I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2822 
To establish an Independent Ethics Commission within the House of 
Representatives composed of former Federal judges. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 21, 2007 
Mr. SESTAK introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee 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 
A BILL 
To establish an Independent Ethics Commission within the 
House of Representatives composed of former Federal judges. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Independent Ethics 
Commission Act of 2007’’. 
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF INDEPENDENT ETHICS COM-
MISSION. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established an inde-
pendent ethics commission within the House of Represent-
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atives to be known as the Independent Ethics Committee 
(in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 
(b) MEMBERSHIP AND TERMS OF OFFICE.—(1) The 
Commission shall consist of 9 commissioners, 4 appointed 
by the Speaker and 4 by the minority leader of the House, 
and one selected by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of 
the 8 appointed commissioners for a term of 5 years. No 
commissioner may serve for more than 5 years. 
(2) Commissioners shall be appointed for terms of 5 
years, except that of the commissioners first appointed, 
2 appointed by the Speaker and 2 by the minority leader 
shall be for 3-year terms and 2 appointed by the Speaker 
and 2 by the minority leader shall be for 4-year terms 
as designated by the Speaker and the minority leader at 
the time of appointment. 
(c) QUALIFICATIONS.—Only former Federal judges 
shall be eligible for appointment to the Commission. 
(1) DISQUALIFICATIONS FOR APPOINTMENTS.— 
(A) LOBBYING.—No individual who has 
been a lobbyist registered under the Lobbying 
Disclosure Act of 1995 or engages in, or is oth-
erwise employed in, lobbying of the Congress or 
who is an agent of a foreign principal registered 
under the Foreign Agents Registration Act 
within the 4-year period immediately preceding 
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appointment shall be eligible for appointment 
to, or service on, the Commission. 
(B) INCOMPATIBLE OFFICE.—No member 
of the Commission appointed under subsection 
(b) may be a Member of the House of Rep-
resentatives or Senator. 
(2) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Commission 
shall be filled in the manner in which the original 
appointment was made. 
(d) COMPENSATION.—Members shall each be entitled 
to receive the daily equivalent of the maximum annual rate 
of basic pay in effect for Level III of the Executive Sched-
ule for each day (including travel time) during which they 
are engaged in the actual performance of duties vested in 
the Commission. 
(e) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the 
Commission shall constitute a quorum. 
(f) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at the 
call a majority of its members. 
SEC. 3. DUTIES OF COMMISSION. 
(a) DUTIES.—The Commission is authorized— 
(1) to receive, monitor, and oversee financial 
disclosure and other reports filed by Members of the 
House and officers and employees of the House 
under the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, and 
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reports filed by registered lobbyists under the Lob-
bying Disclosure Act of 1995; 
(2) in accordance with the procedures set forth 
under subsection (b), to investigate any alleged vio-
lation, by a Member, officer, or employee of the 
House of Representatives, of any rule or other 
standard of conduct applicable to the conduct of 
such Member, officer, or employee under House 
rules in the performance of his duties or the dis-
charge of his responsibilities; 
(3) to present a case of probable ethics viola-
tions to the Committee on Standards of Official 
Conduct of the House of Representatives; 
(4) to make recommendations to the Committee 
on Standards of Official Conduct of the House of 
Representatives that it report to the appropriate 
Federal or State authorities any substantial evidence 
of a violation by a Member, officer, or employee of 
the House of Representatives of any law applicable 
to the performance of his duties or the discharge of 
his responsibilities, which may have been disclosed in 
an investigation by the Office; 
(5) to provide information and informal guid-
ance to Members, officers and employees of the 
House of Representatives regarding any rules and 
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other standards of conduct applicable to such indi-
viduals in their official capacities, and develop and 
carry out periodic educational briefings for Mem-
bers, officers, and employees of the House of Rep-
resentatives on those laws, rules, regulations, or 
other standards; and 
(6) to give consideration to the request of any 
Member, officer, or employee of the House of Rep-
resentatives for a formal advisory opinion or other 
formal ruling, subject to the review of the Com-
mittee on Standards of Official Conduct of the 
House of Representatives, as applicable, with respect 
to the general propriety of any current or proposed 
conduct of such Member, officer, or employee and, 
with appropriate deletions to assure the privacy of 
the individual concerned, to publish such opinion for 
the guidance of other Members, officers, and em-
ployees of the House of Representatives. 
(b) PROCEDURES FOR INITIATION OF INVESTIGA-
TIONS AND OTHER MATTERS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—An investigation may be ini-
tiated by the filing of a complaint with the Commis-
sion by a Member of the House of Representatives 
or an outside complainant, or by the Commission on 
its own initiative, based on any information in its 
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possession. The Commission shall not accept a com-
plaint concerning a Member within 90 days of an 
election involving such Member. 
(2) DEADLINE
FOR
DETERMINATION
OF
AC-
TION.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 45 days 
after receiving a complaint, the Commission 
shall make an initial determination as to wheth-
er the complaint should be dismissed or whether 
there are sufficient grounds to conduct an in-
vestigation in response to the complaint. 
(B) EXTENSION
UPON
MAJORITY
AP-
PROVAL.—The Commission may, by vote of the 
majority of its members, extend the deadline es-
tablished under subparagraph (A) to such dead-
line as it considers appropriate. 
(C) TREATMENT
OF
FRIVOLOUS
COM-
PLAINTS.—In any instance in which the Com-
mission decides to dismiss a complaint, the 
Commission may issue a determination that the 
complaint is frivolous. If the Commission issues 
such a determination, the Commission may not 
accept any future complaint filed by that same 
person and the complainant shall be required to 
pay for the costs of the Commission resulting 
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from such complaint. The Commission may 
refer the matter to the Attorney General to col-
lect such costs. 
(D) SPECIAL RULE FOR INVESTIGATIONS 
CONDUCTED
ON
COMMISSION’S
OWN
INITIA-
TIVE.—For any investigation conducted by the 
Commission at its own initiative, the Commis-
sion shall make a preliminary determination of 
whether there are sufficient grounds to conduct 
an investigation. Before making that determina-
tion, the subject of the investigation shall be 
provided by the Commission with an oppor-
tunity to submit information to the Commission 
to show that there are not sufficient grounds to 
conduct an investigation. 
SEC. 4. POWERS OF COMMISSION. 
(a) HEARINGS
AND EVIDENCE.—The Commission 
may for the purpose of carrying out this Act— 
(1) hold such hearings and sit and act at such 
times and places, take such testimony, receive such 
evidence, administer such oaths; and 
(2) subject to subsection (b), require, by sub-
poena or otherwise, the attendance and testimony of 
such witnesses and the production of such books, 
records, correspondence, memoranda, papers, and 
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documents, as the Commission may determine advis-
able. 
(b) SUBPOENAS.—A subpoena may be issued only 
with a majority of the Commission. 
(c) OBTAINING INFORMATION.—Upon request of the 
Commission, the head of any agency or instrumentality 
of the Government shall furnish information deemed nec-
essary by the Commission to enable it to carry out its du-
ties. 
(d) REFERRALS
TO
THE DEPARTMENT
OF JUS-
TICE.—Whenever the Commission has reason to believe 
that a violation of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 
may have occurred, that matter may be referred to the 
Department of Justice for it to investigate. 
(e) GENERAL AUDITS.—The Commission shall have 
the authority to conduct general audits of filings under 
the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995. 
SEC. 5. INVESTIGATIONS AND INTERACTION WITH THE 
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON STANDARDS OF OFFI-
CIAL CONDUCT. 
(a) NOTIFICATION.—Whenever the Commission de-
termines that there are sufficient grounds to conduct an 
investigation— 
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(1) the Commission shall notify the Committee 
on Standards of Official Conduct of this determina-
tion; 
(2) the applicable committee may overrule the 
determination of the Commission if, within 10 legis-
lative days— 
(A) the committee by an affirmative, roll- 
call vote of two-thirds of the full committee 
votes to overrule the determination of the Com-
mission; 
(B) the committee issues a public report 
detailing its reasoning for overruling the Com-
mission; 
(C) the vote of each member of the com-
mittee on such roll-call vote is included in the 
report; 
(D) dissenting members are allowed to 
issue their own report detailing their reasons 
for disagreeing with the majority vote; and 
(E) if the committee votes to overrule the 
determination of the Commission pursuant to 
subparagraph (B), the Commission may publish 
and make available to the general public a re-
port detailing the reasons that the Commission 
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concluded there were sufficient grounds to con-
duct an investigation. 
(b) CONDUCTING INVESTIGATIONS.—(1) If the Com-
mission determines that there are sufficient grounds to 
conduct an investigation and his determination is not over-
ruled under subsection (a)(5), the Commission shall con-
duct an investigation to determine if probable cause exists 
that a violation occurred. 
(2) As part of an investigation, the Commission 
may— 
(A) administer oaths; 
(B) issue subpoenas; 
(C) compel the attendance of witnesses and the 
production of papers, books, accounts, documents, 
and testimony; and 
(D) take the deposition of witnesses. 
(3) If a person disobeys or refuses to comply 
with a subpoena, or if a witness refuses to testify to 
a matter, he may be held in contempt of Congress. 
(c) PRESENTATION OF CASE TO HOUSE COMMITTEE 
ON STANDARDS OF OFFICIAL CONDUCT.—(1) If the Com-
mission determines, upon conclusion of an investigation, 
that probable cause exists that an ethics violation has oc-
curred, the Commission shall notify the Committee on 
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Standards of Official Conduct of the House of Representa-
tives of this determination. 
(2) The committee may overrule the determination of 
the Commission if, within 10 legislative days— 
(A) the committee by an affirmative, roll-call 
vote of two-thirds of the full committee votes to 
overrule the determination of the Commission; 
(B) the committee issues a public report detail-
ing its reasoning for overruling the Commission; 
(C) the vote of each member of the committee 
on such roll-call vote is included in the report; and 
(D) dissenting members are allowed to issue 
their own report detailing their reasons for dis-
agreeing with the majority vote. 
(3) If the committee votes to overrule the determina-
tion of the Commission pursuant to paragraph (2), the 
Commission may publish and make available to the gen-
eral public a report detailing the reasons that he concluded 
there were sufficient grounds to present such case to the 
committee. 
(4)(A) If the Commission determines there is prob-
able cause that an ethics violation has occurred and the 
Commission’s determination is not overruled, the Commis-
sion shall present the case and evidence to the Committee 
on Standards of Official Conduct of the House of Rep-
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resentatives to hear and make a determination pursuant 
to its rules. 
(B) The committee shall vote upon whether the indi-
vidual who is the subject of the investigation has violated 
any rules or other standards of conduct applicable to that 
individual in his official capacity. Such votes shall be a 
roll-call vote of the full committee, a quorum being 
present. The committee shall issue a public report which 
shall include the vote of each member of the committee 
on such roll-call vote. Dissenting members may issue their 
own report detailing their own reasons for disagreeing 
with the majority vote. 
(d) SANCTIONS.—Whenever the Committee on Stand-
ards of Official Conduct of the House of Representatives 
finds that an ethics violation has occurred the Commission 
shall recommend appropriate sanctions to the committee 
and whether a matter should be referred to the Depart-
ment of Justice for investigation. 
SEC. 6. PROCEDURAL RULES. 
(a) MAJORITY
APPROVAL.—No report or rec-
ommendation relating to the official conduct of a Member, 
officer, or employee of the House of Representatives shall 
be made by the Commission, and no investigation of such 
conduct shall be undertaken by the Commission, unless 
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approved by the affirmative vote of a majority of the mem-
bers of the Commission. 
(b) INVESTIGATIONS.—Except in the case of an in-
vestigation undertaken by the Commission on its own ini-
tiative, the Commission may undertake an investigation 
relating to the official conduct of an individual Member, 
officer, or employee of the House of Representatives 
only— 
(1) upon receipt of a complaint, in writing and 
under oath, made by or submitted to a Member of 
the House of Representatives and transmitted to the 
Commission by such Member, or 
(2) upon receipt of a complaint from the chair-
man of the Committee on Standards of Official Con-
duct of the House of Representatives, in writing and 
under oath, made by that committee. 
(c) PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN INVESTIGATIONS.—No 
investigation shall be undertaken by the Commission of 
any alleged violation of a law, rule, regulation, or standard 
of conduct not in effect at the time of the alleged violation. 
(d) DISCLOSURE.—No information or testimony re-
ceived, or the contents of a complaint or the fact of its 
filing, shall be publicly disclosed by any member of the 
Commission or staff of the Commission unless specifically 
authorized in each instance by a vote of the Commission. 
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SEC. 7. STAFF OF COMMISSION. 
The Commission may appoint and fix the compensa-
tion of such staff as the Commission considers necessary 
to perform its duties. The Commission shall be appointed 
jointly by the Speaker and minority leader and shall be 
paid at a rate not to exceed the rate of basic pay payable 
for Level III of the Executive Schedule. 
SEC. 8. AMENDMENTS TO THE RULES OF THE HOUSE TO 
CHANGE THE DUTIES OF THE COMMITTEE ON 
STANDARDS OF OFFICIAL CONDUCT. 
(a) HOUSE RULES AMENDMENTS.—Clause 3 of rule 
XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives is amend-
ed as follows: 
(1) In paragraph (a), strike subparagraphs (1), 
(2), and (3), and redesignate subparagraphs (4), 
(5), and (6), as subparagraphs (1), (2), and (3), re-
spectively. 
(2)(A) Paragraph (b)(1) is amended by striking 
‘‘(A)’’, by striking ‘‘a resolution, report, rec-
ommendation, or’’ and inserting ‘‘an’’, and by strik-
ing ‘‘, or, except as provided in subparagraph (2), 
undertake an investigation’’, and by striking subdivi-
sion (B). 
(B) Paragraph (b) is further amended by strik-
ing subparagraphs (2), (3), (4), and (5) and by re-
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designating subparagraphs (6) and (7) as subpara-
graphs (2) and (3), respectively. 
(3) Strike paragraphs (j) (k), (l), (m), (n), (o), 
(p), and (q). 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 803 of the 
Ethics Reform Act of 1989 (2 U.S.C. 29d) is amended 
by striking subsections (c) and (d). 
SEC. 9. ACTION ON COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS. 
(a) PRINTING
OF REPORTS
IN CONGRESSIONAL 
RECORD.—Upon receipt by the Committee on Standards 
of Official Conduct of the House of Representatives of any 
report of the Commission, the Speaker of the House of 
Representatives shall have the report printed in the Con-
gressional Record. 
(b) HOUSE CONSIDERATION OF INDEPENDENT ETH-
ICS COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS.—Within 14 cal-
endar days after a report referred to in subsection (a) is 
printed in the Congressional Record, that portion of the 
report recommending action by the House of Representa-
tives respecting any alleged violation, by a Member, offi-
cer, or employee of the House of Representatives, of any 
law, rule, regulation, or other standard of conduct applica-
ble to the conduct of such Member, officer, or employee 
in the performance of his duties or the discharge of his 
responsibilities shall be introduced (by request) in the 
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House by the Speaker of the House, for himself and the 
minority leader of the House in the form of a resolution. 
This resolution shall constitute a question of privilege 
under rule IX of the Rules of the House of Representa-
tives. Any Member favoring the resolution may call it up 
as a question of privilege but only on the third day after 
the calendar date upon which such Member announces to 
the House his intention to do so. 
SEC. 10. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
This Act shall take effect upon the date of its enact-
ment, except that sections 3, 4, and 8 shall take effect 
immediately prior to noon January 3, 2009. 
Æ 
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