December 15, 2006
MEMORANDUM FOR ALL MEMBERS, MEMBERS-ELECT, OFFICERS, AND EMPLOYEES
FROM: Committee on Standards of Official Conduct
s/ Doc
s/ Howard L. Berman, Ranking Minority Member
SUBJECT: Member Swearing-in
Receptions and Attendance at Related Events
________________________________________________________________________
The Committee has received a number of inquiries on
the rules relating to the receptions that Members wish to hold in connection
with their swearing-in on January 3, 2007, as well as questions about the rules
that apply to the attendance of Members and staff at events held in connection
with Members taking office. The rules
that apply in these areas are summarized in this memorandum. Advice that is addressed to specific
circumstances is available by contacting the Committee.
Member
Swearing-in Receptions. Members – especially newly elected Members –
generally wish to hold a reception or similar event for their supporters in
connection with their swearing-in. The
Committee has long advised that Members may use their campaign funds to pay the
costs of such a reception, even if the reception is held in the Member’s office
or another House room.[1] Questions about the use of the Members’
Representational Allowance to hold such an event should be directed to the
Committee on House Administration.
Private individuals or entities,
such as lobbying firms, may not pay the costs of a Member’s swearing-in reception.
The payment of the costs of the event
would constitute an impermissible gift to the Member under the House gift rule
(clause 5 of House Rule 25).
Attendance
by Members and Staff at Privately-Sponsored Events. Offers of free attendance at other swearing-in
related events are fully subject to the House gift rule. Thus, a Member or staff person may accept
such an offer only if acceptance is allowed under one of the provisions of the
rule, as follows.
Members and staff generally are free to attend any reception,
i.e., an event at which the food
served is limited to hors d’oeuvres, beverages, and similar items that do not
constitute a meal. The gift rule also
allows the acceptance of a gift, including attendance at an event, having a
fair value of less than $50, subject to the overall limitation of less than
$100 in such gifts from any one source in a calendar year.
In addition, free attendance at a swearing-in related
event sponsored by an outside organization generally is permissible under the
“widely attended” event provision of the gift rule, provided that the offer was
made by the event organizer (not a person who simply bought tickets or donated
to the event) and the provision’s requirements on event size are satisfied.[2] Members and staff receiving invitations to
such events may accept on behalf of themselves and one accompanying individual
if offered by the sponsor.
Detailed information on the applicable gift rule provisions
is contained in the Committee’s Gifts
& Travel booklet, the text of which is available on the Committee’s website
at www.house.gov/ethics/Gifts_and_Travel_Chapter.htm.
* * *
Please note that the Committee’s guidance is subject
to any possible changes to the House rules in the 110th
Congress. Accordingly, Members and staff with questions on the matters
addressed above should contact the Committee after the 110th Congress has
convened to seek further guidance about any such rule changes.
Any questions on these subjects should be directed to
the Committee’s Office of Advice and Education at (202) 225-7103.
[1] See Campaign Activity booklet, at 11-12, 47.
[2]
The