IV

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. RES. 168

To implement the recommendations of the bipartisan House Ethics Reform

Task Force.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 18, 1997

Mr. LIVINGSTON (for himself and Mr. CARDIN) submitted the following

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Rules

RESOLUTION

To implement the recommendations of the bipartisan House

Ethics Reform Task Force.

1 Resolved,

2 SECTION 1. USE OF NON-COMMITTEE MEMBERS.

3 (a) RULES AMENDMENT.—Clause 6(a) of rule X of

4 the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended by

5 adding at the end the following new subparagraph:

6 ‘‘(3)(A) At the beginning of each Congress—

7 ‘‘(i) the Speaker (or his designee) shall des8 ignate a list of 10 Members from the majority party;

9 and
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1 ‘‘(ii) the minority leader (or his designee) shall

2 designate a list of 10 Members from the minority

3 party;

4 who are not members of the Committee on Standards of

5 Official Conduct and who may be assigned to serve as a

6 member of an investigative subcommittee of that commit7 tee during that Congress. Members so chosen shall be an8 nounced to the House.

9 ‘‘(B) Whenever the chairman and ranking minority

10 member of the Committee on Standards of Official Con11 duct jointly determine that Members designated under

12 subdivision (A) should be assigned to serve on an inves13 tigative subcommittee of that committee, they shall each

14 select the same number of Members of his respective party

15 from the list to serve on that subcommittee.’’.

16 (b) CONFORMING RULES AMENDMENT.—Clause

17 6(b)(2)(A) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Rep18 resentatives is amended by inserting after the first sen19 tence the following new sentence: ‘‘Service on an investiga20 tive subcommittee of the Committee on Standards of Offi21 cial Conduct pursuant to paragraph (a)(3) shall not be

22 counted against the limitation on subcommittee service.’’.
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1 SEC. 2. DURATION OF SERVICE ON THE COMMITTEE ON

2 STANDARDS OF OFFICIAL CONDUCT.

3 The second sentence of clause 6(a)(2) of rule X of

4 the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended to

5 read as follows: ‘‘No Member shall serve as a member of

6 the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct for more

7 than two Congresses in any period of three successive Con8 gresses (disregarding for this purpose any service per9 formed as a member of such committee for less than a

10 full session in any Congress), except that a Member hav11 ing served on the committee for two Congresses shall be

12 eligible for election to the committee as chairman or rank13 ing minority member for one additional Congress. Not less

14 than two Members from each party shall rotate off the

15 committee at the end of each Congress.’’.

16 SEC. 3. COMMITTEE AGENDAS.

17 The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct

18 shall adopt rules providing that the chairman shall estab19 lish the agenda for meetings of the committee, but shall

20 not preclude the ranking minority member from placing

21 any item on the agenda.

22 SEC. 4. COMMITTEE STAFF.

23 (a) COMMITTEE RULES.—The Committee on Stand24 ards of Official Conduct shall adopt rules providing that:

25 (1)(A) The staff is to be assembled and re26 tained as a professional, nonpartisan staff.
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1 (B) Each member of the staff shall be profes2 sional and demonstrably qualified for the position

3 for which he is hired.

4 (C) The staff as a whole and each member of

5 the staff shall perform all official duties in a non6 partisan manner.

7 (D) No member of the staff shall engage in any

8 partisan political activity directly affecting any con9 gressional or presidential election.

10 (E) No member of the staff or outside counsel

11 may accept public speaking engagements or write for

12 publication on any subject that is in any way related

13 to his or her employment or duties with the commit14 tee without specific prior approval from the chair15 man and ranking minority member.

16 (F) No member of the staff or outside counsel

17 may make public, unless approved by an affirmative

18 vote of a majority of the members of the committee,

19 any information, document, or other material that is

20 confidential, derived from executive session, or clas21 sified and that is obtained during the course of em22 ployment with the committee.

23 (2)(A) All staff members shall be appointed by

24 an affirmative vote of a majority of the members of

25 the committee. Such vote shall occur at the first
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1 meeting of the membership of the committee during

2 each Congress and as necessary during the Con3 gress.

4 (B) Subject to the approval of Committee on

5 House Oversight, the committee may retain counsel

6 not employed by the House of Representatives when7 ever the committee determines, by an affirmative

8 vote of a majority of the members of the committee,

9 that the retention of outside counsel is necessary

10 and appropriate.

11 (C) If the committee determines that it is nec12 essary to retain staff members for the purpose of a

13 particular investigation or other proceeding, then

14 such staff shall be retained only for the duration of

15 that particular investigation or proceeding.

16 (3) Outside counsel may be dismissed prior to

17 the end of a contract between the committee and

18 such counsel only by an affirmative vote of a major19 ity of the members of the committee.

20 (4) Only subparagraphs (C), (E), and (F) of

21 paragraph (1) shall apply to shared staff.

22 (b) ADDITIONAL COMMITTEE STAFF.—In addition to

23 any other staff provided for by law, rule, or other author24 ity, with respect to the Committee on Standards of Official

25 Conduct, the chairman and ranking minority member each
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1 may appoint one individual as a shared staff member from

2 his or her personal staff to perform service for the commit3 tee. Such shared staff may assist the chairman or ranking

4 minority member on any subcommittee on which he serves.

5 SEC. 5. MEETINGS AND HEARINGS.

6 (a) HOUSE RULES.—(1) Clause 4(e)(3) of rule X of

7 the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended to

8 read as follows:

9 ‘‘(3)(A) Notwithstanding clause 2(g)(1) of rule XI,

10 each meeting of the Committee on Standards of Official

11 Conduct or any subcommittee thereof shall occur in execu12 tive session, unless the committee or subcommittee by an

13 affirmative vote of a majority of its members opens the

14 meeting to the public.

15 ‘‘(B) Notwithstanding clause 2(g)(2) of rule XI, hear16 ings of an adjudicatory subcommittee or sanction hearings

17 held by the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct

18 shall be held in open session unless the subcommittee or

19 committee, in open session by an affirmative vote of a ma20 jority of its members, closes all or part of the remainder

21 of the hearing on that day to the public.’’.

22 (2)(A) The first sentence of clause 2(g)(1) of rule XI

23 of the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended

24 by inserting ‘‘(except the Committee on Standards of Offi25 cial Conduct)’’ after ‘‘thereof’’.
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1 (B) The first sentence of clause 2(g)(2) of rule XI

2 of the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended

3 by inserting ‘‘(except the Committee on Standards of Offi4 cial Conduct)’’ after ‘‘thereof’’.

5 (b) COMMITTEE RULES.—The Committee on Stand6 ards of Official Conduct shall adopt rules providing that—

7 (1) all meetings of the committee or any sub8 committee thereof shall occur in executive session

9 unless the committee or subcommittee by an affirm10 ative vote of a majority of its members opens the

11 meeting or hearing to the public; and

12 (2) any hearing held by an adjudicatory sub13 committee or any sanction hearing held by the com14 mittee shall be open to the public unless the commit15 tee or subcommittee by an affirmative vote of a ma16 jority of its members closes the hearing to the pub17 lic.

18 SEC. 6. CONFIDENTIALITY OATHS.

19 Clause 4(e) of rule X of the Rules of the House of

20 Representatives is amended by adding at the end the fol21 lowing:

22 ‘‘(4) Before any member, officer, or employee of the

23 Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, including

24 members of any subcommittee of the committee selected

25 pursuant to clause 6(a)(3) and shared staff, may have ac-
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1 cess to information that is confidential under the rules of

2 the committee, the following oath (or affirmation) shall

3 be executed:

4 ‘I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will not dis5 close, to any person or entity outside the Committee

6 on Standards of Official Conduct, any information

7 received in the course of my service with the com8 mittee, except as authorized by the committee or in

9 accordance with its rules.’

10 Copies of the executed oath shall be retained by the Clerk

11 of the House as part of the records of the House. This

12 subparagraph establishes a standard of conduct within the

13 meaning of subparagraph (1)(B). Breaches of confiden14 tiality shall be investigated by the Committee on Stand15 ards of Official Conduct and appropriate action shall be

16 taken.’’.

17 SEC. 7. PUBLIC DISCLOSURE

18 The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct

19 shall adopt rules providing that, unless otherwise deter20 mined by a vote of the committee, only the chairman or

21 ranking minority member, after consultation with each

22 other, may make public statements regarding matters be23 fore the committee or any subcommittee thereof.
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1 SEC. 8. CONFIDENTIALITY OF COMMITTEE VOTES.

2 (a) RECORDS.—The last sentence in clause 2(e)(1)

3 of rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives

4 is amended by adding before the period at the end the

5 following: ‘‘, except that in the case of rollcall votes in

6 the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct taken in

7 executive session, the result of any such vote shall not be

8 made available for inspection by the public without an af9 firmative vote of a majority of the members of the commit10 tee’’.

11 (b) REPORTS.—Clause 2(l)(2)(B) of rule XI of the

12 Rules of the House of Representatives is amended by add13 ing at the end the following new sentence: ‘‘The preceding

14 sentence shall not apply to votes taken in executive session

15 by the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.’’.

16 SEC. 9. FILINGS BY NON-MEMBERS OF INFORMATION OF17 FERED AS A COMPLAINT.

18 (a) FILINGS SPONSORED BY MEMBERS.—Clause

19 4(e)(2)(B) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Rep20 resentatives is amended by striking ‘‘or submitted to’’, by

21 inserting ‘‘(I)’’ after ‘‘(i)’’, by striking ‘‘a complaint’’ and

22 inserting ‘‘information offered as a complaint’’, and by

23 adding after subdivision (I) the following new subdivision:

24 ‘‘(II) upon receipt of information offered as a

25 complaint, in writing and under oath, from an indi26 vidual not a Member of the House provided that a
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1 Member of the House certifies in writing to the com2 mittee that he or she believes the information is sub3 mitted in good faith and warrants the review and

4 consideration of the committee, or’’.

5 (b) DIRECT FILING.—Clause 4(e)(2)(B)(ii) of rule X

6 of the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended

7 to read as follows:

8 ‘‘(ii) upon receipt of information offered as a

9 complaint, in writing and under oath, directly from

10 an individual not a Member of the House.’’.

11 SEC. 10. REQUIREMENTS TO CONSTITUTE A COMPLAINT.

12 (a) PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS.—The Committee

13 on Standards of Official Conduct shall amend its rules re14 garding procedural requirements governing information

15 submitted as a complaint pursuant to clause 4(e)(2)(B)(ii)

16 of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives

17 to provide that—

18 (1) an individual who submits information to

19 the committee offered as a complaint must either

20 have personal knowledge of conduct which is the

21 basis of the violation alleged in the information, or

22 base the information offered as a complaint upon—

23 (A) information received from another in24 dividual who the complainant has a good faith
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1 reason to believe has personal knowledge of

2 such conduct; or

3 (B) his personal review of—

4 (i) documents kept in the ordinary

5 course of business, government, or per6 sonal affairs; or

7 (ii) photographs, films, videotapes, or

8 recordings;

9 that contain information regarding conduct

10 which is the basis of a violation alleged in the

11 information offered as a complaint;

12 (2) a complainant or an individual from whom

13 the complainant obtains information will be found to

14 have personal knowledge of conduct which is the

15 basis of the violation alleged in the information of16 fered as a complaint if the complainant or that indi17 vidual witnessed or was a participant in such con18 duct; and

19 (3) an individual who submits information of20 fered as a complaint consisting solely of information

21 contained in a news or opinion source or publication

22 that he believes to be true does not have the req23 uisite personal knowledge.

24 (b) TIME FOR DETERMINATION.—The Committee on

25 Standards of Official Conduct shall amend its rules re-
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1 garding complaints to provide that whenever information

2 offered as a complaint is submitted to the committee, the

3 chairman and ranking minority member shall have 14 cal4 endar days or 5 legislative days, whichever occurs first,

5 to determine whether the information meets the require6 ments of the committee’s rules for what constitutes a com7 plaint.

8 SEC. 11. DUTIES OF CHAIRMAN AND RANKING MINORITY

9 MEMBER REGARDING PROPERLY FILED COM10 PLAINTS.

11 (a) COMMITTEE RULES.—The Committee on Stand12 ards of Official Conduct shall adopt rules providing that

13 whenever the chairman and ranking minority member

14 jointly determine that information submitted to the com15 mittee meets the requirements of the committee’s rules for

16 what constitutes a complaint, they shall have 45 calendar

17 days or 5 legislative days, whichever is later, after the date

18 that the chairman and ranking minority member deter19 mine that information filed meets the requirements of the

20 committee’s rules for what constitutes a complaint, unless

21 the committee by an affirmative vote of a majority of its

22 members votes otherwise, to—

23 (1) recommend to the committee that it dispose

24 of the complaint, or any portion thereof, in any

25 manner that does not require action by the House,
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1 which may include dismissal of the complaint or res2 olution of the complaint by a letter to the Member,

3 officer, or employee of the House against whom the

4 complaint is made;

5 (2) establish an investigative subcommittee; or

6 (3) request that the committee extend the appli7 cable 45-calendar day or 5-legislative day period by

8 one additional 45-calendar day period when they de9 termine more time is necessary in order to make a

10 recommendation under paragraph (1).

11 (b) HOUSE RULES.—Clause 4(e)(2)(A) of rule X of

12 the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended by

13 inserting ‘‘(i)’’ after ‘‘(A)’’, by striking ‘‘and no’’ and in14 serting ‘‘and, except as provided by subdivision (ii), no’’,

15 and by adding at the end the following:

16 ‘‘(ii)(I) Upon the receipt of information offered as a

17 complaint that is in compliance with this rule and the com18 mittee rules, the chairman and ranking minority member

19 may jointly appoint members to serve as an investigative

20 subcommittee.

21 ‘‘(II) The chairman and ranking minority member of

22 the committee may jointly gather additional information

23 concerning alleged conduct which is the basis of a com24 plaint or of information offered as a complaint until they

25 have established an investigative subcommittee or the
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1 chairman or ranking minority member has placed on the

2 committee agenda the issue of whether to establish an in3 vestigative subcommittee.’’.

4 (c) DISPOSITION OF PROPERLY FILED COMPLAINTS

5 BY CHAIRMAN AND RANKING MINORITY MEMBER IF NO

6 ACTION TAKEN BY THEM WITHIN PRESCRIBED TIME

7 LIMIT.—The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct

8 shall adopt rules providing that if the chairman and rank9 ing minority member jointly determine that information

10 submitted to the committee meets the requirements of the

11 committee rules for what constitutes a complaint, and the

12 complaint is not disposed of within the applicable time pe13 riods under subsection (a), then they shall establish an

14 investigative subcommittee and forward the complaint, or

15 any portion thereof, to that subcommittee for its consider16 ation. However, if, at any time during those periods, either

17 the chairman or ranking minority member places on the

18 agenda the issue of whether to establish an investigative

19 subcommittee, then an investigative subcommittee may be

20 established only by an affirmative vote of a majority of

21 the members of the committee.

22 (d) HOUSE RULES.—Clause 4(e)(2)(B) of rule X of

23 the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended by

24 adding at the end the following new sentences:
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1 ‘‘If a complaint is not disposed of within the applicable

2 time periods set forth in the rules of the Committee on

3 Standards of Official Conduct, then the chairman and

4 ranking minority member shall jointly establish an inves5 tigative subcommittee and forward the complaint, or any

6 portion thereof, to that subcommittee for its consideration.

7 However, if, at any time during those periods, either the

8 chairman or ranking minority member places on the agen9 da the issue of whether to establish an investigative sub10 committee,then an investigative subcommittee may be es11 tablished only by an affirmative vote of a majority of the

12 members of the committee.’’.

13 SEC. 12. DUTIES OF CHAIRMAN AND RANKING MINORITY

14 MEMBER REGARDING INFORMATION NOT

15 CONSTITUTING A COMPLAINT.

16 The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct

17 shall adopt rules providing that whenever the chairman

18 and ranking minority member jointly determine that infor19 mation submitted to the committee does not meet the re20 quirements for what constitutes a complaint set forth in

21 the committee rules, they may—

22 (1) return the information to the complainant

23 with a statement that it fails to meet the require24 ments for what constitutes a complaint set forth in

25 the committee’s rules; or
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1 (2) recommend to the committee that it author2 ize the establishment of an investigative subcommit3 tee.

4 SEC. 13. INVESTIGATIVE AND ADJUDICATORY SUBCOMMIT5 TEES.

6 The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct

7 shall adopt rules providing that—

8 (1)(A) investigative subcommittees shall be

9 comprised of 4 Members (with equal representation

10 from the majority and minority parties) whenever

11 such subcommittee is established pursuant to the

12 rules of the committee; and

13 (B) adjudicatory subcommittees shall be com14 prised of the members of the committee who did not

15 serve on the investigative subcommittee (with equal

16 representation from the majority and minority par17 ties) whenever such subcommittee is established pur18 suant to the rules of the committee;

19 (2) at the time of appointment, the chairman

20 shall designate one member of the subcommittee to

21 serve as chairman and the ranking minority member

22 shall designate one member of the subcommittee to

23 serve as the ranking minority member of the inves24 tigative subcommittee or adjudicatory subcommittee;

25 and
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1 (3) the chairman and ranking minority member

2 of the committee may serve as members of an inves3 tigative subcommittee, but may not serve as non-vot4 ing, ex officio members.

5 SEC. 14. STANDARD OF PROOF FOR ADOPTION OF STATE6 MENT OF ALLEGED VIOLATION.

7 The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct

8 shall amend its rules to provide that an investigative sub9 committee may adopt a statement of alleged violation only

10 if it determines by an affirmative vote of a majority of

11 the members of the committee that there is substantial

12 reason to believe that a violation of the Code of Official

13 Conduct, or of a law, rule, regulation, or other standard

14 of conduct applicable to the performance of official duties

15 or the discharge of official responsibilities by a Member,

16 officer, or employee of the House of Representatives has

17 occurred.

18 SEC. 15. SUBCOMMITTEE POWERS.

19 (a) SUBPOENA POWER.—

20 (1) HOUSE RULES.—Clause 2(m)(2)(A) of rule

21 XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives is

22 amended—

23 (A) in the second sentence by striking

24 ‘‘The’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided by

25 the next sentence, the’’; and
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1 (B) by inserting after the second sentence

2 the following new sentence: ‘‘In the case of the

3 Committee on Standards of Official Conduct or

4 any subcommittee thereof, a subpoena may be

5 authorized and issued by the committee only

6 when authorized by a majority of the members

7 voting (a majority being present) or by a sub8 committee only when authorized by an affirma9 tive vote of a majority of its members.’’.

10 (2) COMMITTEE RULES.—The Committee on

11 Standards of Official Conduct shall adopt rules pro12 viding that an investigative subcommittee or an ad13 judicatory subcommittee may authorize and issue

14 subpoenas only when authorized by an affirmative

15 vote of a majority of the members of the subcommit16 tee.

17 (b) EXPANSION OF SCOPE OF INVESTIGATIONS.—

18 The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct shall

19 adopt rules providing that an investigative subcommittee

20 may, upon an affirmative vote of a majority of its mem21 bers, expand the scope of its investigation without the ap22 proval of the committee.

23 (c) AMENDMENTS OF STATEMENTS OF ALLEGED

24 VIOLATION.—The Committee on Standards of Official

25 Conduct shall adopt rules to provide that—
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1 (1) an investigative subcommittee may, upon an

2 affirmative vote of a majority of its members, amend

3 its statement of alleged violation anytime before the

4 statement of alleged violation is transmitted to the

5 committee; and

6 (2) if an investigative subcommittee amends its

7 statement of alleged violation, the respondent shall

8 be notified in writing and shall have 30 calendar

9 days from the date of that notification to file an an10 swer to the amended statement of alleged violation.

11 SEC. 16. DUE PROCESS RIGHTS OF RESPONDENTS.

12 The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct

13 shall amend its rules to provide that—

14 (1) not less than 10 calendar days before a

15 scheduled vote by an investigative subcommittee on

16 a statement of alleged violation, the subcommittee

17 shall provide the respondent with a copy of the

18 statement of alleged violation it intends to adopt to19 gether with all evidence it intends to use to prove

20 those charges which it intends to adopt, including

21 documentary evidence, witness testimony, memo22 randa of witness interviews, and physical evidence,

23 unless the subcommittee by an affirmative vote of a

24 majority of its members decides to withhold certain

25 evidence in order to protect a witness, but if such
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1 evidence is withheld, the subcommittee shall inform

2 the respondent that evidence is being withheld and

3 of the count to which such evidence relates;

4 (2) neither the respondent nor his counsel shall,

5 directly or indirectly, contact the subcommittee or

6 any member thereof during the period of time set

7 forth in paragraph (1) except for the sole purpose of

8 settlement discussions where counsels for the re9 spondent and the subcommittee are present;

10 (3) if, at any time after the issuance of a state11 ment of alleged violation, the committee or any sub12 committee thereof determines that it intends to use

13 evidence not provided to a respondent under para14 graph (1) to prove the charges contained in the

15 statement of alleged violation (or any amendment

16 thereof), such evidence shall be made immediately

17 available to the respondent, and it may be used in

18 any further proceeding under the committee’s rules;

19 (4) evidence provided pursuant to paragraph

20 (1) or (3) shall be made available to the respondent

21 and his or her counsel only after each agrees, in

22 writing, that no document, information, or other ma23 terials obtained pursuant to that paragraph shall be

24 made public until—
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1 (A) such time as a statement of alleged

2 violation is made public by the committee if the

3 respondent has waived the adjudicatory hear4 ing; or

5 (B) the commencement of an adjudicatory

6 hearing if the respondent has not waived an ad7 judicatory hearing;

8 but the failure of respondent and his counsel to so

9 agree in writing, and therefore not receive the evi10 dence, shall not preclude the issuance of a statement

11 of alleged violation at the end of the period referred

12 to in paragraph (1);

13 (5) a respondent shall receive written notice

14 whenever—

15 (A) the chairman and ranking minority

16 member determine that information the com17 mittee has received constitutes a complaint;

18 (B) a complaint or allegation is transmit19 ted to an investigative subcommittee;

20 (C) that subcommittee votes to authorize

21 its first subpoena or to take testimony under

22 oath, whichever occurs first; and

23 (D) an investigative subcommittee votes to

24 expand the scope of its investigation;
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1 (6) whenever an investigative subcommittee

2 adopts a statement of alleged violation and a re3 spondent enters into an agreement with that sub4 committee to settle a complaint on which that state5 ment is based, that agreement, unless the respond6 ent requests otherwise, shall be in writing and

7 signed by the respondent and respondent’s counsel,

8 the chairman and ranking minority member of the

9 subcommittee, and the outside counsel, if any;

10 (7) statements or information derived solely

11 from a respondent or his counsel during any settle12 ment discussions between the committee or a sub13 committee thereof and the respondent shall not be

14 included in any report of the subcommittee or the

15 committee or otherwise publicly disclosed without

16 the consent of the respondent; and

17 (8) whenever a motion to establish an investiga18 tive subcommittee does not prevail, the committee

19 shall promptly send a letter to the respondent in20 forming him of such vote.

21 SEC. 17. COMMITTEE REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

22 The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct

23 shall amend its rules to provide that—

24 (1) whenever an investigative subcommittee

25 does not adopt a statement of alleged violation and
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1 transmits a report to that effect to the committee,

2 the committee may by an affirmative vote of a ma3 jority of its members transmit such report to the

4 House of Representatives; and

5 (2) whenever an investigative subcommittee

6 adopts a statement of alleged violation, the respond7 ent admits to the violations set forth in such state8 ment, the respondent waives his or her right to an

9 adjudicatory hearing, and the respondent’s waiver is

10 approved by the committee—

11 (A) the subcommittee shall prepare a re12 port for transmittal to the committee, a final

13 draft of which shall be provided to the respond14 ent not less than 15 calendar days before the

15 subcommittee votes on whether to adopt the re16 port;

17 (B) the respondent may submit views in

18 writing regarding the final draft to the sub19 committee within 7 calendar days of receipt of

20 that draft;

21 (C) the subcommittee shall transmit a re22 port to the committee regarding the statement

23 of alleged violation together with any views sub24 mitted by the respondent pursuant to subpara25 graph (B), and the committee shall make the
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1 report together with the respondent’s views

2 available to the public before the commence3 ment of any sanction hearing; and

4 (D) the committee shall by an affirmative

5 vote of a majority of its members issue a report

6 and transmit such report to the House of Rep7 resentatives, together with the respondent’s

8 views previously submitted pursuant to sub9 paragraph (B) and any additional views re10 spondent may submit for attachment to the

11 final report; and

12 (3) members of the committee shall have not

13 less than 72 hours to review any report transmitted

14 to the committee by an investigative subcommittee

15 before both the commencement of a sanction hearing

16 and the committee vote on whether to adopt the re17 port.

18 SEC. 18. REFERRALS TO FEDERAL OR STATE AUTHORITIES.

19 Clause 4(e)(1)(C) of rule X of the Rules of the House

20 of Representatives is amended by striking ‘‘with the ap21 proval of the House’’ and inserting ‘‘either with the ap22 proval of the House or by an affirmative vote of two-thirds

23 of the members of the committee’’.
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1 SEC. 19. FRIVOLOUS FILINGS.

2 Clause 4(e) of rule X of the Rules of the House of

3 Representatives is amended by adding at the end the fol4 lowing:

5 ‘‘(5)(A) If a complaint or information offered as a

6 complaint is deemed frivolous by an affirmative vote of

7 a majority of the members of the Committee on Standards

8 of Official Conduct, the committee may take such action

9 as it, by an affirmative vote of a majority of its members,

10 deems appropriate in the circumstances.

11 ‘‘(B) Complaints filed before the One Hundred Fifth

12 Congress may not be deemed frivolous by the Committee

13 on Standards of Official Conduct.’’.

14 SEC. 20. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.

15 The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct

16 shall—

17 (1) clarify its rules to provide that whenever the

18 committee votes to authorize an investigation on its

19 own initiative, the chairman and ranking minority

20 member shall establish an investigative subcommit21 tee to undertake such investigation;

22 (2) revise its rules to refer to hearings held by

23 an adjudicatory subcommittee as adjudicatory hear24 ings; and
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1 (3) make such other amendments to its rules as

2 necessary to conform such rules to this resolution.

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