IV
House Calendar No. 120
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. RES. 250
[Report No. 104–337]
To amend the Rules of the House of Representatives to provide for gift
reform.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 30, 1995
Mrs. WALDHOLTZ (for herself, Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin, Mr. SHAYS, Mr.
MINGE, Mr. DEAL of Georgia, Mr. KLUG, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr. LUTHER,
Mr. RAMSTAD, Ms. DUNN of Washington, Mr. INGLIS of South Carolina,
Mr. FORBES, Mr. LOBIONDO, Mr. SMITH of Michigan, Mr. HAYWORTH,
Mr. GANSKE, Mr. SANFORD, Mr. CANADY of Florida, Mr. WAMP, and
Mr. HOLDEN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to
the Committee on Rules
NOVEMBER 14, 1995
Additional sponsors: Mr. POMEROY, Mr. BENTSEN, Mr. CASTLE, Mr.
POSHARD, Mr. UPTON, Mr. BLUTE, Ms. RIVERS, Mr. MCHALE, and Mr.
LEVIN
NOVEMBER 14, 1995
Reported with amendments, referred to the House Calendar and ordered to
be printed
[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic]
RESOLUTION
To amend the Rules of the House of Representatives to
provide for gift reform.
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Resolved,
SECTION 1. AMENDMENT TO HOUSE RULES.
Rule LI LII of the Rules of the House of Representa-
tives is amended to read as follows:
‘‘RULE LI LII
‘‘GIFT RULE
‘‘1. (a)(1) No Member, officer, or employee of the
House of Representatives shall knowingly accept a gift ex-
cept as provided in this rule.
‘‘(2) A Member, officer, or employee may accept a
gift (other than cash or cash equivalent) which the Mem-
ber, officer, or employee reasonably and in good faith be-
lieves to have a value of less than $50, and a cumulative
value from one source during a calendar year of less than
$100. No gift with a value below $10 shall count toward
the $100 annual limit. No formal recordkeeping is re-
quired by this subparagraph, but a Member, officer, or
employee shall make a good faith effort to comply with
this subparagraph.
‘‘(b)(1) For the purpose of this rule, the term ‘gift’
means any gratuity, favor, discount, entertainment, hospi-
tality, loan, forbearance, or other item having monetary
value. The term includes gifts of services, training, trans-
portation, lodging, and meals, whether provided in kind,
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by purchase of a ticket, payment in advance, or reimburse-
ment after the expense has been incurred.
‘‘(2)(A) A gift to a family member of a Member, offi-
cer, or employee, or a gift to any other individual based
on that individual’s relationship with the Member, officer,
or employee, shall be considered a gift to the Member, offi-
cer, or employee if it is given with the knowledge and ac-
quiescence of the Member, officer, or employee and the
Member, officer, or employee has reason to believe the gift
was given because of the official position of the Member,
officer, or employee.
‘‘(B) If food or refreshment is provided at the same
time and place to both a Member, officer, or employee and
the spouse or dependent thereof, only the food or refresh-
ment provided to the Member, officer, or employee shall
be treated as a gift for purposes of this rule.
‘‘(c) The restrictions in paragraph (a) shall not apply
to the following:
‘‘(1) Anything for which the Member, officer, or
employee pays the market value, or does not use and
promptly returns to the donor.
‘‘(2) A contribution, as defined in section
301(8) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of
1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) that is lawfully made
under that Act, a lawful contribution for election to
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a State or local government office limited as pre-
scribed by section 301(8)(B) of such Act, or attend-
ance at a fundraising event sponsored by a political
organization described in section 527(e) of the Inter-
nal Revenue Code of 1986.
‘‘(3) A gift from a relative as described in sec-
tion 109(5)(16) of title I of the Ethics in Govern-
ment Act of 1978 (Public Law 95–521).
‘‘(4)(A) Anything provided by an individual on
the basis of a personal friendship unless the Mem-
ber, officer, or employee has reason to believe that,
under the circumstances, the gift was provided be-
cause of the official position of the Member, officer,
or employee and not because of the personal friend-
ship.
‘‘(B) In determining whether a gift is provided
on the basis of personal friendship, the Member, of-
ficer, or employee shall consider the circumstances
under which the gift was offered, such as:
‘‘(i) The history of the relationship be-
tween the individual giving the gift and the re-
cipient of the gift, including any previous ex-
change of gifts between such individuals.
‘‘(ii) Whether to the actual knowledge of
the Member, officer, or employee the individual
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who gave the gift personally paid for the gift or
sought a tax deduction or business reimburse-
ment for the gift.
‘‘(iii) Whether to the actual knowledge of
the Member, officer, or employee the individual
who gave the gift also at the same time gave
the same or similar gifts to other Members, of-
ficers, or employees.
‘‘(5) Except as provided in clause 3(c), a con-
tribution or other payment to a legal expense fund
established for the benefit of a Member, officer, or
employee that is otherwise lawfully made in accord-
ance with the restrictions and disclosure require-
ments of the Committee on Standards of Official
Conduct.
‘‘(6) Any gift from another Member, officer, or
employee of the Senate or the House of Representa-
tives.
‘‘(7) Food, refreshments, lodging, transpor-
tation, and other benefits—
‘‘(A) resulting from the outside business or
employment activities (or other outside activi-
ties that are not connected to the duties of the
Member, officer, or employee as an officeholder)
of the Member, officer, or employee, or the
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spouse of the Member, officer, or employee, if
such benefits have not been offered or enhanced
because of the official position of the Member,
officer, or employee and are customarily pro-
vided to others in similar circumstances;
‘‘(B) customarily provided by a prospective
employer in connection with bona fide employ-
ment discussions; or
‘‘(C) provided by a political organization
described in section 527(e) of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986 in connection with a fund-
raising or campaign event sponsored by such an
organization.
‘‘(8) Pension and other benefits resulting from
continued participation in an employee welfare and
benefits plan maintained by a former employer.
‘‘(9) Informational materials that are sent to
the office of the Member, officer, or employee in the
form of books, articles, periodicals, other written
materials, audiotapes, videotapes, or other forms of
communication.
‘‘(10) Awards or prizes which are given to com-
petitors in contests or events open to the public, in-
cluding random drawings.
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‘‘(11) Honorary degrees (and associated travel,
food, refreshments, and entertainment) and other
bona fide, nonmonetary awards presented in recogni-
tion of public service (and associated food, refresh-
ments, and entertainment provided in the presen-
tation of such degrees and awards).
‘‘(12) Donations of products from the State
that the Member represents that are intended pri-
marily for promotional purposes, such as display or
free distribution, and are of minimal value to any in-
dividual recipient.
‘‘(13) Training (including food and refresh-
ments furnished to all attendees as an integral part
of the training) provided to a Member, officer, or
employee, if such training is in the interest of the
House of Representatives.
‘‘(14) Bequests, inheritances, and other trans-
fers at death.
‘‘(15) Any item, the receipt of which is author-
ized by the Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act, the
Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act, or
any other statute.
‘‘(16) Anything which is paid for by the Federal
Government, by a State or local government, or se-