IV 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 895 

Establishing within the House of Representatives an Office of Congressional 

Ethics, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 19, 2007 

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

Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee 

on 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 

RESOLUTION 

Establishing within the House of Representatives an Office 

of Congressional Ethics, and for other purposes. 

1 Resolved, 

2 SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE OF CONGRES3 SIONAL ETHICS. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—For the purpose of assisting 

5 the House in carrying out its responsibilities under article 

6 I, section 5, clause 2 of the Constitution (commonly re7 ferred to as the ‘‘Discipline Clause’’), there is established 

8 in the House an independent office to be known as the 


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1 Office of Congressional Ethics (hereinafter in this section 

2 referred to as the ‘‘Office’’). 

3 (b) BOARD.—(1) The Office shall be governed by a 

4 board consisting of six individuals of whom three shall be 

5 designated as appointees of the Speaker and three as ap6 pointees of the minority leader. Each position shall be ap7 pointed jointly by the Speaker and the minority leader 

8 within 90 days after the date of adoption of this resolution 

9 or within 90 days after the expiration of their terms, as 

10 applicable, except as otherwise provided herein. If any po11 sitions on the board remain vacant at the end of such time 

12 period, then the appointments shall be made by the Speak13 er or minority leader, as applicable. 

14 (2) The Speaker and the minority leader each shall 

15 appoint individuals of exceptional public standing who are 

16 specifically qualified to serve on the board by virtue of 

17 their education, training, or experience in one or more of 

18 the following fields: legislative, judicial, regulatory, profes19 sional ethics, business, legal, and academic. 

20 (3) The Speaker shall designate one member of the 

21 board as chairman. The minority leader shall designate 

22 one member of the board as cochairman. The cochairman 

23 shall act as chairman in the absence of the chairman. 


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1 (4)(A) Selection and appointment of members of the 

2 board shall be without regard to political affiliation and 

3 solely on the basis of fitness to perform their duties. 

4 (B)(i) No individual shall be eligible for appointment 

5 to, or service on, the board who— 

6 (I) is a lobbyist registered under the Lobbying 

7 Disclosure Act of 1995; 

8 (II) has been so registered at any time during 

9 the year before the date of appointment; 

10 (III) engages in, or is otherwise employed in, 

11 lobbying of the Congress; 

12 (IV) is an agent of a foreign principal reg13 istered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act; 

14 (V) is a Member; or 

15 (VI) is an officer or employee of the Federal 

16 Government. 

17 (ii) No individual who has been a Member, officer, 

18 or employee of the House may be appointed to the board 

19 sooner than one year after ceasing to be a Member, officer, 

20 or employee of the House. 

21 (5) A vacancy on the board shall be filled for the un22 expired portion of the term, utilizing the process set forth 

23 in paragraph (1). 

24 (6)(A) Except as provided by subparagraph (B), 

25 terms on the board shall be for two Congresses. A member 


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1 of the board may not serve during more than four consecu2 tive Congresses. 

3 (B) Of the individuals appointed in the 110th Con4 gress to serve on the board, 4 shall be designated at the 

5 time of appointment to serve only for the remainder of 

6 that Congress. Any such individual may be reappointed 

7 for an additional term of two Congresses. 

8 (C) Any member of the board may be removed from 

9 office for cause by the Speaker and the minority leader, 

10 acting jointly, but not by either, acting alone. 

11 (7) A member of the board shall not be considered 

12 to be an officer or employee of the House, but shall receive 

13 a per diem equal to the daily equivalent of the minimum 

14 rate of basic pay payable for GS–15 of the General Sched15 ule for each day (including travel time) during which such 

16 member is engaged in the performance of the duties of 

17 the board. 

18 (8) A majority of the members of the board shall con19 stitute a quorum. 

20 (9) The board shall meet at the call of the chairman 

21 or a majority of its members pursuant to its rules. 

22 (c) POWERS.—The board is authorized and directed 

23 to: 

24 (1)(A) Within 7 calendar days (excluding Sat25 urdays, Sundays, and public holidays) after receipt 


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1 of a joint written request from any 2 members of 

2 the board to all board members to undertake a pre3 liminary review of any alleged violation by a Mem4 ber, officer, or employee of the House of any law, 

5 rule, regulation, or other standard of conduct appli6 cable to the conduct of such Member, officer, or em7 ployee in the performance of his duties or the dis8 charge of his responsibilities, along with a brief de9 scription of the specific matter, notify in writing— 

10 (i) the Committee on Standards of Official 

11 Conduct of that preliminary review and provide 

12 a statement of the nature of the review; and 

13 (ii) any individual who is the subject of the 

14 preliminary review and provide such individual 

15 with a statement of the nature of the review. 

16 (B) Within 30 calendar days or 5 legislative 

17 days, whichever is later, after receipt of a request 

18 under subparagraph (A), complete a preliminary re19 view. 

20 (C) Before the end of the applicable time pe21 riod, vote on whether to terminate the preliminary 

22 review of the matter under consideration. If the 

23 board does not vote affirmatively to terminate the 

24 preliminary review before the end of the applicable 

25 time period (with not less than 4 members voting to 


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1 terminate), the board shall commence a second2 phase review of the matter under consideration. The 

3 board shall notify, in writing, the individual who was 

4 the subject of the preliminary review and the Com5 mittee on Standards of Official Conduct of its deci6 sion to either terminate the preliminary review or 

7 commence a second-phase review of the matter. If 

8 the board votes to terminate the preliminary review, 

9 then it may send a report and any findings to such 

10 committee. 

11 (2)(A)(i) Except as provided by item (ii), com12 plete a second-phase review within 45 calendar days 

13 or 5 legislative days, whichever is later, after the 

14 board commences such review. 

15 (ii) Extend the period described in subpara16 graph (A) for one additional period of 14 calendar 

17 days upon the affirmative vote of a majority of its 

18 members, a quorum being present. 

19 (B) Transmit to the Committee on Standards 

20 of Official Conduct a recommendation that a matter 

21 requires further review only upon the affirmative 

22 vote of not less than 4 members of the board. 

23 (C) Upon the completion of any second-phase 

24 review undertaken— 


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1 (i) transmit to the Committee on Stand2 ards of Official Conduct the following— 

3 (I) a written report composed solely 

4 of— 

5 (aa) a recommendation that the 

6 committee should dismiss the matter 

7 that was the subject of such review; 

8 (bb) a statement that the matter 

9 requires further review; or 

10 (cc) a statement that the matter 

11 is unresolved because of a tie vote; 

12 and 

13 the number of members voting in the af14 firmative and in the negative and a state15 ment of the nature of the review and the 

16 individual who is the subject of the review; 

17 (II) its findings, if any, composed 

18 solely of— 

19 (aa) any findings of fact; 

20 (bb) a description of any relevant 

21 information that it was unable to ob22 tain or witnesses whom it was unable 

23 to interview, and the reasons therefor; 


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1 (cc) a recommendation for the 

2 issuance of subpoenas where appro3 priate, if any; and 

4 (dd) a citation of any relevant 

5 law, rule, regulation, or standard of 

6 conduct; 

7 but not the names of any cooperative wit8 nesses or any conclusions regarding the va9 lidity of the allegations upon which it is 

10 based or the guilt or innocence of the indi11 vidual who is the subject of the review; and 

12 (III) any supporting documentation; 

13 and 

14 (ii) transmit to the individual who is the 

15 subject of the second-phase review the written 

16 report of the board described in clause (i). 

17 (D) Hold such hearings as are necessary and 

18 sit and act only in executive session at such times 

19 and places and solicit such testimony and receive 

20 such relevant evidence as may be necessary to carry 

21 out its duties. 

22 (E) Pay witnesses appearing before the Office 

23 in the same manner as prescribed by clause 5 of rule 

24 XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives. 


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1 (F) Adopt rules to carry out its duties, which 

2 shall include each of the following: 

3 (i) A rule requiring each member of the 

4 board and of the staff of the Office, before un5 dertaking any work on behalf of the Office, to 

6 execute the following oath (or affirmation) in 

7 writing: ‘‘I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that 

8 I will not disclose to any person or entity out9 side the Office of Congressional Ethics any in10 formation received in the course of my service 

11 with the Office except as authorized by the Of12 fice or in accordance with its rules.’’ Copies of 

13 the executed oath shall be provided to the Clerk 

14 as part of the records of the House. 

15 (ii) A rule providing that— 

16 (I) the board may vote to terminate a 

17 preliminary review on any ground, includ18 ing that the matter under review is de 

19 minimis in nature; and 

20 (II) the board may vote to recommend 

21 to the Committee on Standards of Official 

22 Conduct that the committee should dismiss 

23 a matter that was the subject of a second24 phase review on any ground, including that 


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1 the matter under review is de minimis in 

2 nature. 

3 (iii) A rule requiring that all witnesses sign 

4 a statement acknowledging their understanding 

5 that the text of section 1001 of title 18, United 

6 States Code (popularly known as the False 

7 Statements Act) applies to their testimony and 

8 to any documents they provide. 

9 (iv) A rule requiring that there be no ex 

10 parte communications between any member of 

11 the board and any individual who is the subject 

12 of any review by the board or between any 

13 member and any interested party. 

14 (v) A rule that establishes a code of con15 duct to govern the behavior of its members and 

16 staff, which shall include the avoidance of con17 flicts of interest. 

18 (d) REQUESTS FROM COMMITTEE ON STANDARDS OF

19 OFFICIAL CONDUCT.—(1) Notwithstanding any other pro20 vision of this section, upon receipt of a written request 

21 from the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct that 

22 the board cease its review of any matter and refer such 

23 matter to the committee because of the ongoing investiga24 tion of such matter by the committee, the board shall refer 

25 such matter to the committee and cease its preliminary 


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1 or second-phase review, as applicable, of that matter and 

2 so notify any individual who is the subject of the review. 

3 In any such case, the board shall send a written report 

4 to the committee containing a statement that, upon the 

5 request of that committee, the matter is referred to it for 

6 its consideration, but not any findings. 

7 (2) If the Committee on Standards of Official Con8 duct notifies the board in writing that it is unable to re9 solve any matter described in paragraph (1), the board 

10 shall immediately begin or continue, as the case may be, 

11 a second-phase review of the matter. 

12 (e) LIMITATIONS ON REVIEW.—No review shall be 

13 undertaken by the board of any alleged violation of law, 

14 rule, regulation or standard of conduct not in effect at 

15 the time of the alleged violation; nor shall any review be 

16 undertaken by the board of any alleged violation that oc17 curred before the date of adoption of this resolution. 

18 (f) PROHIBITION ON PUBLIC DISCLOSURE.—(1) No 

19 information or testimony received shall be publicly dis20 closed by any member of the board or staff of the Office. 

21 Any breaches of confidentiality shall be investigated by the 

22 Office and appropriate action shall be taken. 

23 (2) Paragraph (1) shall not preclude presenting its 

24 report or findings or testifying before the Committee on 

25 Standards of Official Conduct by any member of the board 


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1 or staff of the Office if requested by such committee pur2 suant to its rules. 

3 (3) Before the board transmits any report to the 

4 Committee on Standards of Official Conduct relating to 

5 official conduct of any Member, officer, or employee of the 

6 House, it shall provide that individual the opportunity to 

7 present, orally or in writing (at the discretion of the 

8 board), a statement to the board. 

9 (g) PRESENTATION OF REPORTS TO COMMITTEE ON

10 STANDARDS OF OFFICIAL CONDUCT.—Whenever the 

11 board transmits any report to the Committee on Stand12 ards of Official Conduct relating to official conduct of any 

13 Member, officer, or employee of the House, it shall des14 ignate a member of the board or staff to present the report 

15 to such committee if requested by such committee. 

16 (h) COMPENSATION OF STAFF.—Upon the affirma17 tive vote of at least 4 of its members, the board may ap18 point and fix the compensation of such professional, non19 partisan staff as it considers necessary to perform its du20 ties. 

21 (i) TERMINATION OF STAFF.—Members of the staff 

22 may be terminated during a Congress solely by the affirm23 ative vote of at least 4 members of the board. 

24 (j) REIMBURSEMENTS.—The board may reimburse 

25 its members and staff for travel, subsistence, and other 


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1 necessary expenses incurred by them in the performance 

2 of their duties in the same manner as is permissible for 

3 such expenses of other employees of the House. 

4 (k) AGREEMENTS; RETENTION OF DOCUMENTS BY

5 THE CLERK.—(1) Before any individual who is appointed 

6 to serve on the board may do so, the individual shall exe7 cute a signed document containing the following state8 ment: ‘‘I agree not to seek any Federal public office until 

9 at least 3 years after I am no longer a member of the 

10 board of the Office of Congressional Ethics.’’ 

11 (2) Copies of the signed and executed document shall 

12 be retained by the Clerk as part of the records of the 

13 House. The Clerk shall make the signatures a matter of 

14 public record, causing the names of each individual who 

15 has signed the document to be published in a portion of 

16 the Congressional Record designed for that purpose, and 

17 make cumulative lists of such names available on the web 

18 site of the Clerk. 

19 (l) FUNDING.—There shall be paid out of the applica20 ble accounts of the House such sums as may be necessary 

21 for the expenses of the Office. Such payments shall be 

22 made on vouchers signed by the chairman of the board 

23 and approved in the manner directed by the Committee 

24 on House Administration. Amounts made available under 

25 this section shall be expended in accordance with regulaVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:10 Dec 21, 2007 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR895.IH HR895

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1 tions prescribed by the Committee on House Administra2 tion. 

3 (m) DEFINITION.—As used in this section, the term 

4 ‘‘Member’’ means any Representative in, or Delegate or 

5 Resident Commissioner to, the Congress. 

6 SEC. 2. FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE REPORTS. 

7 Rule XXVI of the Rules of the House of Representa8 tives is amended by adding at the end the following new 

9 clause: 

10 ‘‘3. Members of the board of the Office of Congres11 sional Ethics shall file annual financial disclosure reports 

12 with the Clerk of the House on or before May 15 of each 

13 calendar year after any year in which they perform the 

14 duties of that position. Such reports shall be on a form 

15 prepared by the Clerk that is substantially similar to form 

16 450 of the Office of Government Ethics. The Clerk shall 

17 send a copy of each such report filed with the Clerk within 

18 the seven-day period beginning on the date on which the 

19 report is filed to the Committee on Standards of Official 

20 Conduct and shall have them printed as a House docu21 ment and made available to the public pursuant to clause 

22 1.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO THE RULES OF 

2 THE HOUSE. 

3 Clause 3 of rule XI of the Rules of the House of Rep4 resentatives is amended as follows: 

5 (1) In paragraph (b)(2), strike ‘‘or’’ at the end 

6 of subparagraph (A), strike the period and insert ‘‘; 

7 or’’ at the end of subparagraph (B), and add at the 

8 end the following new subparagraph: 

9 ‘‘(C) upon receipt of a report regarding a refer10 ral from the board of the Office of Congressional 

11 Ethics.’’ 

12 (2) At the end of paragraph (b), add the fol13 lowing new subparagraph: 

14 ‘‘(8)(A) Except as provided by subdivisions (B), (C), 

15 and (D), not later than 45 calendar days or 5 legislative 

16 days, whichever is later, after receipt of a written report 

17 and any findings and supporting documentation regarding 

18 a referral from the board of the Office of Congressional 

19 Ethics or of a referral of the matter from the board pursu20 ant to a request under paragraph (r), the chairman of the 

21 Committee on Standards of Official Conduct shall make 

22 public the written report and findings of the board unless 

23 the chairman and ranking member, acting jointly, decide 

24 or the committee votes to withhold such information for 

25 not more than one additional period of the same duration, 

26 in which case the chairman shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) upon the termination of such additional pe2 riod, make public the written report and findings; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(ii) upon the day of such decision or vote, 

5 make a public statement that the committee has 

6 voted to extend the matter relating to the referral 

7 made by the board of the Office of Congressional 

8 Ethics regarding the Member, officer, or employee of 

9 the House who is the subject of the applicable refer10 ral. 

11 At least one calendar day before the committee makes 

12 public any written report and findings of the board, the 

13 chairman shall notify such board and the applicable Mem14 ber, officer, or employee of that fact and transmit to such 

15 individual a copy of the statement on the committee’s dis16 position of, and any committee report on, the matter. 

17 ‘‘(B)(i) Notwithstanding subdivision (A)(i), if the 

18 committee votes to dismiss a matter which is the subject 

19 of a referral from the board of the Office of Congressional 

20 Ethics, the committee is not required to make public the 

21 written report and findings described in such subdivision 

22 unless the committee’s vote is inconsistent with the rec23 ommendation of the board. For purposes of the previous 

24 sentence, a vote by the committee to dismiss a matter is 


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1 not inconsistent with a report from the board respecting 

2 the matter as unresolved due to a tie vote. 

3 ‘‘(ii) Notwithstanding subdivision (A)(ii), if the board 

4 transmits a report respecting any matter with a rec5 ommendation to dismiss or as unresolved due to a tie vote, 

6 and the committee votes to extend the matter for an addi7 tional period as provided in subdivision (A), the committee 

8 is not required to make a public statement that the com9 mittee has voted to extend the matter. 

10 ‘‘(iii) Except as provided by subdivision (E), if the 

11 committee establishes an investigative subcommittee re12 specting any such matter, then the report and findings 

13 of the board shall not be made public until the conclusion 

14 of the investigative subcommittee process and the com15 mittee shall issue a public statement of the establishment 

16 of an investigative subcommittee, which statement shall 

17 include the name of the applicable Member, officer, or em18 ployee, and shall set forth the alleged violation. If any such 

19 investigative subcommittee does not conclude its review 

20 within one year after the board transmits a report respect21 ing any matter, then the committee shall make public the 

22 report and upon the expiration of the Congress in which 

23 the report is made public, the committee shall make public 

24 any findings. 


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1 ‘‘(C)(i) If, after receipt of a written report and any 

2 findings and supporting documentation regarding a refer3 ral from the board of the Office of Congressional Ethics 

4 or of a referral of the matter from the board pursuant 

5 to a request under paragraph (r), the committee agrees 

6 to a request from an appropriate law enforcement or regu7 latory authority to defer taking action on the matter— 

8 ‘‘(I) notwithstanding subdivision (A)(i), the 

9 committee is not required to make public the written 

10 report and findings described in such subdivision, 

11 except that if the recommendation of the board with 

12 respect to the report is that the matter requires fur13 ther review, the committee shall make public the 

14 written report but not the findings; and 

15 ‘‘(II) before the end of the first day (excluding 

16 Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays) after the 

17 day that the committee agrees to the request, the 

18 committee shall make a public statement that it is 

19 deferring taking action on the matter at the request 

20 of such authority. 

21 ‘‘(ii) If, upon the expiration of the one-year period 

22 that begins on the date the committee makes the public 

23 statement described in item (i)(II), the committee has not 

24 acted on the matter, the committee shall make a new pub25 lic statement that it is still deferring taking action on the 


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1 matter, and shall make a new statement upon the expira2 tion of each succeeding one-year period during which the 

3 committee has not acted on the matter. 

4 ‘‘(D) The committee may not receive any referral 

5 from the board of the Office of Congressional Ethics with6 in 60 days before an election in which the subject of the 

7 referral is a candidate. The committee may delay any re8 porting requirement under this subparagraph that falls 

9 within that 60-day period until the end of such period and 

10 in that case, for purposes of subdivision (A), days within 

11 the 60-day period shall not be counted. 

12 ‘‘(E) If, at the close of any applicable period for a 

13 reporting requirement under this subparagraph with re14 spect to a referral from the board of the Office of Congres15 sional Ethics, the vote of the committee is a tie or the 

16 committee fails to act, the report and the findings of the 

17 board shall be made public by the committee, along with 

18 a public statement by the chairman explaining the status 

19 of the matter.’’. 

20 (3) At the end, add the following new para21 graph: 

22 ‘‘(r) Upon receipt of any written notification from the 

23 board of the Office of Congressional Ethics that the board 

24 is undertaking a review of any alleged conduct of any 

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1 mittee is investigating such matter, the committee may at 

2 any time so notify the board and request that the board 

3 cease its review and refer the matter to the committee for 

4 its consideration. If at the end of the applicable time pe5 riod (including any permissible extension) the committee 

6 has not reached a final resolution of the matter or has 

7 not referred the matter to the appropriate Federal or 

8 State authorities, the committee shall so notify the board 

9 of the Office of Congressional Ethics in writing. The com10 mittee may not request the same matter from the board 

11 more than one time.’’. 

12 SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

13 This resolution and the amendments made by it shall 

14 take effect on the date of its adoption, except that the 

15 Office of Congressional Ethics shall not undertake any re16 view of any alleged violation by a Member, officer, or em17 ployee of the House of any law, rule, regulation, or other 

18 standard of conduct applicable to the conduct of such 

19 Member, officer, or employee in the performance of his 

20 duties or the discharge of his responsibilities before 120 

21 days after the date of adoption of this resolution. 

Æ 


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