Source: https://ethics.house.gov/outside-employment-income/member-voting-and-other-official-activities
Timestamp: 2019-04-21 10:40:45+00:00

Document:
Voting on matters before the House is among the most fundamental of a Member’s representational duties, and historical precedent has taken the position that there is no authority to deprive a Member of the right to vote on the House floor.92 Thus, as a general matter, the decision on whether to refrain from voting on a particular matter rests with individual Members, rather than the Speaker or the Committee. However, general ethical principles and historical practice provide specific guidance as to the limited circumstances when it is advisable that a Member abstain from voting on a particular matter. Among these principles is that Members may not use their congressional position for personal financial benefit.
1. Every Member . . . shall vote on each question put, unless he has a direct personal or pecuniary interest in the event of such question.
2. (a) A Member may not authorize any other person to cast his vote or record his presence in the House or the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union.
No statute or rule requires the divestiture of private assets or holdings by Members or employees of the House upon entering their official position. Since legislation considered by Congress affects such a broad spectrum of business and economic endeavors, a Member of the House may be confronted with the possibility of voting on legislation that would have an impact upon a personal economic interest. This may arise, for example, where a bill authorizes appropriations for a project for which the contractor is a corporation in which the Member is a shareholder, or where a Member holds a kind of municipal security for which a bill would provide federal guarantees.
In addition, House precedents favor “the idea that there is no authority in the House to deprive a Member of the right to vote.”105 Given the size of today’s districts, when a Member refrains from voting, well over half a million people are denied a voice on the pending legislation.
However, while the Standards Committee has endorsed the principle that “each individual Member has the responsibility of deciding for himself whether his personal interest in pending legislation requires that he abstain from voting,”106 it did so after investigating allegations (among others) that a Member had violated the rule by not refraining from voting in a particular instance. The Committee cleared the Member of this charge, but it has occasionally advised Members, in private advisory opinions, that it would be inappropriate for them to vote or to introduce legislation directly affecting significant and uniquely held financial interests. At times a question arises as to whether the “class” to which a Member belongs with regard to a piece of legislation – such as, for example, the class of owners of a particular area of land that would be acquired by the government under the legislation – is sufficiently large to warrant the Member voting under the authorities set out above.
The provisions of House Rule 3, clause 1, as discussed in this section, apply only to Member voting on the House floor. They do not apply to other actions that Members may normally take on particular matters in connection with their official duties, such as sponsoring legislation, advocating or participating in an action by a House committee, or contacting an executive branch agency. Such actions entail a degree of advocacy above and beyond that involved in voting, and thus a Member’s decision on whether to take any such action on a matter that may affect his or her personal financial interests requires added circumspection. Moreover, such actions may implicate the rules and standards, discussed above, that prohibit the use of one’s official position for personal gain. Whenever a Member is considering taking any such action on a matter that may affect his or her personal financial interests, the Member should first contact the Standards Committee for guidance. A Member should also exercise caution before accepting a position on the board of an organization that is subject to the oversight of a committee on which the Member sits.
In addition, as described earlier in this chapter, House Rule 27, clause 4 imposes a new, additional requirement that Members who are negotiating for future employment “shall recuse” themselves “from any matter in which there is a conflict of interest or an appearance of a conflict for that Member.” Historical practice has established that, with regard to House Rule 3, there is no authority to force a House Member to abstain from voting, and the decision on whether abstention from voting was necessary has been left for individual Members to determine for themselves under the circumstances.107 At a minimum, Members faced with a vote on a matter that directly impacts a private entity with which they are negotiating would have difficulty balancing the duty they owe to their constituents with the recusal provisions of Rule 27. Members who wish to avoid such conflicts are encouraged to delay any negotiations for future employment until after their successor has been elected.
92 House Rules and Manual, supra note 31, § 672.
93 House Comm. on Standards of Official Conduct, In the Matter of Rep. Austin J. Murphy, H. Rep. 100-485, 100th Cong., 1st Sess. 3 (1987).
94 See 5 Hinds’ Precedents of the House of Representatives § 5952, at 504 (1907) (hereinafter “Hinds”).
95 House Rules and Manual, supra note 31, § 673 (citations omitted).
96 5 Hinds, supra note 94, § 5952, at 503-504.
98 8 Cannon’s Precedents of the House of Representatives § 3071, at 620 (1936).
99 Id. § 3072, at 623.
100 Id. § 3071, at 621.
101 Id. § 3072, at 623.
102 5 Hinds, supra note 94, § 5955, at 506.
103 H. Rep. 94-1364, supra note 2, at 15.
105 House Rules and Manual, supra note 31, § 672, at 374; see also 5 Hinds, supra note 94, § 5956, at 506.
106 H. Rep. 94-1364, supra note 2, at 15-16; see also 121 Cong. Rec. 38135 (Dec. 2, 1975).
107 See 5 Hinds, supra note 94, §§ 5950, 5952 at 502, 503-04.

References: § 672
 § 5952
 § 673
 § 5952
 § 3071
 § 3072
 § 3071
 § 3072
 § 5955
 § 672
 § 5956