official are any 

13 Member, officer, or employee of either House of 

14 Congress, and any employee of any other legislative 

15 office of the Congress. 

16 ‘‘(3) COVERED LEGISLATIVE BRANCH OFFI17 CIAL.—For purposes of paragraphs (1) and (2), the 

18 term ‘covered legislative branch official’ means any 

19 Member, officer, or employee of either House of 

20 Congress, and any employee of any other legislative 

21 office of the Congress.’’; and 

22 (2) by redesignating paragraph (7) as para23 graph (4). 

Æ 


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