I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2835

To limit the acceptance of gifts, meals, and travel by Members of Congress

and congressional staff, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

AUGUST 3, 1993

Ms. SHEPHERD (for herself, Mr. FINGERHUT, Mr. MANN, Ms. SCHENK, Ms.

CANTWELL, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin, Mr. KLEIN, Mr.

BECERRA, Mr. SANDERS, and Mrs. CLAYTON) introduced the following

bill; which was referred jointly to the Committees on House Administration, the Judiciary, and Standards of Official Conduct

A BILL

To limit the acceptance of gifts, meals, and travel by Members of Congress and congressional staff, 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 ‘‘Congressional Ethics

5 Reform Act of 1993’’.
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1 SEC. 2. GENERAL STANDARDS.

2 (a) GENERAL PROHIBITIONS.—Except as otherwise

3 provided in this Act, a Member or employee shall not, di4 rectly or indirectly, solicit or accept a gift from any source.

5 (b) RELATIONSHIP TO ILLEGAL GRATUITIES STAT6 UTE.—Unless accepted in violation of subsection (c)(1),

7 a gift accepted under the standards set forth in this Act

8 shall not constitute an illegal gratuity otherwise prohibited

9 by section 201(c)(1)(B) of title 18, United States Code.

10 (c) LIMITATIONS ON USE OF EXCEPTIONS.—A Mem11 ber or employee shall not—

12 (1) accept a gift in return for being influenced

13 in the performance of an official act;

14 (2) solicit or coerce the offering of a gift;

15 (3) accept gifts from the same or different

16 sources on a basis so frequent that a reasonable per17 son would be led to believe the Member or employee

18 is using his public office for private gain;

19 (4) accept a gift in violation of any statute; or

20 (5) accept vendor promotional training contrary

21 to any applicable regulations, policies, or guidance

22 relating to the procurement of supplies and services

23 for the Congress.

24 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

25 For purposes of this Act—
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1 (1) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘employee’’ means

2 an employee of the legislative branch.

3 (2) GIFT.—The term ‘‘gift’’ includes any gratu4 ity, favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality, loan,

5 forbearance, or other item having monetary value. It

6 includes services as well as gifts of training, trans7 portation, local travel, lodgings and meals, whether

8 provided in-kind, by purchase of a ticket, payment in

9 advance, or reimbursement after the expense has

10 been incurred. It does not include—

11 (A) modest items of food and refresh12 ments, such as soft drinks, coffee, and donuts,

13 offered other than as part of a meal;

14 (B) greeting cards and items with little in15 trinsic value, such as plaques, certificates and

16 trophies, which are intended solely for presen17 tation;

18 (C) loans from banks and other financial

19 institutions on terms generally available to the

20 public;

21 (D) opportunities and benefits, including

22 favorable rates and commercial discounts, avail23 able to the public or to a class consisting of all

24 Government employees, whether or not re-
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1 stricted on the basis of geographic consider2 ations;

3 (E) rewards and prizes given to competi4 tors in contests or events, including random

5 drawings, open to the public unless the Mem6 ber’s or employee’s entry into the contest or

7 event is required as part of his official duties;

8 (F) pension and other benefits resulting

9 from continued participation in a Member or

10 employee welfare and benefits plan maintained

11 by a former employer;

12 (G) anything which is paid for by the Gov13 ernment or secured by the Government under

14 Government contract;

15 (H) any gift accepted by the Congress

16 under specific statutory authority;

17 (I) anything for which the market value is

18 paid by the Member or employee; and

19 (J) any books, written materials, audio

20 tapes, videotapes, or other informational mate21 rials.

22 (3) MARKET VALUE.—The term ‘‘market

23 value’’ means the retail cost the Member or em24 ployee would incur to purchase the gift. A Member

25 or employee who cannot ascertain the market value
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1 of a gift may estimate the market value by reference

2 to the retail cost of similar items of like quality. The

3 market value of a gift of a ticket entitling the holder

4 to food, refreshments, entertainment, or any other

5 benefit shall be the face value of the ticket.

6 (4) MEMBER.—The term ‘‘Member’’ has the

7 meaning given such term in section 109(12) of the

8 Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.

9 6, sec. 109).

10 (5) SOLICITATION OR ACCEPTANCE.—(A) A gift

11 is solicited or accepted because of the Member’s or

12 employee’s official position if it is from a person

13 other than a Member or employee and if a reason14 able person with knowledge of all relevant facts

15 would conclude that it would not have been solicited,

16 offered, or given had the Member or employee not

17 held his position as a Member or employee.

18 (B) A gift which is solicited or accepted indi19 rectly includes a gift—

20 (i) given with the Member’s or employee’s

21 knowledge and acquiescence to his or her par22 ent, sibling, spouse, child, or dependent relative

23 if a reasonable person with knowledge of all rel24 evant facts would conclude that the gift was
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1 given because of that person’s relationship to

2 the Member or employee; or

3 (ii) given to any other person, including

4 any charitable organization, on the basis of des5 ignation, recommendation, or other specification

6 by the Member or employee, except as per7 mitted for the disposition of perishable items by

8 section 5(a)(2).

9 (6) ETHICS COMMITTEE.—The term Ethics

10 Committee with respect to the House means the

11 Committee on Standards of Official Conduct and

12 with respect to the Senate means the Select Com13 mittee on Ethics.

14 (7) VENDOR PROMOTIONAL TRAINING.—The

15 term ‘‘vendor promotional training’’ means training

16 provided by any person for the purpose of promoting

17 its products or services. It does not include training

18 provided under a congressional contract or by a con19 tractor to facilitate use of products or services it fur20 nishes under a congressional contract.

21 (8) PERSONAL HOSPITALITY OF AN INDIVID22 UAL.—The term ‘‘personal hospitality of an individ23 ual’’ means personal hospitality for a non-business

24 purpose by an individual who is not a corporation or

25 organization on property or facilities owned by that
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1 individual or the individual’s family and covers only

2 food and lodging. Such term does not apply if any

3 of the costs associated with the personal hospitality

4 could be deducted as a business expense or the indi5 vidual providing the personal hospitality is not

6 present.

7 SEC. 4. EXCEPTIONS.

8 The prohibitions set forth in section 2 do not apply

9 to a gift accepted under the circumstances described in

10 paragraphs (1) through (10) of this section and a gift ac11 cepted in accordance with one of those paragraphs will not

12 be deemed to violate section 2 of this Act.

13 (1) GIFTS OF $20 OR LESS.—A Member or em14 ployee may accept unsolicited gifts having an aggre15 gate market value of $20 or less per occasion, pro16 vided that the aggregate market value of individual

17 gifts received from any one person or entity under

18 the authority of this paragraph shall not exceed $50

19 in a calendar year. This exception does not apply to

20 gifts of cash or of investment interests such as

21 stock, bonds, or certificates of deposit. Where the

22 market value of a gift or the aggregate market value

23 of gifts offered on any single occasion exceeds $20,

24 the Member or employee may not pay the excess

25 value over $20 in order to accept that portion of the
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1 gift or those gifts worth $20. Where the aggregate

2 value of tangible items offered on a single occasion

3 exceeds $20, the Member or employee may decline

4 any distinct and separate item in order to accept

5 those items aggregating $20 or less.

6 (2) GIFTS BASED ON A PERSONAL RELATION7 SHIP.—A Member or employee may accept a gift

8 given under circumstances which make it clear that

9 the gift is motivated by a family relationship or per10 sonal friendship rather than the position of the

11 Member or employee. Relevant factors in making

12 such a determination include the history of the rela13 tionship and whether the family member or friend

14 personally pays for the gift.

15 (3) DISCOUNTS AND SIMILAR BENEFITS.—In

16 addition to those opportunities and benefits excluded

17 from the definition of a gift by section 3(2)(D), a

18 Member or employee may accept—

19 (A) reduced membership or other fees for

20 participation in organization activities offered

21 to all Government employees by professional or22 ganizations if the only restrictions on member23 ship relate to professional qualifications; and

24 (B) opportunities and benefits—
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1 (i) offered to members of a group or

2 class in which membership is unrelated to

3 congressional employment; or

4 (ii) offered to members of an organi5 zation, such as an employees’ association

6 or congressional credit union, in which

7 membership is related to congressional em8 ployment if the same offer is broadly avail9 able to large segments of the public

10 through organizations of similar size.

11 A Member or employee may not accept for personal

12 use any benefit to which the Government is entitled

13 as a result of an expenditure of Government funds.

14 (4) HONORARY DEGREES.—(A) A Member or

15 employee may accept an honorary degree from an in16 stitution of higher education (as defined in section

17 1141(a) of title 20, United States Code) based on a

18 written determination by the Ethics Committee that

19 the timing of the award of the degree would not

20 cause a reasonable person to question the Member’s

21 or employee’s impartiality in a matter affecting the

22 institution.

23 (B) A Member or employee who may accept an

24 honorary degree pursuant to subparagraph (A) may

25 also accept meals and entertainment given to him
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1 and to members of his family at the event at which

2 the presentation takes place.

3 (5) GIFTS BASED ON OUTSIDE BUSINESS OR

4 EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIPS.—A Member or em5 ployee may accept meals, lodgings, transportation

6 and other benefits—

7 (A) resulting from the business or employ8 ment activities of a Member’s or employee’s

9 spouse when it is clear that such benefits have

10 not been offered or enhanced because of the

11 Member’s or employee’s official position; or

12 (B) resulting from his or her outside busi13 ness or employment activities when it is clear

14 that such benefits have not been offered or en15 hanced because of his or her official status.

16 (6) POLITICAL EVENTS.—A Member or em17 ployee may accept meals, lodgings, transportation

18 and other benefits, including free attendance at

19 events, when provided in connection with active par20 ticipation in political management or political cam21 paigns by a political organization described in sec22 tion 527(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

23 (7) WIDELY ATTENDED GATHERINGS AND

24 OTHER EVENTS.—
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1 (A) SPEAKING AND SIMILAR ENGAGE2 MENTS.—When a Member or employee partici3 pates as a speaker or panel participant or oth4 erwise presents information related directly or

5 indirectly to the Congress or matters before the

6 Congress at a conference or other event, his or

7 her acceptance of an offer of free attendance at

8 the event on the day of the presentation is per9 missible when provided by the sponsor of the

10 event. The Member’s or employee’s participa11 tion in the event on that day represents a cus12 tomary and necessary part of the performance

13 of his or her responsibilities and does not in14 volve a gift to him or to the Congress.

15 (B) WIDELY ATTENDED GATHERINGS.—(i)

16 A Member or employee may accept a sponsor’s

17 unsolicited gift of free attendance at all or ap18 propriate parts of a widely attended gathering

19 in the area of the District of Columbia of mu20 tual interest to a number of parties. A gather21 ing is widely attended if, for example, it is open

22 to members from throughout a given industry

23 or profession or if those in attendance represent

24 a range of persons interested in a given matter.
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1 (ii) A gathering is not widely attended if it

2 is a congressional retreat to which a majority of

3 Members of either House of Congress or the

4 majority of the Members of a political party in

5 one or both Houses are invited and which is

6 held outside the United States Capitol grounds.

7 (C) FREE ATTENDANCE.—For purposes of

8 subparagraphs (A) and (B), free attendance

9 may include waiver of all or part of a con10 ference or other fee or the provision of food, re11 freshments, entertainment, instruction and ma12 terials furnished to all attendees as an integral

13 part of the event. It does not include travel ex14 penses, lodgings, entertainment collateral to the

15 event, or meals taken other than in a group set16 ting with all other attendees.

17 (D) COST PROVIDED BY SPONSOR OF

18 EVENT.—The cost of the Member’s or employ19 ee’s attendance will not be considered to be pro20 vided by the sponsor where a person other than

21 the sponsor designates the Member or employee

22 to be invited and bears the cost of the Mem23 ber’s or employee’s attendance through a con24 tribution or other payment intended to facilitate

25 that Member’s or employee’s attendance. Pay-
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1 ment of dues or a similar assessment to a spon2 soring organization does not constitute a pay3 ment intended to facilitate a particular Mem4 ber’s or employee’s attendance.

5 (E) ACCOMPANYING SPOUSE.—When oth6 ers in attendance will generally be accompanied

7 by spouses, a Member or employee may accept

8 a sponsor’s invitation to an accompanying

9 spouse to participate in all or a portion of the

10 event at which the Member’s or employee’s free

11 attendance is permitted under subparagraph

12 (A) or (B).

13 (8) ITEMS PRIMARILY FOR FREE DISTRIBUTION

14 TO CONSTITUENTS.—A Member or employee may

15 accept food or other items of minimal value intended

16 primarily for free distribution to visiting constitu17 ents.

18 (9) PERSONAL HOSPITALITY OF AN INDIVID19 UAL.—No Member or employee may accept more

20 than 30 days of personal hospitality in a calendar

21 year without prior written waiver from the Ethics

22 Committee.
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1 SEC. 5. PROPER DISPOSITION OF PROHIBITED GIFTS.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—A Member or employee who has

3 received a gift that cannot be accepted under this Act

4 shall—

5 (1) return any tangible item to the donor or

6 pay the donor its market value (a Member or em7 ployee who cannot ascertain the actual market value

8 of an item may estimate its market value by ref9 erence to the retail cost of similar items of like

10 quality);

11 (2) when it is not practical to return a tangible

12 item because it is perishable, the item may be given

13 to an appropriate charity or destroyed;

14 (3) for any entertainment, favor, service, bene15 fit or other intangible, reimburse the donor the mar16 ket value (subsequent reciprocation by the employee

17 does not constitute reimbursement); and

18 (4) dispose of gifts from foreign governments or

19 international organizations in accordance with rules

20 established by the Ethics Committee.

21 (b) USE OF APPROPRIATED FUNDS TO RETURN

22 GIFTS.—A Member or employee may use appropriated

23 funds and franked mail to return gifts.

24 (c) PROMPT COMPLIANCE.—A Member or employee

25 who, on his own initiative, promptly complies with the

26 requirements of this section will not be deemed to have
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1 improperly accepted an unsolicited gift. A Member or em2 ployee who promptly consults his Ethics Committee to de3 termine whether acceptance of an unsolicited gift is proper

4 and who, upon the advice of the Ethics Committee, re5 turns the gift or otherwise disposes of the gift in accord6 ance with this section, will be considered to have complied

7 with the requirements of this section on his own initiative.

8 SEC. 6. CHARITABLE DESIGNATION OF OUTSIDE EARNED

9 INCOME.

10 Subsection (c) of section 501 of the Ethics in Govern11 ment Act of 1978 is repealed.

12 SEC. 7. REPEAL OF OLD RULE.

13 Section 901 of the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 (2

14 U.S.C. 31–2) is repealed.

15 SEC. 8. ACCEPTANCE OF TRAVEL AND RELATED EXPENSES

16 FROM NON-FEDERAL SOURCES.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Ethics Committees shall pre18 scribe rules establishing the conditions under which their

19 respective Houses may accept payment, or authorize a

20 Member or employee to accept payment on the House’s

21 behalf, from non-Federal sources for travel, subsistence,

22 and related expenses with respect to attendance of the

23 Member or employee (or the spouse of such Member or

24 employee) at any meeting or similar function relating to

25 the official duties of the Member or employee. Any cash
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1 payment so accepted shall be credited to the appropriation

2 applicable to such expenses. In the case of a payment in

3 kind so accepted, a pro rata reduction shall be made in

4 any entitlement of the Member or employee to payment

5 from the Government for such expenses.

6 (b) RULES.—The rules prescribed pursuant to sub7 section (a) shall—

8 (1) in the case of a Member, require that the

9 Ethics Committee approve in advance all travel for

10 which related expenses are to be reimbursed and

11 that, in advance of such travel, a Member publish in

12 the Congressional Record the dates, itinerary, and

13 purpose of such travel, the identity of the party pro14 viding the reimbursement, and the anticipated value

15 of the reimbursement;

16 (2) in the case of an employee of the House of

17 Representatives or Senate, require that the authoriz18 ing Member approve in advance all travel for which

19 related expenses are to be reimbursed; and that, in

20 advance of such travel, the authorizing Member pub21 lish in the Congressional Record the dates, itinerary,

22 and purpose of such travel, the identity of the party

23 providing the reimbursement, and the anticipated

24 value of the reimbursement;
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1 (3) in the case of a person not covered by para2 graph (1) or (2), require that the appropriate super3 visor approve in advance all travel for which related

4 expenses are to be reimbursed;

5 (4) condition approval under paragraphs (1),

6 (2), and (3) on a determination that acceptance of

7 reimbursement would not cause a reasonable person

8 with knowledge of all the facts relevant to a particu9 lar case to question the integrity of a Member, the

10 Congress, or congressional operation; and

11 (5) prohibit reimbursement for items beyond

12 those reasonably necessary for the Member or em13 ployee to participate in the event.

14 Entertainment expenses collateral to an event are not to

15 be considered reasonably necessary under paragraph (5).

16 (c) GENERAL PROHIBITION.—Except as provided in

17 this section or any other statute, no Member, employee,

18 or House of Congress may accept payment in cash or in

19 kind for expenses referred to in subsection (a). A Mem20 ber or employee who accepts any such payment in violation

21 of the preceding sentence—

22 (1) may be required, in addition to any penalty

23 provided by law, to repay, for deposit in the general

24 fund of the Treasury, an amount equal to the

25 amount of the payment so accepted; and
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1 (2) in the case of a repayment under paragraph

2 (1), shall not be entitled to any payment from the

3 Government for such expenses.

4 (d) REPORTS.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—A Member shall, in the man6 ner provided in paragraph (2), publish in the Con7 gressional Record reports of payments of more than

8 $20 accepted under this section by the Member or

9 by an employee of the Member.

10 (2) CONTENTS.—The reports required by para11 graph (1) shall, with respect to each payment—

12 (A) specify the amount and method of pay13 ment, the name of the person making the pay14 ment, the name of the Member or employee, the

15 nature of the meeting or similar function, the

16 time and place of travel, the nature of the ex17 penses, and such other information as the Eth18 ics Committee may prescribe;

19 (B) be submitted not later than May 31 of

20 each year with respect to payments in the pre21 ceding period beginning on October 1 and end22 ing on March 31; and

23 (C) be submitted not later than November

24 30 of each year with respect to payments in the
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1 preceding period beginning on April 1 and end2 ing on September 30.

3 SEC. 9. SOLICITATION OF REGISTERED LOBBYISTS.

4 A Member or employee shall not knowingly solicit

5 contributions from any registered lobbyist for an organiza6 tion described under section 501(c) of the Internal Reve7 nue Code of 1986. For purposes of this section, the fact

8 that the name of a Member or employee is on the letter9 head of a solicitation is not sufficient to establish that the

10 named Member or employee has solicited a contribution.

11 SEC. 10. PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION OF ACT.

12 (a) CIVIL ACTION.—The Attorney General may bring

13 a civil action in any appropriate United States district

14 court against any individual who knowingly and willfully

15 accepts or solicits a gift in violation of section 2 or other16 wise violates any provision of this Act. The court in which

17 such an action is brought may assess against any such

18 individual a civil penalty in any amount, not to exceed

19 $10,000.

20 (b) COMMITTEE REFERRAL.—The Ethics Committee

21 shall refer to the Attorney General the name of any indi22 vidual which such committee has reasonable cause to be23 lieve has willfully violated any provision of this Act.

24 (c) COMMITTEE ACTION.—The Ethics Committee

25 may take any appropriate personnel or other action in ac-
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1 cordance with applicable law or regulation against any in2 dividual who violates any provision of this Act.

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