CAMPAIGN ACTIVITY HIGHLIGHTS

The official allowances of House offices, and the goods and services acquired with those allowances, are to be used for official House business, and are not to be used for campaign or political purposes. Nevertheless, the following activities may occur in a House office –

• the scheduler in a House office may coordinate with those in the campaign office who schedule the Member’s campaign activities,

• the congressional office press secretary may respond to occasional or incidental questions on campaign matters,

• communications received on campaign matters may be referred to the Member’s campaign office, and

• a copy of any material that the congressional office has issued publicly may be provided to the Member’s campaign office.

House employees are free to engage in campaign activity, provided that they do so on their own time, outside of congressional space, and without use of any House resources.

• An employee’s "own time" is time that he or she has, under office personnel policies, to engage in any personal or other outside activities that the individual chooses, such as annual leave.

• A House employee is prohibited from making any campaign contribution to his or her employing Member; as a general rule, except for certain travel expenses, an outlay made for a campaign is deemed a contribution and thus is prohibited, even if there is an expectation of repayment.

• House employees who do campaign work (including while on Leave Without Pay status) continue to be subject to the laws and rules applicable to House employees, including the gift rule.

• No House employee may be compelled to do campaign work.

Regarding the solicitation of campaign contributions –

• The knowing solicitation of contributions from Federal officers or employees is prohibited.

• Campaign contributions may not be solicited in or from any House office, room or building (with the sole exception of Member-to-Member solicitations).

• A solicitation may not be linked with any action taken or to be taken by the Member in an official capacity, and may not offer special access to a Member in his or her official capacity.

Regarding the receipt and acceptance of campaign contributions –

• A contribution may be received in a House office only if it arrives unexpectedly, and is transferred to the campaign within seven days.

• A Member may not accept any contribution that is linked to any official action that the Member has taken or is being asked to take.

Members and staff may not take or withhold any official action on the basis of the campaign contributions or political support of the involved individuals or their partisan affiliation.

Regarding the use of campaign funds, a House Member is subject to provisions of both House Rules and the Federal Election Campaign Act, and under those authorities –

• May spend campaign funds for bona fide campaign or political purposes only.

• May not convert campaign funds or resources to personal use, and must be able to verify that campaign resources have not been so misused.

• May not use campaign funds or resources for official House purposes.

• Both the Standards Committee and the FEC have issued extensive guidance on permissible and impermissible uses of campaign funds.

The letterhead of stationery that a Member uses in behalf of a campaign may not include any likeness of any official seal, and may not include either the institutional names "Congress of the United States" or "House of Representatives," or the term "Official Business."

House Members and staff engaging in campaign or political activity are subject to a wide variety of laws, rules and standards of conduct, including:

• The Federal Election Campaign Act (2 U.S.C. §§431-455) with regard to campaigns for federal office,

• Provisions of the Rules of the House of Representatives, including rules that require that campaign funds be used only for campaign or political purposes, and prohibit their use for either personal or official House purposes,

• Rules of the House Administration Committee requiring that House funds and official House resources be used for official House purposes, and precluding their use for campaign or political purposes, and

• Other provisions of the U.S. Code, including provisions of the criminal code that concern, among other things, the solicitation and receipt of contributions, and abuse of one’s office for political gain.

Members who are seeking state or local office are not subject to the Federal Election Campaign Act in that undertaking, but likely are subject to a comparable set of state laws and rules.

This booklet addresses the laws, rules and standards on four major subjects relating to campaign and political activity, as follows:

• The general prohibition against using official House resources for campaign or political purposes,

• Campaign work by House employees, which must be done on their own time and outside the congressional office, and without the use of any House resources,

• The solicitation, receipt and acceptance of campaign contributions, and the general prohibition against taking actions in one’s official capacity on the basis of political considerations, and

• The proper use of campaign funds.

Four other, more specific subjects are addressed in the last section of this booklet: (1) the rules on campaign letterhead, (2) the provisions of the House gift rule that apply to campaign or political activity, (3) Member involvement with independent redistricting funds, and (4) provisions of the Federal criminal code that apply to campaign or political activity.

While the Federal Election Campaign Act ("FECA") establishes an extensive set of regulations on contributions and expenditures for campaigns for federal offices, this booklet, with one exception, does not address the provisions of FECA. That Act is enforced primarily by the Federal Election Commission ("FEC"), and House Members and their campaign staff should refer to the explanatory materials and advisory opinions issued by the FEC. One provision of FECA that this booklet does address, albeit briefly, is that on the proper use of campaign funds. As noted above, the House Rules also include a provision on this matter, and thus this booklet addresses the similarities and differences between the House Rule and the statute.

With regard to the applicable provisions of the House Rules, Members and staff should bear in mind that under clause 2 of House Rule 23, they are obligated to adhere to not only the letter, but also the spirit of those rules. This provision has been interpreted to mean that Members and staff may not do indirectly what they are barred from doing directly. See pp. 15-16 of the House Ethics Manual, 102d Cong., 2d Sess. (1992).

Moreover, under these rules, a Member or employee must take reasonable steps to ensure that any outside organization over which he or she exercises control – including one’s authorized campaign committee or, for example, a "leadership PAC" – operates in compliance with applicable law. Depending on the circumstances, consultation with private counsel may be necessary.

In this regard, in a case handled by the Standards Committee in the 104^th Congress, a Member admitted to a Statement of Alleged Violation that charged a violation of the predecessor of clause 1 of House Rule 23 (requiring conduct that reflects creditably on the House). One of the bases of that charge was that the Member had failed to seek and follow legal advice for the purpose of ensuring that certain activities he undertook through tax-exempt organizations complied with provisions of the Internal Revenue Code governing such organizations, including those that generally prohibit such organizations from engaging in political activity. The House subsequently approved a Committee recommendation that the Member be reprimanded and required to reimburse the House the sum of $300,000.² 

As detailed below, official resources of the House must, as a general rule, be used for the performance of official business of the House, and hence those resources may not be used for campaign or political purposes. The laws and rules referenced in this section reflect "the basic principle that government funds should not be spent to help incumbents gain reelection."³ 

What are the "official resources" to which this basic rule applies? Certainly the funds appropriated for Member, committee and other House offices are official resources, as are the goods and services purchased with those funds. Accordingly, among the resources that generally may not be used for campaign or political purposes are congressional office equipment (including the computers, telephones and fax machines), office supplies (including official stationery and envelopes), and congressional staff time.

Members and staff should be aware that the general prohibition against campaign or political use of official resources applies not only to any Member campaign for re-election, but rather to any campaign or political undertaking. Thus the prohibition applies to, for example, campaigns for the Presidency, the U.S. Senate, or a state or local office, and it applies to such campaigns whether the Member is a candidate or is merely seeking to support or assist (or to oppose) a candidate in such a campaign.

As noted below, many of the applicable rules here are statutorily based rules that were issued by either the House Administration Committee or the House Franking Commission (formally known as the House Commission on Congressional Mailing Standards). Definitive explanation of those rules is available from the House Administration Committee, the Franking Commission, and their staffs.

Goods and Services Paid for with the Members’ Representational Allowance or House Committee Funds. All expenditures by a Member from his or her Members’ Representational Allowance ("MRA") – including expenditures for staff, travel and communications – must comply with regulations issued by the House Administration Committee. Those regulations are set forth in the Members’ Congressional Handbook issued by that Committee.⁵  The Handbook provides that "[o]nly expenses the primary purpose of which [is] official and representational" are reimbursable from the MRA, and that the MRA may not pay for campaign expenses or political expenses (or any personal expenses).

Similarly, all House committees, in spending their official funds, must comply with the regulations set forth in the Committees’ Congressional Handbook issued by the House Administration Committee. The Committees’ Handbook provides that only expenses "the primary purpose of which [is] official" are reimbursable from the official funds provided to a committee, and that committee funds may not be used to pay any "political or campaign-related expenses" (or any personal expenses). The regulations governing committee expenditures as well as those governing Member expenditures derive in large part from both 31 U.S.C. §1301(a), which provides that official funds are to be used only for the purposes for which appropriated, and the statutory authorizations for the allowances.⁶ 

In a Dear Colleague of October 22, 1999, the House Administration Committee announced the adoption of a policy allowing certain minor, incidental non-official use of House equipment and supplies. However, the Standards Committee understands that the policy applies only to incidental personal use of those resources, and not to their use for campaign or political purposes.

The rules on proper use of official House funds and resources were implicated in a case handled by the Standards Committee in the 104^th Congress. That case, which was initiated by a complaint filed with the Committee, concerned a Member’s use of his office fax machine and official news release letterhead to send out a press release that severely criticized the record of a prospective campaign opponent on Medicare issues. The Committee resolved that case by sending that Member a letter – which the Committee released publicly – stating (1) its finding that the Member had, in issuing that release, violated applicable rules and regulations on the use of official resources, and (2) the Committee’s expectation that he would comply with applicable rules in the future.⁷ 

Moreover, Members must regularly certify that all official funds have been properly applied. Not only may a false certification bring criminal penalties, but also the Government may recover any amount improperly paid.⁸  Misuse of official House resources for campaign purposes may violate other criminal laws as well. For example, in 1993 a former House employee plead guilty to a charge of theft of government property, and the government property at issue in the case was the House salary and expenses he was paid for time when, despite his claim that he was conducting official business, he was in fact doing campaign work.⁹  In addition, in 1979 a former Member pleaded guilty to charges of mail fraud and income tax evasion, and that case centered on claims that persons on his congressional payroll were paid not for the performance of official duties, but instead for staffing and operating various campaign headquarters in his re-election campaign.¹⁰ 

House Buildings, and House Rooms and Offices. The House buildings, and House rooms and offices – including district offices – are supported with official funds and hence are considered official resources. Accordingly, as a general rule, they may not be used for the conduct of campaign or political activities.

Thus, for example, a Member may not film a campaign commercial or have campaign photos taken in his or her congressional office. For rules on filming and taking of photos on grounds near the Capitol, the office of the Sergeant at Arms should be contacted.

In addition, House rooms and offices are not to be used for events that are campaign or political in nature, such as a meeting on campaign strategy, or a reception for campaign contributors.¹¹  However, under long-standing Committee policy, when a Member is sworn in, the Member may hold a "swearing-in" reception in a House office building that is paid for with campaign funds.¹²  A criminal statute that prohibits the solicitation of campaign contributions in any House building, room or office is discussed below in this booklet, in the section on solicitation of contributions.

Coverage of House Floor and Committee Proceedings. Broadcast coverage and recordings of House floor proceedings may not be used for any political purpose under clause 2(c)(1) of House Rule 5. In addition, under clause 4(b) of House Rule 11, radio and television tapes and film of any coverage of House committee proceedings may not be used, or made available for use, as partisan political campaign material to promote or oppose the candidacy of any person for public office.

Official Mailing Lists. The Members’ Congressional Handbook issued by the House Administration Committee provides that official funds may be used to purchase and produce mailing lists, provided that, among other things, "the list does not contain any campaign, campaign related, or political party information." The Handbook further provides that a Member may not use official funds to purchase mailing lists from the Member’s campaign "unless the lists are available on the same terms to other entities through an arms length marketplace transaction." (Note that subject to the same conditions, a Member also has the option of purchasing a mailing list from his or her campaign with personal funds and then making that list available for use by the congressional office.)

The Members’ Congressional Handbook also provides that, "Official mailing lists may not be shared with a Member’s campaign committee, any other campaign entity, or otherwise be used for campaign purposes."

Letters, News Releases, Other Printed Materials, and E-mails. Under House Administration Committee regulations, neither a letter nor any other kind of document (including a news release) may be printed on official House stationery unless the content of the document complies with the Franking Regulations. The House Administration Committee regulations further provide that any advertisement paid for by a congressional office, as well as any printed materials produced by an office, must be frankable in content. E-mails sent by a congressional office must likewise comply with the Franking Regulations.

The Franking Regulations are issued by the House Franking Commission, and they govern use of the frank under 39 U.S.C. §3210 and related statutes.¹³  Statutory law provides that it is Congress’ intent that the frank not be used for, among other things,

39 U.S.C. §3210(a)(5)(C).

The Franking Regulations elaborate on this provision by prohibiting, among other things, "specific references to past or future campaigns or elections, including election or re-election announcements and schedules of campaign related events," the use of materials "used in campaign literature as well as specific campaign pledges or promises," and "excessive use of party labels." The Franking Regulations further provide that when a Member submits a sample of a mass mailing to the Franking Commission for an advisory opinion on frankability, the office must also submit a signed Franking Certification Form that represents that the mailing does not and will not –

Any questions on the Franking Regulations should be directed to the staff of the Franking Commission.

While the Franking Regulations prohibit congressional offices from sending letters or issuing press releases that are campaign or political in nature, the Standards Committee understands that the Regulations do not necessarily preclude congressional offices from issuing statements on legislative issues that are raised in the course of a campaign. Provided that such statements are confined to discussion of legislative issues, they may satisfy the Franking Regulations, and hence may be drafted by congressional staff using the internal office files and other official resources. However, before commencing work on any such statement, a congressional office should consult with Franking Commission staff to ensure that the planned statement will comply with the regulations.

The 90-Day Ban on Unsolicited Mass Communications. Under statutory law and House Administration Committee regulations, a Member is prohibited from spending official funds to make any unsolicited mass communication within 90 days of any election in which the Member’s name is on the ballot.¹⁴  The regulations define "unsolicited mass communication" as "any unsolicited communication of substantially identical content to 500 or more persons in a session of Congress."

The official expenditures that are subject to the prohibition include those for mass mailings, advertisements, electronic messages and mailings, and the production and distribution of video and audio services. On the other hand, a Member’s direct response to an individual communication, such as an incoming letter initiated by a constituent, is not an unsolicited communication in that the constituent is soliciting the Member’s response. Thus such a response is not subject to the prohibition, even if the total number of individual responses is 500 or more.

Note that the ban applies to communications paid for with official funds. Thus the ban does not prohibit a Member who is within the 90-day "cut-off" from, for example, accepting the invitation of a charitable organization to tape a bona fide public service announcement using facilities provided by the organization. In addition, at times a Member is asked to appear at and lend his or her name to an event of an outside organization (see pp. 316-17 of the House Ethics Manual). Materials that the organization typically prints or publishes regarding such an event would not be subject to the ban either.

Questions on the applicability of the ban to communications proposed to be made using official funds should be directed to the House Administration Committee. However, occasionally questions have arisen on whether a Member who is in his or her cut-off can make a mass communication that is official in nature using non-official resources (for example, the services of a state or local government entity). Questions of that nature are within the jurisdiction of the Standards Committee, and the Committee has taken the position that such an undertaking would not be permissible in that it would be inconsistent with the spirit of the ban on unsolicited mass communications.

Member and Committee Web Sites. Under House Administration Committee rules that are set forth in the Member and Committee Handbooks, Member and Committee Web sites –

• May not include personal, political or campaign information, and

• May not be directly linked or refer to Web sites created or operated by a campaign or any campaign-related entity, including political parties and campaign committees.

Further information on the rules governing Member and Committee Web sites is available from the House Administration Committee.

As to Member campaign Web sites, the Standards Committee has advised that –

• such a site may not include a link to the Member’s House Web site, and

• the Member’s House Web site may not be advertised on his or her campaign Web site or in materials issued by the campaign.

Travel. Member and staff travel, including to one’s district, can be paid with official funds only if the primary purpose of the trip is the conduct of official business. As a general matter, a Member or staff person, while on official travel, may engage in incidental campaign or political activity, provided that no additional travel expenses are incurred as a result. However, where the primary purpose of a trip is in fact the conduct of campaign or political activity, then the travel expenses cannot be paid with official funds, but instead must be paid with campaign funds.¹⁵ 

The Members’ Congressional Handbook and the Committees’ Congressional Handbook issued by the House Administration Committee include provisions on campaign activity in the course of travel paid for with House funds. Thus where a Member or staff person wishes to engage in any such activity in the course of an official trip, he or she should first review the section of the appropriate handbook on travel and consult with the House Administration Committee staff as necessary.

Redistricting. Prior to May 2001, both the Standards Committee and the House Administration Committee had taken the position that the use of House resources for redistricting purposes was absolutely prohibited. That policy was based on the view that redistricting is an inherently political activity. However, in a joint Dear Colleague letter of May 24, 2001, the two committees advised that House resources may be used for redistricting-related activities – such as responding to constituent inquiries, and Member meetings and briefings – that are merely incidental to each day’s official business, and that are minimal in nature, frequency, time consumed, and use of resources. A copy of that joint Dear Colleague letter is reprinted in the appendices to this booklet.

The purpose and effect of the laws and rules enumerated above are generally to preclude campaign or political activity from taking place in a congressional office. However, the Standards Committee has recognized that there are certain limited activities that, while related to a Member’s campaign, may properly take place in a congressional office. The Committee’s view has been that it would be impractical and unnecessary to attempt to prohibit these specific activities. In this regard, the Committee has long advised that the following activities are permissible:

Coordination of the Member’s Schedule. The individual in the congressional office who handles the Member’s schedule may coordinate with those in the campaign office who schedule the Member’s campaign appearances. Obviously, a Member can be in only one place at any one time, and thus it is necessary for schedulers to communicate. The congressional office scheduler may also maintain an integrated schedule that reflects the Member’s political as well as official activities, but that schedule is for the internal use of the Member and staff only.

The Press Secretary. The press secretary in the congressional office may answer occasional questions on political matters, and may also respond to such questions that are merely incidental to an interview focused on the Member’s official activities. However, while in the congressional office, the press secretary should not give an interview that is substantially devoted to the campaign, or initiate any call that is campaign-related. A press secretary wishing to do either of those things should do so outside of the congressional office, and on his or her own time (see below).

Campaign/Congressional Office Referrals. The congressional office may refer, to the campaign office, letters and other communications and inquiries that it receives concerning the campaign. Likewise, the campaign office may refer to the congressional office any officially related matters that it receives.

Providing Published Materials to the Campaign. A congressional office may provide a campaign office with a copy of any materials that the congressional office has issued publicly, such as press releases, speeches, and newsletters. In stating that such activity is permissible, the Standards Committee assumes that only a minimal amount of congressional staff time will be consumed in responding to campaign requests for materials of this nature. However, in no event should the congressional office provide the campaign with a quantity of any such item for distribution by the campaign.

Other materials in the congressional office files – including, for example, back-up memoranda on issues – are not to be shared with the campaign or otherwise used for campaign purposes. Those materials are to be used for official purposes only. Congressional staff members should not do research in behalf of the campaign or write campaign speeches or other materials while on official time or using official resources.

A separate question that arises at times is whether a Member’s campaign, having received a copy of an item that the congressional office issued publicly – such as a press release or Congressional Record statement – may then reproduce and distribute that item at campaign expense. The Standards Committee addressed this matter in its Advisory Opinion No. 6, which was issued on September 14, 1982 and is reprinted in updated form in the appendices to this booklet. A Member’s campaign is free to reproduce and distribute, for campaign purposes, materials that were originally prepared by the congressional office, provided that the following requirements are satisfied:

• The materials were prepared by the congressional office for a bona fide official purpose, and the official use of the materials has been exhausted,

• All the expenses associated with reproducing and distributing the materials are paid from campaign funds, and

• The materials themselves or the context in which they are presented clearly establishes their campaign or political purposes and hence their non-official use, so that there is no appearance that private funds are supplementing official allowances.

In reproducing such materials, the campaign must remove all official indicia, such as the official letterhead from a press release that the congressional office had issued, and any references to the address or telephone number of the congressional office. The name of any congressional staff contact that appeared in the material as issued originally must also be deleted. Subject to the same requirements, such materials may also be posted on the Member’s campaign Web site.

A question may arise as to when the official use of an item has been "exhausted" as that term is used here. As a general matter, the official use of the normal press release is exhausted once it has been disseminated and the media have had an opportunity to utilize its contents. Thus usually a campaign will be able to reproduce the contents of congressional office press releases a few days after their original issuance, provided that the other requirements set forth above are satisfied. On the other hand, where a congressional office posts a statement setting out the Member’s views on the major issues on its official Web site, the Member’s campaign is not free to reproduce that statement so long as it remains on the official Web site. So long as a statement of that nature remains posted on the official site, its official use is not exhausted.

Responding to Questionnaires on Legislative Issues. Congressional offices typically receive questionnaires from outside organizations, and often those organizations use the responses to the questionnaires in deciding whether to endorse the Member for re-election. Where a questionnaire is limited to legislative issues and the content of the response would comply with the Franking Regulations, the response may be prepared by congressional staff on official time. Otherwise, the response should be prepared by campaign staff.

Non-partisan Voter Registration Materials. A Member may make non-partisan voter registration information available in a congressional office, but may not actually register people to vote there. In addition, the franking statute (39 U.S.C. §3210(a)((3)(H)) provides that non-partisan voting registration or election information is frankable.

Except as outlined above, the Standards Committee expects Members to enforce the general rule that any campaign-related activities done by staff members will be done on their own time, outside of congressional space, and without the use of any official House resources.

Once House employees have completed their official duties, they are free to engage in campaign activities on their own time, as volunteers or for pay, as long as they do not do so in congressional offices or facilities, or otherwise use official resources. Executive Branch personnel are subject to restrictions on partisan political activity by the Hatch Act (5 U.S.C. 7321 et seq.), but those restrictions are not applicable to congressional employees.¹⁶ 

It should be stressed that while House employees are free to engage in campaign activities on their own time, in no event may a Member or office compel a House employee to do campaign work. To do so would result in an impermissible official subsidy of the Member’s campaign.¹⁷ 

As to what constitutes a staff member’s "own time," this is determined by the personnel policies that are in place in the employing office. Time that is available to a staff member, under those policies, to engage in personal or other outside activities may instead be used to do campaign work, if the individual so chooses. This free time may include, for example, a lunch period, time after the end of the business day, and annual leave. However, a Member may not adjust the work requirements of the congressional office, or add unpaid interns during the campaign, in order to create more "free" time for staff to do campaign work. To help ensure compliance with the rules, office policies on employee leave and other free time should be in writing and distributed to all employees.

The Standards Committee has recognized that the hours that constitute a staff member’s "own time" will not always correspond to evenings and weekends:

In addition to engaging in campaign activity while on annual leave or in other free time, employees may do so by –

• reducing their employment in the congressional office to part-time status, with a corresponding reduction in salary, or

• going on Leave Without Pay (LWOP) status for the purpose of working on the campaign.

However, prior to going on LWOP status, an employee should carefully review the requirements for that status that are set out in the Members’ Congressional Handbook and the Committees’ Congressional Handbook issued by the House Administration Committee and should consult with staff of that committee as necessary.

Employees who do campaign work while remaining on the House payroll should keep careful records of the time they spend on official activities and, separately, on campaign activities, and demonstrate that campaign work was not done on official time. There is no set format for maintaining such time records, but any questions on this matter may be directed to the Standards Committee staff.

The rules governing campaign work by House employees were implicated in a Standards Committee disciplinary case that was completed in the 106^th Congress.¹⁹  In that case the Committee determined that a Member had violated the House Code of Official Conduct in that his staff members worked for his campaign during regular office hours without taking annual leave or going on Leave Without Pay status, or taking any other steps to ensure that those services were rendered during time that was properly deemed the employee’s "own time."²⁰  The employees in that office took "administrative leave" whenever they performed campaign work. However, they were paid their full congressional salary while on "administrative leave," and the office had no system in place to ensure that time spent in that status was recorded and was either made up at alternate times or charged as vacation time.²¹ 

All House employees who do campaign work should bear in mind that they continue to be bound by the laws and rules applicable to House employees. This applies to employees who go to part-time status, and it applies as well to employees on LWOP status, who continue to be employees of the House (and continue to be eligible for certain employee benefits) even though they are not receiving compensation from the House. House employees should take particular note of the following.

The Prohibition Against Making a Contribution to One’s Employing Member. A provision of the Federal Criminal Code, 18 U.S.C. §603, makes it unlawful for any Federal officer or employee to make certain campaign contributions to "the employer or employing authority of the person making the contribution." Accordingly, an employee of a Member office is prohibited from making a "contribution" as that term is used in the statute (see below) to his or her employing Member. Regarding the employees of a House committee, the legislative history of the statute provides as follows:

The contributions to which the statute applies are those made to influence a federal election – that is, the term contribution is defined in the statute by reference to the definition of that term stated in the Federal Election Campaign Act (2 U.S.C. §431(8)). The statute goes on to provide that a contribution to an "authorized committee" as defined in the Act (id. §432(e)(1)) is considered a contribution to the individual who authorized the committee.

The prohibition against an employee making such a contribution to his or her employing Member is absolute. A House employee may not make such a contribution even if the contribution was entirely unsolicited, and the employee genuinely wishes to make the contribution. As a result of this statute, a House employee may not purchase a ticket to a campaign fundraising event for his or her employing Member.²³ 

The definition of the term contribution in the Federal Election Campaign Act is quite detailed, setting out a number of items that either do or do not constitute a contribution for purposes of the Act.²⁴  The definition is elaborated upon in the implementing regulations issued by the Federal Election Commission.²⁵  Staff members who do campaign work need to be familiar with those provisions so as to avoid making a prohibited contribution to their employing Member.

In particular, staff members should be aware that under FEC regulations, most outlays that an individual makes in behalf of a campaign are deemed to be a contribution to that campaign from that individual.²⁶  This is so even if it is intended that the campaign will reimburse the individual promptly. The major exception to this rule is for outlays that an individual makes to cover expenses that he or she incurs in traveling in behalf of a campaign.²⁷ 

Accordingly, a House employee should not make any outlay in behalf of the employing Member’s campaign, other than outlays for his or her personal travel expenses that are consistent with the FEC regulations, or for another purpose that is deemed not to constitute a contribution under the Act or the regulations.²⁸ 

Thus where a House employee undertakes to do campaign work – on his or her own time and outside of congressional space, in accordance with the rules summarized above – the individual should make appropriate arrangements with the campaign to ensure that he or she will not be called upon to make any improper outlays. The arrangements may include, for example, providing the individual, in advance, with any funds that might be needed to cover anticipated campaign expenses, or providing the individual with use of a campaign credit card.

While the law prohibits House employees from making campaign contributions to their employing Member, the law does not prohibit them from making a campaign contribution to any other candidate, including another House Member. In addition, the law does not prohibit House employees from making contributions to multicandidate political committees, such as a PAC or the Democratic or Republican Congressional Campaign Committees, even though some of the proceeds received by such committees may eventually be spent for the benefit of the contributor’s employee. In making such a contribution, however, an employee should not earmark it for use in the campaign of the employing Member, because that could be deemed a contribution from the employee to the Member.²⁹ 

With regard to those contributions from House employees that are not prohibited by 18 U.S.C. §603, both Members and staff should bear in mind that a separate provision of the Federal criminal code, 18 U.S.C. §606, prohibits the use of intimidation to secure such contributions. Specifically, that statute makes it unlawful for a Senator, Representative or federal officer or employee to discharge, demote or promote another federal officer or employee, or to threaten or promise to do so, for making or failing to make "any contribution of money or other valuable thing for any political purpose."

Requirement that Each Employee Perform Duties Commensurate with Compensation. Under clause 8 of House Rule 23, a Member is always responsible for ensuring that each of his or her employees performs official duties that are commensurate with the compensation that the employee receives from the House. Thus where it is anticipated that an employee will be assuming significant campaign duties, it may well be necessary for the employing Member to make an appropriate reduction in the employee’s House pay.

Certainly an appropriate reduction in salary is necessary where a full-time employee goes to part-time status in the congressional office in order to do campaign work. Members and staff should also bear in mind that bonuses, including "lump sum" payments, are for the performance of official duties only, and are not to serve as compensation or a reward for campaign work.³⁰ 

Prohibition Against Representing Others Before Federal Agencies. Provisions of the Federal criminal code (18 U.S.C. §§203, 205) generally prohibit House employees from representing anyone before any Government agency, department, court or officer in any matter in which the United States is a party or has an interest. The prohibition of the latter statute applies whether or not the House employee is compensated for his or her services.

These statutes would appear to prohibit a House employee from, for example, representing a campaign committee in a matter before the Federal Election Commission. However, it also appears that these statutes do not prohibit a House employee from completing and signing contribution and expenditure reports to be filed with the FEC³¹  (although such work would have to be done outside of congressional space and on the employee’s own time, in accordance with the rules summarized above). Further information on these statutes is available on pp. 111-13 of the House Ethics Manual.

For "Senior Staff," the Annual Limitation on Outside Earned Income and the Outside Employment Limitations. House employees who are paid at or above the "senior staff" level for more than 90 days in a calendar year are subject both to an annual limitation on their outside earned income and to a set of limitations on their outside employment.³²  (House Members and officers are subject to these same limitations.) As a general matter, these limitations apply to senior staff who do campaign or political work on a compensated basis.

The "senior staff" pay level is determined on a calendar year basis, and during calendar year 2001, it is an annual rate of $95,652. Accordingly, any House employee who is paid at or above that rate for more than 90 days during calendar year 2001 is subject to the outside earned income limitation and the outside employment limitations. The pay threshold for other years is available from the Standards Committee staff.

The dollar amount of the outside earned income limitation is also determined on a calendar year basis, and for calendar year 2001, the limitation is $21,765. Thus where a House senior staff member works part-time for a campaign, he or she may not receive compensation for campaign services rendered in calendar year 2001 that exceeds $21,765. The annual limitation applicable to other years is available from the Standards Committee staff.

However, the Standards Committee has determined that the outside earned income limitation does not apply to the campaign salary received by a senior staff member who is on Leave Without Pay status.

Further information on the outside earned income limitation is found on pp. 132-34 of the House Ethics Manual.

The outside employment limitations define certain activities for which senior staff (as well as House Members and officers) may not receive any compensation whatsoever. The restrictions prohibit senior staff from, among other things, (1) receiving compensation for practicing any profession that involves a fiduciary relationship, including, for example, law or accounting, and (2) serving for compensation as an officer or director of any entity.

At times a House employee wishes to commence his or her own candidacy for an elective office while continuing as an employee. There is no absolute prohibition against a staff member becoming a candidate for a local elective office, but such activity is subject to a number of restrictions. Most importantly, the individual’s employing Member must consent to the candidacy, and the employee must comply with the rules and requirements on performing campaign activity that are summarized above. Those requirements include that the employee perform congressional duties that are commensurate with the compensation he or she receives from the House – and thus that compensation be reduced proportionately with any reduction in the employee’s time in the congressional office – and that any campaign activity be performed on the individual’s own time, and outside of congressional space. Further guidance on the matter of staff candidacy for local office is provided on pp. 116-17 of the House Ethics Manual. An employee considering a candidacy for elective office should contact the Committee for specific advice.

However, different considerations apply where a Member is departing office, and one of his or her employees wishes to become a candidate to succeed the Member. In that circumstance, the Committee has taken the position that the staff member must terminate his or her employment in the congressional office upon becoming a candidate.³³  Among the considerations on which this Committee determination is based are the significant time demands of a congressional candidacy, and the strong potential for conflict of interest where an employee is seeking to succeed his or her employing Member.

The Committee has also determined that, subject to certain restrictions, a staff member contemplating becoming a candidate to succeed his or her employing Member may engage in pre-candidacy, "testing the waters" activities without terminating his or her congressional employment. The restrictions include that the individual may do so only if his or her employing Member consents, the employee complies with the rules and regulations that are generally applicable to campaign activity by employees, and the employee’s activities do not go beyond "testing the waters" as defined by the FEC. The permissible "testing the waters" activities are described in the FEC publication, Campaign Guide for Congressional Candidates and Committees. Among the activities that are prohibited under that advice are any that indicate that the individual has in fact become a candidate, such as the use of general public political advertising, or the raising of funds beyond those reasonably necessary to determine whether one should become a candidate.

This section addresses the laws, rules and standards of conduct on three subjects related to campaign or political contributions:

• The solicitation of contributions,

• The receipt and acceptance of contributions, and

• The general prohibition against taking actions in one’s official capacity on the basis of political considerations.

While the Federal gift statute (5 U.S.C. §7353) broadly restricts the ability of House Members and staff to solicit things of value from virtually anyone, even where no personal benefit is involved, legislative materials concerning the statute state that it does not apply to the solicitation of political contributions.³⁴  Consistent with those materials, the Standards Committee has long taken the position that the restrictions on solicitation set forth in that statute do not apply to political solicitations. However, in soliciting campaign or political contributions, Members and staff are subject to a number of other restrictions, as follows.

No Knowing Solicitation of Federal Employees. A provision of the Federal Criminal Code, 18 U.S.C. §602, prohibits Members of Congress and staff (as well as candidates for Congress and other Federal employees) from knowingly soliciting any contribution from any other Federal officer or employee.

The contributions to which this statute applies are those made to influence a federal election. That is, the term contribution is defined in this statute by reference to the definition stated in the Federal Election Campaign Act (2 U.S.C. §431(8)). (As discussed above, "contribution" is defined in the same manner in the statute prohibiting Federal employees from making a contribution to their employer, 18 U.S.C. §603.)

The statute prohibits the "knowing" soliciting of contributions from Federal employees. Accordingly, an inadvertent solicitation of a Federal employee, such as may occur in a general fundraising campaign aimed at the public at large, would not violate the statute.³⁵  In addition, the statute does not prohibit the receipt of unsolicited contributions from House or other Federal employees (although, as previously noted, a separate statute prohibits those employees from making a contribution to their employer).

It is clear both from the terms of 18 U.S.C. §602 and from its legislative history³⁶  that the solicitation of contributions by House Members from other Members does not violate the statute. It is also permissible under the statute for House and other Federal employees to solicit contributions from Members.

No Solicitation in House Offices, Rooms or Buildings. The prohibition against House Members or employees soliciting campaign or political contributions in or from House offices, rooms or buildings is very broad. With one minor exception that is discussed below, the prohibition applies to all forms of solicitations – solicitations made in person, over the telephone or through the mail – and it applies as well to solicitations of any kind of campaign or political contribution: contributions subject to the Federal Election Campaign Act, as well as contributions for a state or local campaign, and so-called "soft money" contributions.

A telephone solicitation from a House office or building would not be permissible merely because the call is billed to a credit card of a political organization or to an outside telephone number, or because it is made using a cellphone in the hallway. Similarly, where a House Member or employee makes solicitation calls somewhere else, such as at one of the campaign committee offices, and has to leave a message, the individual should not leave his or her House office telephone number for the return call. In addition, a fundraising mailing should not be either prepared or assembled in a House room or office, even if no House equipment or supplies are used in the process.

The criminal statute prohibits only the solicitation of contributions under the Federal Election Campaign Act (not other kinds of campaign or political contributions), and it appears there is some question on whether the statute prohibits telephone solicitations from a federal office to a private location.³⁸  However, there are no such limitations in the prohibitions that derive from rules and standards of conduct of the House on proper use of House offices, rooms and buildings, and thus as stated above, it is not permissible to solicit any kind of political contribution either in or from any of those areas.

However, the rules and standards of conduct enforced by the Standards Committee do not prohibit Members from soliciting (or receiving) campaign or political contributions from other Members in the House buildings. Long ago the House took the position that Member-to-Member solicitation is permissible, notwithstanding a criminal statute (predecessor to current 18 U.S.C. §607) that generally barred political solicitations in Federal buildings.⁴⁰  The Standards Committee has reiterated that position in a number of advisory memoranda it has issued to the House, the first of which was dated November 21, 1985.

There are several points on the matter of Member-to-Member solicitation in the House buildings that should be noted:

• It is Member-to-Member solicitations only that are permissible under this guidance. Staff solicitation of Members in House buildings, even when done at the direction of a Member, or when done from telephones located in a campaign office, is not permissible.

• Members may solicit other Members in person, over the telephone, or through the mail, but the use of official stationery in making written solicitations is not permissible.

• While the Justice Department has responsibility for enforcing the criminal statute in this area, 18 U.S.C. §607, so far as the Standards Committee is aware, the Department’s assent to the position of the House on Member-to-Member solicitation, as summarized above, has never been sought.

No Link with an Official Action or Special Access. The Gifts and Travel booklet that the Standards Committee issued in April 2000 makes the point (on p. 7) that a House Member or employee should never accept any gift that is linked to any official action that he or she has taken or is being asked to take. The booklet also discusses the criminal statutes on bribery and illegal gratuities (on pp. 60-64).

Similarly, no solicitation of a campaign or political contribution may be linked to an action taken or to be taken by a Member or employee in his or her official capacity. An early work on congressional ethics addresses this subject as follows:

The Standards Committee has long advised Members and staff that they should always exercise caution to avoid even the appearance that solicitations of campaign contributions are connected in any way with an action taken or to be taken in their official capacity.

Furthermore, a Member should not sponsor or participate in any solicitation that offers donors any special access to the Member in his or her official capacity. In this regard, in 1987 a Senate Committee Chairman invited lobbyists and PAC directors to join a "Chairman’s Council," the members of which would donate $10,000 to his campaign and have breakfast with him once a month, at which legislative matters could be discussed.⁴²  While the Senator dissolved the club soon after it was publicized,⁴³  later in the year the Senate Ethics Committee issued a ruling on whether Senators may offer membership in policy discussion groups in return for campaign contributions. In discussing the matter, the Senate Committee observed that,

The Senate Committee’s ruling was as follows:

House Members should adhere to the same rule with regard to official access.

Don’t Direct Contributions to a House Office. A solicitation for campaign or political contributions should not in any way request or suggest that the recipient mail or deliver a contribution to a House office. As explained immediately below, Federal law allows the receipt of a contribution in a congressional office, but only if the contribution arrives there unexpectedly. Accordingly, for example, a written solicitation should not include any House office address. (For that matter, a House office address or telephone number should not be included on any political communication.) Likewise, verbal solicitations should not contain any suggestion that response may be made to the congressional office.

The gift rule (clause 5 of House 25) prohibits House Members and staff from accepting any gift except as specifically provided in the rule. One of the gifts that Members and staff may accept under a provision of the rule (clause 5(a)(3)(B)) is

Accordingly, acceptance of an unlawful contribution under either the Federal Election Campaign Act or applicable state law may violate the House gift rule as well.

Receipt of a Contribution in a House Office. As indicated above, a provision of the Federal Criminal Code, 18 U.S.C. §607, generally prohibits the receipt of federal campaign contributions "in any room or building occupied [by Federal officers or employees] in the discharge of official duties." However, the statute includes, in subsection (b), an exception stating that the prohibition does not apply to contributions received by congressional staff, provided that two requirements are satisfied:

• "such contributions have not been solicited in any manner which directs the contributor to mail or deliver a contribution to any [Federal] room, building, or other facility", and

• "such contributions are transferred within seven days of receipt to a political committee within the meaning of section 302(e) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971."

Accordingly, receipt of a contribution in a House office is permissible under the statute only if the contribution arrives there unexpectedly. Thus, as stated above, a solicitation should never request or suggest that a contribution be sent or delivered to a House office, and furthermore, Members and employees may not assent in advance to the sending or delivery of a contribution to a House office.

However, merely because a contribution does not violate 18 U.S.C. §607 in that it was presented or received in the office unexpectedly does not necessarily mean that the contribution may be accepted. A contribution that is linked with an official action that a Member or employee has taken or is being asked to take may not be accepted. This would occur, for example, if a purpose of an individual’s visit to the office, in addition to presenting a contribution, is to urge the Member to support a particular piece of legislation. This point is further discussed below.

As to the requirement of 18 U.S.C. §607 that a contribution be transferred to the campaign within seven days, that requirement must be satisfied without use of any official resources. Campaign envelopes and stamps may be used to forward such contributions, and thus it may be desirable for a congressional office to have a supply of those envelopes and stamps for use in forwarding both contributions and campaign-related inquiries that are received in the office.

A Contribution Linked to an Official Action May Not Be Accepted. As discussed above, no solicitation of a campaign or political contribution may be linked to any action taken or to be taken by a Member or employee in his or her official capacity.

In a similar vein, a Member or employee may not accept any contribution that the donor links to any official action that the Member or employee has taken, or is being asked to take. In this respect, a campaign or political contribution is treated like any other gift, and acceptance of a contribution in these circumstances may implicate a provision of the Federal gift statute (5 U.S.C. §7353) and/or the criminal statutes on bribery and illegal gratuities.

Further information on this subject is available on pp. 7 and 60-64 of the Gifts and Travel booklet that the Standards Committee issued in April 2000. Please note, however, that while the booklet states (on p. 61) that certain token gifts of appreciation (such as candy or flowers) for an official action may be acceptable, no campaign contribution that is linked to an official action is ever acceptable.

Regarding compliance with other applicable provisions of law relating to acceptance of contributions, see the discussion on pp. 6-7 of this booklet.

As detailed above, a solicitation for campaign or political contributions may not be linked with an official action taken or to be taken by a House Member or employee, and a Member may not accept any contribution that is linked with an action that he or she has taken or is being asked to take. A corollary of these rules is that Members and staff are not to take or withhold any official action on the basis of the campaign contributions or support of the involved individuals, or their partisan affiliation. Members and staff are likewise prohibited from threatening punitive action on the basis of such considerations.

Questions in this area have arisen most frequently on the matter of casework, and on this subject, the Standards Committee has long advised Members and staff that they are not to give preferential treatment to casework requests made by the Member’s supporters or contributors. Instead, all requests for casework assistance are to be handled according to their merits. Advisory Opinion No. 1 of the Standards Committee, which was issued in 1970, states that one of the basic standards of conduct regarding casework is the following:

Essentially the same point was made in a report issued by the Senate Select Committee on Ethics in connection with the "Keating Five" case:

While the guidance set forth above is specifically addressed to the handling of casework matters, that guidance is applicable to all official actions taken by Members and staff, including with regard to legislation. In this regard, one of the key provisions of the Code of Ethics for Government Service states, in ¶5, that government officials should "[n]ever discriminate unfairly by the dispensing of special favors or privileges to anyone, whether for remuneration or not." The Code further provides, in ¶10, that "public office is a public trust," and thus the public has a right to expect House Members and staff will exercise impartial judgment in performing their duties.

More generally, one of the ultimate purposes of the ethics rules is to help ensure that each governmental action is taken on the merits of the particular question, rather than any extraneous factors. On this point, one scholar on government ethics has stated, "Ethics rules, if reasonably drafted and reliably enforced, increase the likelihood that legislators (and other officials) will make decisions and policies on the basis of the merits of issues, rather than on the basis of factors (such as personal gain) that should be irrelevant."⁴⁷ 

Furthermore, Members and staff are precluded not only from bestowing benefits on the basis of the recipient’s status as a supporter or contributor, but also from taking punitive action, or threatening punitive action, on the basis of such considerations. In this regard, one of the regulations issued by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics for the Executive Branch provides as follows:

5 C.F.R. §2635.702(a). House Members and staff should likewise adhere to this rule.

The first section of this booklet summarizes the rules to which House Members and staff are subject in their use of official House resources, and in particular the prohibition against using those resources for campaign or political purposes. An entirely separate set of resources with which Members are entrusted is their campaign resources – their campaign funds, as well as the goods and services acquired with campaign funds. This section addresses the rules to which House Members and their campaign staff are subject in their use of campaign resources.

As detailed in this section, both the House Rules and the Federal Election Campaign Act include provisions regulating the use of campaign funds and resources. The provisions of the House Rules apply to any campaign funds under a Member’s control, including those for elections to state or local office, whereas the provisions of the Act apply only to campaign funds for Federal office. A Member’s use of campaign funds for Federal office is permissible only if it complies with the provisions of both the House Rules and the Federal Election Campaign Act.

The major provision of the House Rules on proper use of campaign funds is found in the House Code of Official Conduct, which is set forth in House Rule 23. Clause 6 of House Rule 23 provides as follows:

In addition, use of campaign funds for official House purposes is prohibited by provisions of both the House Rules and statutory law, including clause 1 of House Rule 24 and 2 U.S.C. §59e(d)(1).

Thus, briefly stated, under House Rules, a Member of the House –

• may spend campaign funds for "bona fide campaign or political purposes" only,

• may not convert campaign funds or resources to personal use, and must be able to verify that campaign resources have not been so misused, and

• may not use campaign funds or resources for official House purposes.

Quite clearly, the rules generally preclude personal or official use of not only campaign funds, but also equipment, goods or services acquired with campaign funds – including, for example, equipment such as a cellphone, fax machine or computer, a vehicle purchased or leased by the campaign, and the services of paid campaign staff.

The provisions of the House Rules are elaborated upon below. In addition, reference is made to the provision of the Federal Election Campaign Act on proper use of "excess" campaign funds (2 U.S.C. §439a), and to the regulations and advisory opinions issued by the Federal Election Commission on that subject. The full text of those FEC regulations, which are found in 11 C.F.R. Part 113, is reprinted in the appendices to this booklet.

While Members and staff must contact the FEC for a full explanation of and answers to any questions on that agency’s rules in this area, there are two points on those rules that are particularly noteworthy.

First, in 1995 the FEC issued regulations that address in some detail the matter of impermissible personal use of campaign funds,⁴⁸  and those rules and the advisory opinions that the FEC has issued under them now constitute an important body of law in this area.

Second, while the Federal Election Campaign Act allows the use of campaign funds to pay expenses incurred in connection with one’s duties as a Federal officeholder, House Rules, as noted above, expressly prohibit the use of campaign funds for official House purposes. Accordingly, House Members should not rely on FEC materials that refer to or are based on the Act’s provision allowing the use of campaign funds to pay Federal officeholder expenses.⁴⁹  However, as explained immediately below, because of the broad manner in which "political purposes" is defined for purposes of the House Rules, particular uses of campaign funds that the FEC approves as Federal officeholder expenses may be permissible under the House Rules as "political" expenses.

In General. While House Rules provide that campaign funds may be used for "bona fide campaign or political purposes" only, the rules do not include a definition of that term. The Standards Committee has long advised that each Member has wide discretion to determine whether any particular expenditure would serve such purposes, provided that the Member does not convert campaign funds to personal or official uses.

Put another way, the rule is not interpreted "to limit the use of campaign funds strictly to a Member’s reelection campaign," but instead is interpreted "broadly to encompass the traditional politically-related activities of Members of Congress."⁵⁰ 

Examples of specific uses of campaign funds on which the Standards Committee has received inquiries are set forth below. By and large, these activities may, under House Rules, be paid for with campaign funds, provided that the Member determines that the activity would serve a bona fide political purpose and it raises no concern about personal use.

The discussion below also notes the applicable Federal Election Commission advisory opinions that have been issued to date. Where a Member wishes to use campaign funds for a purpose on which the Standards Committee has taken a position but the FEC has not, the Member should consult with the FEC before proceeding.

Charitable or Community Service Projects. As a general matter, campaign funds and resources may be used to establish or support a bona fide charitable or community service project in the Member’s district. On this point, FEC Advisory Opinion 1999-34 is instructive.⁵²  In that opinion, the FEC approved a Member’s proposed use of his campaign funds to support a fundraising event for elementary schools in the Member’s district. Other participants in the event were local businesses, schools, PTAs and volunteers. The Member’s campaign funds were to be used for payment of printing and postage costs for promotional materials, as well as to match donations made by individuals dollar-for-dollar, up to a maximum donation by the campaign of $60,000.

One factor in the FEC’s decision was that no campaign activity in the Member’s behalf would occur at the event or in the promotion or other arrangements for the event. For example, no campaigning would occur at the event, whether by way of speeches, distribution of campaign material, or otherwise, and the campaign would not attempt to use any information on the event’s donors for campaign purposes. The opinion indicates that if such campaign activity were planned, then the donations for the event made by individuals and organizations might be deemed campaign contributions to the Member under the Federal Election Campaign Act, and hence subject to the limitations and prohibitions of the Act.

That Advisory Opinion addresses only the requirements of the Federal Election Campaign Act on proper use of campaign funds, and it does not address the applicable provisions of the House Rules. However, in the view of the Standards Committee, a Member may properly determine that expenditures for the purposes and in the circumstances described in that opinion serve a bona fide political purpose and hence are permissible under House Rules.⁵³ 

Also relevant here are the facts that the Federal Election Campaign Act (2 U.S.C. §439a) generally allows Members to donate campaign funds to a charitable organization, i.e., an organization described in §170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code, and such donations are likewise permissible under the House Rules.⁵⁴ 

In Advisory Opinion 2000-37, the FEC advised a House Member that he could use campaign funds to purchase replica "Liberty Medals" from a private company and award them to veterans in his district who had participated in the D-Day landings in France during World War II. The FEC characterized this undertaking by the Member as "a form of community service." Significantly, the FEC characterized the cost of the particular medals (about $13 to $17 each) as "relatively low," and went on to caution that the undertaking would be problematic under FEC rules if it entailed the use of campaign funds to confer a "significant personal benefit" upon the recipient veterans.

Payment of Certain Legal Expenses. The Standards Committee has determined that it is generally permissible under House Rules for a Member to use campaign funds to defend legal actions arising out of his or her campaign, election, or the performance of official duties. The basis of this determination is that the protection of a Member’s presumption of innocence in such actions is a valid political purpose. Use of campaign funds to pay the legal expenses incurred in other kinds of legal actions may also be permissible. However, campaign funds may not be used where, for example, the action is primarily personal in nature, such as a matrimonial action, or could result in a direct personal benefit for the Member.

Before using campaign funds to pay any legal expenses, a Member should consult with the Standards Committee to ensure that the legal services are ones that the Member may properly pay with campaign funds. A Member should also consult beforehand with the Federal Election Commission. In this regard, under the FEC regulations on proper use of campaign funds, payment of legal expenses is among the uses for which the FEC makes determinations on impermissible personal use on a case-by-case basis.⁵⁵  However, the FEC has issued a number of Advisory Opinions on use of campaign funds to pay legal expenses, and an understanding of the approach that the FEC takes on this subject can be obtained through a review of those opinions.⁵⁶ 

In addition (or instead), a Member, officer or employee may choose to set up a "legal expense fund," independent of any campaign fund, for the purpose of paying the expenses of certain legal actions. The requirements for the establishment of a legal expense fund are described on pp. 45-47 and 110-13 of the Gifts and Travel booklet that the Standards Committee issued in April 2000.

In Advisory Opinion 2000-40, the FEC advised that House Members could donate campaign funds to a particular legal expense fund that had been established by another House Member. However, one of the specific bases of the FEC’s decision was the nature of the litigation for which that Member’s legal expense fund had been established, and thus the opinion should not be read to approve the donation of campaign funds to any Member legal expense fund. Any Member considering using campaign funds to make a donation to a legal expense fund should consult with both the FEC and the Standards Committee.

Payment of Certain Travel Expenses. Under House Rules, campaign funds may be used to pay travel expenses where the primary purpose of the trip is activity that serves a bona fide campaign or political purpose, provided that the outlays are limited to the expenses that are necessarily incurred in engaging in that activity. Thus, quite clearly, campaign funds may be used to pay the expenses of a trip the primary purpose of which is to attend a campaign or political event, or to engage in other campaign activity.⁵⁷  However, if in fact the primary purpose of a trip is one that is personal or official in nature, then campaign funds may not be used to pay travel expenses.

Under these rules, there are circumstances in which campaign funds may properly be used to pay travel expenses of not only a Member, but also his or her immediate family members. For example, where the primary purpose of a trip taken by the spouse of a Member is to accompany the Member at a political event – such as one of the annual party fundraising dinners in Washington – campaign funds may be used to pay the spouse’s travel expenses.

Campaign funds may also be used to pay spouse travel expenses where the primary purpose of the trip is to accompany the Member at certain non-political events that the Member attends in his or her capacity as a Member. For example, the Standards Committee approved the use of campaign funds to pay the travel expenses of spouses and minor children of Members in attending the bipartisan congressional retreats in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The FEC also approved the use of campaign funds to pay the Hershey travel expenses in a 1997 advisory opinion.⁵⁸ 

In several other advisory opinions as well, the FEC approved the use of campaign funds to pay travel and related expenses of a Member’s spouse and/or minor children.⁵⁹  Another FEC advisory opinion approves the use of campaign funds to pay for child care expenses incurred as a result of a need for the Member’s wife to accompany him to certain campaign-related events.⁶⁰  However, the approvals granted in all of those opinions were based on the specific circumstances presented in the underlying advisory opinion request, and thus a Member should not rely on any of those opinions without first carefully reviewing them. Another FEC advisory opinion, which is discussed in footnote above, addresses the payment of travel expenses of consultants to attend a seminar sponsored by a Member, and another (1996-20) approves the use of campaign funds to pay the travel expenses of a Member’s staff member to attend a national party convention.

The Standards Committee has determined that a Member may, under House Rules, use campaign funds to pay his or her travel expenses to attend the funeral of a retired Member, or a colleague’s immediate family member.⁶¹  (Member travel to the funeral of a Member who dies while in office is generally arranged by the House.)

Payment of Certain Meal Expenses. Quite clearly, there are a number of circumstances in which the use of campaign funds to pay for a meal is permissible. Those circumstances include, for example, a meal that constitutes a bona fide campaign fund-raising event, and a meal incident to a bona fide meeting on campaign business. Consistent with the sections of this booklet addressed to campaign-funded travel, campaign funds may also be used to pay the meals expenses incurred when a Member or campaign worker is traveling on campaign business. Another instance in which it may be permissible to use campaign funds to pay meal expenses is where a Member has a social meal with constituents (other than personal friends or relatives of the Member) who are visiting Washington.

Receptions and Related Activities for Visiting Constituents. Occasionally when a group of constituents visits Washington, whether to tour or to lobby on legislation, the Member wishes to hold a reception or similar event for the participants.

Under rules of the House Administration Committee, official Member and committee funds may be used to pay for food and beverages only when those expenses are incidental to an "official" meeting that includes individuals who are not House Members or staff, such as a meeting with constituents to discuss a legislative issue. Official House funds may not be used to pay food or beverage expenses related to social activities or social events, including the receptions held by Members in connection with their swearing-in, or on Inauguration Day. However, Members may use their campaign funds to pay the costs of such events.

A separate question is whether events of this nature, when paid for with campaign funds, may be held in a House room or office. Prior to the end of the 105^th Congress, the policy of the Standards Committee was that with only one exception, campaign-funded events may not take place in House rooms or offices. That exception was for the receptions held in honor of an individual’s swearing-in as a Member of Congress.

However, such materials may not be produced in or sent from any House office, and may not be produced or sent using any other House resource, including the office equipment or staff while on official time.

A Member wishing to use any official House resource in furtherance of a campaign for a House leadership office – such as official stationery, the Inside Mail, or official staff time – should consult with the House Administration Committee and/or the Franking Commission, as well as with the Standards Committee, on the extent to which those resources may be used for this purpose. However, where a particular activity related to a leadership race is supported with campaign resources, no official House resources may be devoted to that activity except to the extent noted above.

Special Events for the Member’s House and/or Campaign Staff. Under House Rules, campaign funds may be used to pay the costs of special events for the Member’s House and/or campaign staff that are social in nature. Examples would include a holiday lunch or a farewell party for a departing staff member. A Member may also use campaign funds to pay for food and beverages for staff in other unusual circumstances, such as when the House is in session late or on a weekend. However, the use of campaign funds to pay for food or beverages for staff in other than special or unusual circumstances may constitute an impermissible use of funds for personal purposes.

Member Moving Expenses To/From Washington. Both the Standards Committee and the FEC have long advised that a newly elected Member may use campaign funds to pay the expenses incurred in moving to Washington, D.C.⁶²  Such expenses are deemed to be campaign-related in that they are a direct result of winning an election.

In addition, in 1996 the FEC advised a departing House Member that he could use campaign funds to pay the expenses of moving both his congressional office furnishings and his personal household furnishings and effects back to his home state.⁶³  The Standards Committee has similarly advised that House Rules allow a departing Member to use campaign funds for this purpose. It should be noted, however, that the Standards Committee’s advice on this matter is applicable only to the extent that such moving expenses are paid prior to the time that the Member leaves office, i.e., once a Member leaves office, the Committee loses jurisdiction over the individual.

As a related matter, FEC regulations provide that campaign funds may be used to defray the costs of winding down the office of a former Federal officeholder for a period of six months after he or she leaves office. 11 C.F.R. §113.2(a)(2).

Gifts and Donations. The FEC regulations on use of campaign funds provide that campaign funds may be used for "[g]ifts of nominal value and donations of a nominal amount made on a special occasion such as a holiday, graduation, marriage, retirement, or death."⁶⁴  Such gifts may include the relatively inexpensive House or Capitol souvenir items sold by the House Gift Store or the U.S. Capitol Historical Society, and thus a Member may use campaign funds to purchase such nominal-value gifts for his or her supporters or contributors. Use of campaign funds for a gift or donation is permissible only if the outlay serves a bona fide campaign or political purpose, and in this regard, the regulation specifies that a Member may not use campaign funds to make a gift or donation to a family member.

As noted above, prohibitions against the use of campaign funds for personal purposes are found in both the House Rules and the Federal Election Campaign Act. The manner in which these prohibitions have been implemented by, respectively, the Standards Committee and the Federal Election Commission is elaborated upon below.

House Rules. The key provision of the House rules barring use of campaign funds for personal purposes is clause 6(b) of House Rule 23, which provides that a Member

Two other provisions of the House Rules are pertinent here as well. First, clause 6(a) of House Rule 23 provides that each Member "shall keep his campaign funds separate from his personal funds." Second, clause 7 of House Rule 23 provides that a Member "shall treat as campaign contributions all proceeds from testimonial dinners or other fund-raising events." Elaboration on the latter provision is found on pp. 64-65 of the Gifts & Travel booklet that the Standards Committee issued in April 2000.

In addition, the provision of the rule prohibiting the use of campaign funds for personal purposes is, of course, directly related to another provision of the rule, discussed above, requiring the use of those funds for bona fide campaign or political purposes. The Standards Committee has taken the position that Members, in making expenditures of their campaign funds, must observe these provisions strictly:

The Committee has explained its reasons for taking this position in the following manner:

The Standards Committee has reiterated this position a number of times,⁶⁷  and it was incorporated as well into the 1989 Report of the House Bipartisan Task Force on Ethics.⁶⁸ 

The rule by its terms requires that each campaign outlay made by a Member be not only "legitimate," but also capable of being verified as such. This requirement that the proper purpose of each outlay be "verifiable" is a common-sense requirement. With the huge number of outlays that Members’ campaigns typically make, often on a nearly continuous basis, the propriety of particular outlays may not be subject to review for months or years after the fact, when recollections as to the circumstances or specific purposes of an outlay may well have faded. Absent a requirement for verification, the prohibition against converting campaign funds to personal use would be nullified in substantial part. Furthermore, the verification requirement should serve to cause Members and their campaign staffs to exercise caution in spending campaign funds, and to ensure that no outlay is for an impermissible personal purpose.

Application of the House Rules. In several disciplinary cases, the Standards Committee found that a Member violated the House Rules on proper use of campaign funds. One case involved, among other things, transfers from the Member’s campaign account that were made to repay personal loans of the Member and to cover outstanding obligations against his personal checking account.⁶⁹  That case resulted in a censure of the Member by the House.⁷⁰ 

The rule’s verification requirement was implicated in a Standards Committee disciplinary case that was completed in the 106^th Congress.⁷¹  In that case the Committee determined that a Member had, through his campaign committee, engaged in significant misconduct by failing to keep records adequate to verify the legitimacy of the expenditures that had been made by his campaign for meals, including numerous meals in the Washington, D.C. area, and for private airplane travel, particularly between Washington and the Member’s district.⁷²  According to the reports that his committee had filed with the Federal Election Commission, the expenditures for those purposes were extraordinarily high in number as well as dollar amount,⁷³  but the Investigative Subcommittee found that the campaign committee had not made "even the most minimal effort to document or verify that the expenditures were related to legitimate campaign activity."⁷⁴ 

Impermissible personal use of campaign funds can arise in a variety of circumstances.

In this regard, the prohibition is against the use of campaign funds for personal purposes not only of the Member, but rather of anyone. Thus, in one of the cases decided by the Standards Committee, a loan made by a Member’s campaign to one of the Member’s congressional employees for the employee’s personal purposes was found to violate the rule.⁷⁶  In another case, a Member admitted to violating the rule in that he had authorized the making of loans of his campaign funds to three individuals (each of whom was an employee of his congressional office, his campaign, and/or one of his private businesses) for their personal purposes.⁷⁷ 

In that case, the Member also admitted to violating the rule in certain expenditures of his campaign funds that were made to, or otherwise benefited, businesses that were owned and controlled by the Member and members of his family. They included (1) expenditures for salary and benefits to individuals who worked for the campaign, where in fact a portion of the compensation that the campaign paid to them was for services that they rendered those businesses, and (2) expenditures for the utility expenses of those businesses.⁷⁸  With regard to the improper expenditures for utility expenses, the Member’s campaign office was located in a building owned by a corporation that was in turn owned by the Member and his family, and in which other such businesses had offices. Yet for a significant period of time, the Member’s campaign paid for all of the expenses incurred by the building’s tenants for electricity, gas, water and telephone – rather than only the pro rata share of the campaign office.⁷⁹ 

Notwithstanding the variety of circumstances in which impermissible personal use of campaign funds can arise, questions in this area have arisen most frequently regarding certain kinds of campaign outlays, specifically –

• borrowing of campaign funds,

• expenditures for travel,

• expenditures for meals, and

• expenditures for the purchase of goods or services, or the rental of property, from the Member or a member of his or her family.

As detailed below, it is now well established that borrowing of money from one’s campaign is a serious violation of the House Rules. As to outlays for travel or meals – as well as outlays for the acquisition of goods or services from themselves or their family members – Members must exercise great care, because such outlays by their nature raise a concern of personal use. The kinds of records that should be maintained with regard to these kinds of outlays are also addressed below.

Borrowing Campaign Funds Is Impermissible. In four cases the Standards Committee determined that a Member had violated the rules on proper use of campaign funds by borrowing money from his campaign.⁸⁰  The Committee has clearly stated that this practice is impermissible:

In one of these cases, the Member claimed that the withdrawals he had made from his campaign were repayments of loans he had made to the campaign previously. The Committee rejected that claim, however, because no loan agreements had been executed at the time the Member assertedly made the loans to his campaign, and the reports that the campaign filed with the FEC did not show the amounts in question as outstanding obligations to the Member.⁸²  In that case, the Committee also found a separate violation of the rules in that the Member had used a certificate of deposit belonging to his campaign as collateral on a personal loan.⁸³ 

In another case, a loan to a Member from his campaign was found to be improper where its purpose was to enable the Member to purchase an automobile that the Member intended to use for both personal and campaign purposes in his district.⁸⁴  Another of the loan cases decided by the Standards Committee had been initiated as a result of a transmittal of information from the FEC. The information on the Member’s receipt of personal loans from his campaign had been developed by the FEC in the course of investigating allegations that his campaign had failed to report certain disbursements and receipts.⁸⁵ 

In addition, as noted above, in two cases the Committee found a violation of the rule where a Member’s campaign funds were used to make loans to other individuals for personal purposes.⁸⁶ 

In view of the Committee’s decisions in the above-noted cases, all of which were publicly announced at the time they were issued, the Committee believes that all Members are on notice that they may not borrow from their campaigns, and their campaign funds may not be used to make a loan to anyone for a personal purpose.

However, where, in fact, the primary purpose of a trip is either personal or official in nature, the airfare of that trip may not be paid with campaign funds. The airfare for a trip the primary purpose of which is official in nature should be paid with House funds, and that of a trip the primary purpose of which is personal must be paid with personal funds.⁸⁷  While it is the responsibility of each Member to determine the "primary purpose" of any trip that he or she takes, that determination must be made in a reasonable manner, taking into account all of the activities in which the Member intends to engage during the course of the trip.⁸⁸ 

As noted above, a Member’s campaign must be in a position to verify that there was a proper campaign purpose for any trip that is paid for with campaign funds. To this end, the Standards Committee strongly advises that campaign committees maintain records that specify the politically related activities in which the Member (and/or other trip participants) engaged during each campaign-funded trip (for example, "attended party meeting at [date/time], attended reception for campaign donors at [date/time]"). Where campaign outlays for travel are frequent and extensive, the need to maintain specific, written records is paramount.⁸⁹ 

In order to be able to verify that there was a proper campaign purpose for meal outlays, the Standards Committee strongly advises that campaign committees maintain records that note both the individuals who were present at each meal, and the specific campaign or political purpose served by the outlay. Where the attendees include only friends or relatives, and the above-stated requirements for campaign payment are satisfied, the maintenance of specific, written records is essential. In these circumstances, the records should specifically describe the campaign agenda of the meal. As with campaign outlays for travel, where the outlays for meals are frequent and extensive, the need to maintain specific, written records is paramount.⁹⁰ 

Purchase or Other Acquisition from the Member or a Member of His or Her Family. At times a Member (or a member of his or her family) has office space or other property that the person wishes to lease to the Member’s campaign. Similarly, at times a family member of a Member wishes to sell certain goods or services to the Member’s campaign.

Such a transaction is permissible under the House Rules only if (1) there is a bona fide campaign need for the goods, services or space, and (2) the campaign does not pay more than fair market value in the transaction. Whenever a Member’s campaign is considering entering into a transaction with either the Member or one of his or her family members, it would be advisable for the Member to seek a written advisory opinion on the transaction from the Standards Committee.

If a Member’s campaign does enter into such a transaction with the Member or a member of his or her family, the campaign’s records must include information that establishes both the campaign’s need for and actual use of the particular goods, services or space, and the efforts made to establish fair market value for the transaction.

In a Standards Committee disciplinary case that was completed in the 107^th Congress, a Member admitted to violating the prohibition against personal use of campaign funds in leasing space for his campaign office from a building owned by a corporation that was in turn owned and controlled by him and his family. In that case, the Investigative Subcommittee had determined, on the basis of two appraisals done by professionals that it had engaged, that the rent paid by the Member’s campaign for that space was substantially in excess of fair market value.⁹¹  In addition, as noted above, the Member admitted to a separate violation of the personal use prohibition in that his campaign had paid not only its own utility expenses in that building, but also the utility expenses of various family-owned and controlled businesses that were housed in that building as well.⁹² 

Yet another violation of the personal use prohibition that the Member admitted to in that case concerned lease payments that his campaign had made for certain other office space. That space had previously been leased by a business that was owned in substantial part by the Member and members of his family, and under that lease, the Member was personally liable for the lease payments. Thus every lease payment that the campaign made for that space relieved the Member and his business of their obligation to make that payment. Earlier in the case claims were made on behalf of the Member that the campaign actually used that office space during the period that it paid the rent, but no credible evidence establishing campaign use of the space was produced, i.e., the verification requirement of the rule was not satisfied.⁹³ 

A Member and his or her campaign staff should also review the FEC regulations on campaign transactions with a candidate or a family member of the candidate before entering into any such transaction.⁹⁴  While those regulations allow salary payments to a family member if certain requirements are satisfied, the FEC has taken the position that a campaign may not pay a salary to the candidate.⁹⁵  The FEC regulations also essentially preclude a Member’s campaign from paying for use of any space in the personal residence of the Member or a member of his or her family. The rules issued by the FEC that define impermissible personal use of campaign funds are addressed generally in the following section.

The FEC Personal Use Regulations. The Federal Election Campaign Act as amended in 1989 provides that excess campaign funds⁹⁶  under the Act may not be "converted by any person to any personal use." 2 U.S.C. §439a. As noted above, in 1995 the Federal Election Commission issued a set of regulations that both (1) provide a general definition of the term "personal use" and (2) determine that certain uses of campaign funds constitute personal use and hence are prohibited.

Under the general definition provided in the regulations, an impermissible "personal use" of campaign funds is use to pay an expense of any person that would be incurred even in the absence of the candidacy for office:

11 C.F.R. §113.1(g). Among the particular uses of campaign funds that are specified in the FEC regulations as constituting an impermissible personal use are use to pay for the following:

• Household food items or supplies, or clothing,

• Mortgage, rent or utility payments for any part of any personal residence of the candidate or a family member,

• Admission to a sporting event, concert, theater or other form of entertainment, unless part of a specific campaign activity,

• Dues, fees or gratuities at a country club, health club, recreational facility or other nonpolitical organization, unless part of the costs of a specific fundraising event,

• Tuition payments, other than for the training of campaign staff,⁹⁷  and

• Funeral, cremation or burial expenses.

11 C.F.R. §113.1(g)(1)(i). In addition, payments to the candidate or a member of his or her family for real or personal property owned by any of those individuals, or for bona fide services to the campaign, constitute impermissible personal use of campaign funds to the extent the payments are in an amount that exceeds fair market value. Id. §113.1(g)(1)(i)(E)(2), (H).

As noted above in this booklet, the donation of campaign funds to charitable and similar organizations is generally permissible under the Federal Election Campaign Act. However, under the FEC personal use regulations a donation may not be made to such an organization if the Member making the donation "receives compensation from the organization before the organization has expended the entire amount donated for purposes unrelated to his or her personal benefit." Id. §113.1(g)(2).

As to other possible uses of campaign funds – including specifically for meal expenses, travel expenses, vehicle expenses and legal expenses – the FEC regulations provide that the Commission will make a determination as to personal use on a "case by case basis." Id. §113.1(g)(1)(ii). The regulations also address two "mixed use" situations:

• Campaign-funded travel that includes both campaign-related activities and personal activities, and

• Use of a campaign vehicle for personal purposes in an amount that is more than de minimis.

Any questions on these rules should be directed to the FEC. In addition, as noted above, the FEC will provide a written advisory opinion in response to a specific, written advisory opinion request on an activity that the requesting person is undertaking or plans to undertake. 11 C.F.R. Part 112. Both advisory opinion requests to the FEC and the opinions themselves are matters of public record.

In summary, under House Rules, campaign funds are to be used for bona fide campaign or political purpose only. Campaign funds are not to be used to enhance a Member’s lifestyle, or to pay a Member’s personal obligations. Members have wide discretion in determining what constitutes a bona fide campaign or political purpose, to which campaign funds and resources may be devoted, but Members have no discretion whatsoever to convert campaign funds to personal use. Furthermore, House Rules require that Members be able to verify that campaign funds have been used for personal purposes.

The rules of the House, in addition to prohibiting the use of campaign funds and resources for personal purposes, also prohibit their use for official House purposes. Nevertheless, as discussed below in this section, there are certain activities that a Member may, at his or her discretion, designate as either official or political. Where the Member elects to designate one of those activities as political, the Member may, subject to certain requirements, pay for the activity with campaign funds, but may not also use official House resources in connection with that activity.

Prohibition Against Official Use. Since 1977 the House Rules have prohibited Members from maintaining an "unofficial office account," or having such an account maintained for their use. This prohibition is now set forth in clause 1 of House Rule 24. The specific intent of the 1977 amendments to the House Rules was to create a "wall" between campaign funds and official allowances," with "campaign funds used only for politically related expenses on one side, and official allowances used only for official purposes on the other."⁹⁸ 

In 1990 the prohibition against using campaign funds for official purposes was enacted into statutory law. Section 59e(d) of Title 2 of the U.S. Code now provides in pertinent part that no Member of the House "may maintain or use, directly or indirectly, an unofficial office account or defray official expenses " from –

In addition, use of campaign funds (or other non-appropriated funds) to pay official mailing expenses is specifically prohibited by certain other provisions of statutory law and the House Rules. One of these, 2 U.S.C. §59e(c), requires that official mail expenses be paid only from funds specifically appropriated for that purpose and precludes their supplementation by funds from any other source, public or private. Under other provisions, a mass mailing may not be sent under the frank unless the cost of preparing and printing the mailing are paid exclusively from appropriated funds.⁹⁹ 

Quite clearly, the prohibition against using campaign funds to pay official House expenses is very broad. In addition to official mail expenses, campaign funds cannot be used to pay, for example, compensation to individuals for rendering services for the congressional office, or the costs of congressional office equipment, supplies or furniture.

Also, campaign funds should not be used to pay any of the expenses of the Congressional Art Competition conducted by a Member’s office, or of a Congressional Member Organization ("CMO"). With regard to the Art Competition, official House funds are available to pay certain of those expenses, and because of the unique status that this program has in the House, private funds may be used in addition to or in lieu of official funds to cover certain expenses.¹⁰⁰  Congressional Member Organizations are official House entities and are not to be supported with campaign funds.

The requirement for separation of the campaign from the congressional office extends to goods and services that are acquired with campaign funds. Thus the Standards Committee has long advised that no brochures or any other materials printed using campaign funds may include the address or telephone number of the congressional office.

With regard to Web sites, the Standards Committee has advised as follows:

• A Member’s campaign Web site may not include a link to the congressional office site, and

• A congressional office site may not be advertised on the Member’s campaign Web site or on materials issued by the Member’s campaign.

Activities that May Be Either "Official" or "Political" at the Member’s Option. While a Member may not use campaign funds to pay official House expenses, there are a number of activities that may be either "official" or "political" at the option of the Member. The major examples are events sponsored by a Member on legislative or other governmental topics, such as town hall meetings and conferences; statements or releases issued by a Member on a legislative or other governmental issue; and activities relating to a race for a House leadership office. However, the Standards Committee has stated that,

This rule was originally enunciated by the Standards Committee in Advisory Opinion No. 6, which was issued on September 14, 1982 and is reprinted in updated form in the appendices to this booklet. That opinion addressed a Member’s inquiry on whether he could use campaign funds to promote a town meeting in areas added to his district by reapportionment after his congressional office had mailed notice of the meeting to his current district under the frank. The Committee advised the Member that he could not do so. The Member could have designated the event as a political (campaign) one or as an official (representative) one. By sending announcements of the meeting under the frank, which can be used only in the conduct of official business, the Member defined the event as an official one. Accordingly, the Member was prohibited from subsequently using campaign funds (or any other private funds) to advertise or to conduct the meeting.

Conversely, if a Member designates an event (or any other activity) as political by using campaign funds for it, no official resources may then be used. This means that congressional staff should not make arrangements for such an event, invitations to it may not go out under the frank, and the congressional telephone number may not be designated for RSVPs.

Of course, in using official House funds or, alternatively, campaign funds, to pay the expenses of any such activity, a Member must comply with any requirements or restrictions imposed by, respectively, the House Administration Committee and the Franking Commission, or the Federal Election Commission.

Incidental Use of a Campaign Vehicle. The Ethics Reform Act of 1989 authorized "the incidental noncampaign use of vehicles owned or leased by a campaign committee of a Member of the House of Representatives" under "appropriate conditions" as determined by the Standards Committee.¹⁰¹  This provision allows for common sense accommodations of a Member’s busy schedule, but not a wholesale conversion of campaign assets to personal, official, or other nonpolitical purposes. Members should therefore guide their conduct by a rule of reason and consult the Standards Committee’s Office of Advice and Education if in doubt as to whether a particular contemplated use would be considered incidental and appropriate.

Letterhead and envelopes that a Member uses for campaign or political purposes, including the solicitation of funds, are subject to at least three authorities.

First, the "facsimile rule," which is now set forth in clause 11 of House Rule 23, prohibits a Member from –

A Member’s campaign committee is a group or organization "not under the control and direction of the House" and hence is subject to the restrictions of this rule, i.e., the letterheads and envelopes that a Member uses for campaign or political purposes may not include the institutional names cited in the rule or otherwise violate the provisions of the rule.

Second, a provision of the Federal Criminal Code, 18 U.S.C. §713, prohibits the use of certain governmental seals on, among other things, stationery, "for the purpose of conveying . . . a false impression of sponsorship or approval by the Government of the United States or by any department, agency, or instrumentality thereof." As amended in 1997, the statute applies to not only the Great Seal of the United States, but also the Seal of the House of Representatives and the Seal of the United States Congress.

Third, the Deceptive Mailings Prevention Act provides that any solicitation by a non-governmental entity that reasonably could be interpreted as implying any Federal Government connection, approval or endorsement must carry a disclaimer, both on the internal documents and on the envelope, conspicuously stating that it is not an official mailing.¹⁰²  Among the features that may, under the statute, raise an implication of Governmental approval are use of a seal or insignia, or citation to a Federal statute or the name of a Federal program. In addition, such a solicitation may not include a false representation stating or implying that Federal Government benefits or services will be affected by any contribution or non-contribution.

In summary, a letter sent by a Member in behalf of either his or her campaign or another political organization may not have, either in the letterhead or on the envelope, either –

• the institutional names "Congress of the United States" or "House of Representatives," or the term "Official Business," or

• any likeness of any official seal, including the Seal of the United States, or the Seal of the House or the Congress.

Accordingly, such a letter may not be sent on a letterhead that resembles official stationery, even if the stationery was not printed at Government expense and bears a disclaimer to that effect.

However, the letterhead and envelope of a campaign or political letter may use –

• personal titles such as "Member of Congress," "Representative," "Congressman," or "Congresswoman,"

• one’s title as a committee chair or ranking member, or as a member of the House leadership, as those are considered personal titles as well,

• the district served by the Member, and the Member’s committee assignments, and

• a likeness of the Capitol Dome; the Dome is in the public domain and is therefore not protected in the same manner as official seals.

At times the Standards Committee receives inquiries regarding the stationery that is sold in the House stationery store that bears an embossed seal and/or "House of Representatives" in the letterhead. In accordance with the advice set forth above, even where that stationery is purchased with the Member’s personal funds or with campaign funds, it should not be used to solicit campaign support or contributions. (However, it is permissible for a Member to use this stationery, purchased with personal or campaign funds, to send personal thank you notes for contributions or campaign assistance.)

In certain circumstances, the Federal Election Campaign Act and implementing regulations issued by the FEC require that letters sent in behalf of a Federal campaign include a campaign disclaimer.¹⁰³  Any questions on those rules should be directed to the FEC.

Members and staff are fully subject to the provisions of the House gift rule (clause 5 of House Rule 25) while engaging in campaign activity. This includes staff persons who go to part-time status or Leave Without Pay status for the purpose of doing campaign work. A full explanation of the gift rule is found in the Gifts and Travel booklet that the Standards Committee issued in April 2000. Several provisions of the rule apply specifically with regard to campaign and political activity, and those provisions are noted briefly here.

First, the rule provides that among the gifts that a Member or employee may accept is a contribution that is lawfully made under the Federal Election Campaign Act, or a lawful contribution for election to a State or local government office (clause 5(a)(3)(B) of House Rule 25).

Second, a Member or employee may accept "[f]ood, refreshments, lodging, transportation, and other benefits . . . provided by a political organization . . . in connection with a fundraising or campaign event sponsored by such organization." (clause 5(a)(3)(G)(iii)). The political organizations to which this provision refers are those described in §527(e) of the Internal Revenue Code, which encompasses entities organized and operated primarily for the purpose of accepting contributions or making expenditures for the purpose of influencing the election of any individual to a public or political office.

This provision allows the acceptance of a ticket to a political fundraising or campaign event only from the political organization that is sponsoring the event. It does not allow the acceptance of a ticket from a person that simply donated money or purchased tickets to the event. However, it is possible that a ticket from someone other than the sponsoring political organization may be acceptable under one of the other provisions of the gift rule. For example, a Member or employee may accept a ticket that has a value of less than $50, provided that he or she does not exceed the annual, per-source gift limitation of less than $100 (clause 5(a)(1)(B)).

In addition, under longstanding policy, a ticket to a political fundraising dinner (as well as a charity fundraising dinner) is valued at the cost of the dinner, rather than the face value of the ticket. Thus, depending on the circumstances, it is possible for a ticket to a fundraising dinner to be acceptable under the less-than-$50 provision of the gift rule even though the ticket has a face value of $50 or more.

The gift rule also allows Members and staff to accept travel expenses from a private source to participate in a fact-finding trip or appear for a speaking engagement. Occasionally a question arises as to whether a Member or staff person, while on such a trip, may engage in incidental campaign activity, such as attending a campaign fundraiser. The Standards Committee understands that FEC rules limit the ability of Members and staff to engage in Federal campaign activity in the course of privately paid travel. Thus before undertaking such a trip that would include campaign activity, a Member or staff person should consult with the FEC on the applicability of those rules.

Finally, at times a Member wishes to use a corporate or labor organization aircraft for campaign or political travel. A Member may do so provided that he or she complies with the rules of the Federal Election Commission on reimbursement, which are found at 11 C.F.R. §114.9(e).

The redistricting process that arose out of the 1990 census led to the creation of redistricting funds, set up to promote the interests of the constituents of individual districts. There likely will be an interest in establishing such funds for the redistricting process that has resulted from the 2000 census.

A Member may associate with and raise money for such a fund, provided that (1) the fund represents the views of a wide range of constituents and not solely those of the Member, (2) the FEC agrees that the fund is independent of the Member’s campaign committee and not subject to the Federal Election Campaign Act,¹⁰⁴  and (3) the Standards Committee grants permission for the Member to solicit on behalf of the fund.¹⁰⁵  In these circumstances, the amounts raised would not be treated as personal gifts, campaign contributions, or supplements to the official expenses allowances.

A number of the provisions of the Federal Criminal Code that apply to campaign activity are discussed in the preceding sections of this booklet. There are other provisions of the code that House Members and employees should be aware of as well. Under those provisions, a Member or employee may not –

• Promise to use support or influence to obtain Federal employment for anyone in return for a political contribution (18 U.S.C. §211),

• Deprive, attempt to deprive, or threaten to deprive anyone of employment or any other benefit provided for or made possible by an Act of Congress appropriating relief funds because of that person’s political affiliation (18 U.S.C. §246),

• Pay or offer to pay any person to vote or to withhold a vote or to vote for or against any candidate in a Federal election (18 U.S.C. §597),

• Solicit, accept, or receive an expenditure in consideration of a vote or the withholding of a vote in a Federal election (18 U.S.C. §597),

• Use any appropriation by Congress for work relief or for increasing employment, or exercise any authority conferred by any appropriations act, for the purpose of interfering with, restraining, or coercing any individual in the exercise of the right to vote (18 U.S.C. §598),

• As a candidate, directly or indirectly promise to appoint any person to any public or private position for the purpose of procuring support for that candidacy (18 U.S.C. §599),

• Promise employment or any other benefit provided for or made possible by any Act of Congress as a reward for political activity or support (18 U.S.C. §600),

• Cause or attempt to cause anyone to make a political contribution by denying or threatening to deny any government employment, or benefit provided for or made possible, in whole or in part, by any Act of Congress (18 U.S.C. §601),

• Solicit or receive political contributions from persons known to be entitled to or to be receiving relief payment under any Act of Congress (18 U.S.C. §604),

• Furnish, disclose, or receive for political purposes the names of persons receiving relief payments under any Act of Congress (18 U.S.C. §605),

• Intimidate any Federal officer or employee to secure political contributions (18 U.S.C. §606).

Elaboration on certain of these provisions is found in a publication of the U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Prosecution of Election Offenses, Sixth Edition, January 1995.

There is hereby established by and for the House the following code of conduct, to be known as the "Code of Official Conduct":

1. A Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee of the House shall conduct himself at all times in a manner that shall reflect creditably on the House.

2. A Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee of the House shall adhere to the spirit and the letter of the Rules of the House and to the rules of duly constituted committees thereof.

. . . .

6. A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner –

(a) shall keep his campaign funds separate from his personal funds;

(b) may not convert campaign funds to personal use in excess of an amount representing reimbursement for legitimate and verifiable campaign expenditures; and

(c) may not expend funds from his campaign account that are not attributable to bona fide campaign or political purposes.

7. A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner shall treat as campaign contributions all proceeds from testimonial dinners or other fund-raising events.

. . . .

Limitations on use of official and official and unofficial accounts

1. A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner may not maintain, or have maintained for his use, an unofficial office account. Funds may not be paid into an unofficial office account.

. . . .

3. In this rule the term "unofficial office account" means an account or repository in which funds are received for the purpose of defraying otherwise unreimbursed expenses allowable under section 162(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 as ordinary and necessary in the operation of a congressional office, and includes a newsletter fund referred to in section 527(g) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

SUBJECT

General Interpretation of House Rule 23, Clause 6, and House Rule 24, Clauses 1-3.

REASON FOR ISSUANCE

The Committee has received an inquiry concerning the application of House Rule 23, clause 6, and Rule 24, clauses 1-3, to the use by a Member of campaign funds to advertise or promote a town meeting in his district and in areas newly added to the district by reapportionment after notice of the meeting has been mailed under the frank.

BACKGROUND

House Rule 23, clause 6, prohibits a Member from expending funds from his campaign account that are not attributable to "bona fide campaign or political purposes." Rule 24, clause 1, bars a Member from maintaining, or having maintained for his use, "an unofficial office account." These provisions were included in the amendments to the House Rules made by H. Res. 287, 95th Congress, adopted pursuant to the recommendations of the Commission on Administrative Review. The Commission, in explaining the purpose of these rules, observed (Financial Ethics, H. Doc. No. 95-73, 95^th Congress, 1^st Session 23 (1977)):

Although federal statutory law (2 U.S.C. §439a) generally would allow a Member to use excess campaign funds to defray ordinary and necessary expenses incurred in connection with holding office, the amendment to House Rule 23, clause 6, made by H. Res. 287, 95th Congress, specifically prohibits this practice. As the Select Committee on Ethics observed in its Final Report (H. Report No. 95-1837, 95^th Congress, 2d Session 16 (1979)): "The intent of this rule is to restrict the use of campaign funds to politically-related activities and thus to prohibit their conversion to personal use or to supplement official allowances." Clause 1 of Rule 24 has a similar purpose. It was intended to eliminate the "potential for ‘influence peddling’ through private financing of the official expenses of Members of Congress." See Financial Ethics, supra, at 18.

In adopting these rules, the House was aware that "there are gray area expenditures which could be classified [as] either political or official . . . ." See Final Report of the Select Committee on Ethics, supra. The rules do not include any definition of "political" or "official" expenses. As Representative Frenzel observed during the debate on H. Res. 287, 95^th Congress (123 Cong. Rec. 5900 (March 2, 1977):

The Select Committee on Ethics, in its Final Report, supra, also expressed the view that Members should make the determination as to whether gray area expenditures are to be classified as political or official.

SUMMARY OPINION

This Committee agrees that the determination as to whether a particular expense is for political or official purposes should be made by the individual Member. A gathering of a Member’s constituents at a "town meeting" could be either a political (campaign) event, or an official (representative) one. In such a case, the Member is free to use his judgment in defining it as political or official. However, this Committee is of the view that once the Member makes his determination, he is bound by it. A single event cannot, for purposes of the House rules, be treated as both political and official.

When a Member sends announcements of a town meeting under the frank, he has thereby made the decision that the event is an official one. Under Federal law, the franking privilege may only be used in the conduct of official business. 39 U.S.C. §3210(a)(1). Having thus defined the event as an official one, he may not then use campaign funds (Rule 23, clause 6) or any other private funds (Rule 24, clause 1) to conduct, promote, or advertise the event. (It is noted that Rule 24 was intended to prohibit the expenditure of private monies for official purposes even if no particular account or repository as such is maintained. See the colloquy between Representatives Panetta and Obey during the debate on H. Res. 287, 95^th Congress, 124 Cong. Rec. 5941 (March 2, 1977)).

Because the town meetings that are the subject of this opinion were promoted in the first instance by means of the frank, they thereby become official and representational functions and it is an improper mixture of public and campaign funding to promote such official town meetings as political events. In a case such as this, the wall between public and private funding is easily placed.

FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS

Having stated the general rule that certain events or activities may be deemed "official" or "political" but not both, and that the Member must exercise his judgment in making such determinations, there are long established practices not offensive to the principle of separation that are not affected by this Advisory Opinion. One such practice is a campaign committee making use of materials originally generated and used solely in the course of the Member’s official and representational duties once the official use of the material is exhausted. For example, a Member may, at official expense and by means of the franking privilege, reproduce and distribute otherwise frankable reprints from the Congressional Record, radio and television programs, correspondence from public officials, etc. The Committee believes that Rule 24, which prohibits outside contributions for official purposes, does not ban a Member from later distributing such items at campaign committee expense provided all the expenses associated with reproducing and distributing the material are paid from campaign funds and the material itself or the context in which it is presented clearly establishes its campaign or political purposes and thus its non-official use, so that there would be no appearance that private funds are supplementing official allowances.

Another such practice occurs if an individual or organization without the Member’s consent, expends funds or donates services to advertise or promote some official or representational activity of the Member. For example, no violation would occur if a radio or television station in a Member’s district promoted a Member’s previously announced town meeting in public service announcements.

Dear Colleague:

Since the start of the redistricting process resulting from the 2000 Census, the Committees on House Administration and Standards of Official Conduct have been receiving questions on whether redistricting activities can be conducted with official resources.

We have reexamined our past policy statements, and we believe that constituents have a right to inquire about, and Members have a responsibility to respond to questions regarding the consequences of redistricting. We also recognize that Members, to stay current and fully informed, may wish to meet and communicate with other Members about redistricting, and be briefed from time to time by outside individuals or organizations.

While responding to constituent inquiries is a continuing official activity, redistricting is usually a relatively brief "once a decade" activity affecting congressional districts. As such, redistricting activities in congressional offices should be merely incidental to each day’s official business, and should be minimal in nature, frequency, time consumed, and use of resources.

We would have no reservations about redistricting activities conducted in accordance with the above criteria in congressional offices or using official resources.

Sincerely,

Bob Ney, Chairman, House Administration

Steny Hoyer, Ranking Minority Member, House Administration

Joel Hefley, Chairman, Standards of Official Conduct

Howard L. Berman, Ranking Minority Member, Standards of Official Conduct

Amounts received by a candidate as contributions that are in excess of any amount necessary to defray his expenditures, and any other amounts contributed to an individual for the purpose of supporting his or her activities as a holder of Federal office, may be used by such candidate or individual, as the case may be, to defray any ordinary and necessary expenses incurred in connection with his or her duties as a holder of Federal office, may be contributed to any organization described in section 170(c) of Title 26, or may be used for any other lawful purpose, including transfers without limitation to any national, State, or local committee of any political party; except that no such amounts may be converted by any person to any personal use, other than to defray any ordinary and necessary expenses incurred in connection with his or her duties as a holder of Federal office.

Whoever solicits or receives, either as a political contribution, or for personal emolument, any money or thing of value, in consideration of the promise of support or use of influence in obtaining for any person any appointive office or place under the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

Whoever solicits or receives any thing of value in consideration of aiding a person to obtain employment under the United States either by referring his name to an executive department or agency of the United States or by requiring the payment of a fee because such person has secured such employment shall be fined under this title, or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. This section shall not apply to such services rendered by an employment agency pursuant to the written request of an executive department or agency of the United States.

Whoever directly or indirectly deprives, attempts to deprive, or threatens to deprive any person of any employment, position, work, compensation, or other benefit provided for or made possible in whole or in part by any Act of Congress appropriating funds for work relief or relief purposes, on account of political affiliation, race, color, sex, religion, or national origin, shall be fined under this title, or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

Whoever makes or offers to make an expenditure to any person, either to vote or withhold his vote, or to vote for or against any candidate; and

Whoever solicits, accepts, or receives any such expenditure in consideration of his vote or the withholding of his vote –

Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and if the violation was willful, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.

Whoever uses any part of any appropriation made by Congress for work relief, relief, or for increasing employment by providing loans and grants for public-works projects, or exercises or administers any authority conferred by any Appropriation Act for the purpose of interfering with, restraining, or coercing any individual in the exercise of his right to vote at any election, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

Whoever, being a candidate, directly or indirectly promises or pledges the appointment, or the use of his influence or support for the appointment of any person to any public or private position or employment, for the purpose of procuring support in his candidacy shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and if the violation was willful, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.

Whoever, directly or indirectly, promises any employment, position, compensation, contract, appointment, or other benefit, provided for or made possible in whole or in part by any Act of Congress, or any special consideration in obtaining any such benefit, to any person as consideration, favor, or reward for any political activity or for the support of or opposition to any candidate or any political party in connection with any general or special election to any political office, or in connection with any primary election or political convention or caucus held to select candidates for any political office, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

(a) Whoever, directly or indirectly, knowingly causes or attempts to cause any person to make a contribution of a thing of value (including services) for the benefit of any candidate or any political party, by means of the denial or deprivation, or the threat of the denial or deprivation, of –

(1) any employment, position, or work in or for any agency or other entity of the Government of the United States, a State, or a political subdivision of a State, or any compensation or benefit of such employment, position, or work; or

(2) any payment or benefit of a program of the United States, a State, or a political subdivision of a State; if such employment, position, work, compensation, payment, or benefit is provided for or made possible in whole or in part by an Act of Congress, shall be fined under this title, or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

(b) As used in this section –

(1) the term "candidate" means an individual who seeks nomination for election, or election, to Federal, State, or local office, whether or not such individual is elected, and, for purposes of this paragraph, an individual shall be deemed to seek nomination for election, or election, to Federal, State, or local office, if he has (A) taken the action necessary under the law of a State to qualify himself for nomination for election, or election, or (B) received contributions or made expenditures, or has given his consent for any other person to receive contributions or make expenditures, with a view to bringing about his nomination for election, or election, to such office;

(2) the term "election" means (A) a general, special primary, or runoff election, (B) a convention or caucus of a political party held to nominate a candidate, (C) a primary election held for the selection of delegates to a nominating convention of a political party, (D) a primary election held for the expression of a preference for the nomination of persons for election to the office of President, and (E) the election of delegates to a constitutional convention for proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States or of any State; and

(3) the term "State" means a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any territory or possession of the United States.

(a) It shall be unlawful for –

(1) a candidate for the Congress;

(2) an individual elected to or serving in the office of Senator or Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress;

(3) an officer or employee of the United States or any department or agency thereof; or

(4) a person receiving any salary or compensation for services from money derived from the Treasury of the United States; to knowingly solicit any contribution within the meaning of section 301(8) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 from any other such officer, employee, or person. Any person who violates this section shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 3 years, or both.

(b) The prohibition in subsection (a) shall not apply to any activity of an employee (as defined in section 7322(1) of title 5) or any individual employed in or under the United States Postal Service or the Postal Rate Commission, unless that activity is prohibited by section 7323 or 7324 of such title.

(a) It shall be unlawful for an officer or employee of the United States or any department or agency thereof, or a person receiving any salary or compensation for service from money derived from the Treasury of the United States, to make any contribution within the meaning of section 301(8) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to any other such officer, employee or person or to any Senator or Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress, if the person receiving such contribution is the employer or employing authority of the person making the contribution. Any person who violates this section shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.

(b) For purposes of this section, a contribution to an authorized committee as defined in section 302(e)(1) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 shall be considered a contribution to the individual who has authorized such committee.

(c) The prohibition in subsection (a) shall not apply to any activity of an employee (as defined in section 7322(1) of title 5) or any individual employed in or under the United States Postal Service or the Postal Rate Commission, unless that activity is prohibited by section 7323 or 7324 of such title.

Whoever solicits or receives or is in any manner concerned in soliciting or receiving any assessment, subscription, or contribution for any political purpose from any person known by him to be entitled to, or receiving compensation, employment, or other benefit provided for or made possible by any Act of Congress appropriating funds for work relief or relief purposes, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

Whoever, for political purposes, furnishes or discloses any list or names of persons receiving compensation, employment or benefits provided for or made possible by any Act of Congress appropriating, or authorizing the appropriation of funds for work relief or relief purposes, to a political candidate, committee, campaign manager, or to any person for delivery to a political candidate, committee, or campaign manager; and

Whoever receives any such list or names for political purposes –

Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

Whoever, being one of the officers or employees of the United States mentioned in section 602 of this title, discharges, or promotes, or degrades, or in any manner changes the official rank or compensation of any other officer or employee, or promises or threatens so to do, for giving or withholding or neglecting to make any contribution of money or other valuable thing for any political purpose, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to solicit or receive any contribution within the meaning of section 301(8) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 in any room or building occupied in the discharge of official duties by any person mentioned in section 603, or in any navy yard, fort, or arsenal. Any person who violates this section shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.

(b) The prohibition in subsection (a) shall not apply to the receipt of contributions by persons on the staff of a Senator or Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress, provided, that such contributions have not been solicited in any manner which directs the contributor to mail or deliver a contribution to any room, building, or other facility referred to in subsection (a), and provided that such contributions are transferred within seven days of receipt to a political committee within the meaning of section 302(e) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.

(a) Whoever knowingly displays any printed or other likeness of the great seal of the United States, or of the seals of the President or the Vice President of the United States, or the seal of the United States Senate, or the seal of the United States House of Representatives, or the seal of the United States Congress, or any facsimile thereof, in, or in connection with, any advertisement, poster, circular, book, pamphlet, or other publication, public meeting, play, motion picture, telecast, or other production, or on any building, monument, or stationery, for the purpose of conveying, or in a manner reasonably calculated to convey, a false impression of sponsorship or approval by the Government of the United States or by any department, agency, or instrumentality thereof, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.

(b) Whoever, except as authorized under regulations promulgated by the President and published in the Federal Register, knowingly manufactures, reproduces, sells, or purchases for resale, either separately or appended to any article manufactured or sold, any likeness of the seals of the President or Vice President, or any substantial part thereof, except for manufacture or sale of the article for the official use of the Government of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.

(c) Whoever, except as directed by the United States Senate, or the Secretary of the Senate on its behalf, knowingly uses, manufactures, reproduces, sells or purchases for resale, either separately or appended to any article manufactured or sold, any likeness of the seal of the United States Senate, or any substantial part thereof, except for manufacture or sale of the article for the official use of the Government of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.

(d) Whoever, except as directed by the United States House of Representatives, or the Clerk of the House of Representatives on its behalf, knowingly uses, manufactures, reproduces, sells or purchases for resale, either separately or appended to any article manufactured or sold, any likeness of the seal of the United States House of Representatives, or any substantial part thereof, except for manufacture or sale of the article for the official use of the Government of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.

(e) Whoever, except as directed by the United States Congress, or the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives, acting jointly on its behalf, knowingly uses, manufactures, reproduces, sells or purchases for resale, either separately or appended to any article manufactured or sold, any likeness of the seal of the United States Congress, or any substantial part thereof, except for manufacture or sale of the article for the official use of the Government of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.

(f) A violation of the provisions of this section may be enjoined at the suit of the Attorney General,

(1) in the case of the great seal of the United States and the seals of the President and Vice President, upon complaint by any authorized representative of any department or agency of the United States;

(2) in the case of the seal of the United States Senate, upon complaint by the Secretary of the Senate;

(3) in the case of the seal of the United States House of Representatives, upon complaint by the Clerk of the House of Representatives; and

(4) in the case of the seal of the United States Congress, upon complaint by the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives, acting jointly.

Sec.

113.1 Definitions (2 U.S.C. 439a).

113.2 Use of funds (2 U.S.C. 439a).

113.3 Deposits of funds donated to a Federal or State officeholder (2 U.S.C. 432(h)).

113.4 Contribution and expenditure limitations (2 U.S.C. 441a).

Authority: 2 U.S.C. 432(h), 438(a)(8), 439a, 441a.

Source: 45 FR 15124, Mar. 7, 1980, unless otherwise noted.

Sec. 113.1 Definitions (2 U.S.C. 439a).

When used in this part--

(a) Funds donated. Funds donated means all funds, including, but not limited to, gifts, loans, advances, credits or deposits of money which are donated for the purpose of supporting the activities of a Federal or State officeholder; but does not mean funds appropriated by Congress, a State legislature, or another similar public appropriating body, or personal funds of the officeholder donated to an account containing only those personal funds.

(b) Office account. Office account means an account established for the purposes of supporting the activities of a Federal or State officeholder which contains excess campaign funds and funds donated, but does not include an account used exclusively for funds appropriated by Congress, a State legislature, or another similar public appropriating body, or an account of the officeholder which contains only the personal funds of the officeholder, or an account containing only appropriated funds and only personal funds of the officeholder.

(c) Federal officeholder. Federal officeholder means an individual elected to or serving in the office of President or Vice President of the United States; or a Senator or a Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress of the United States.

(d) State officeholder. State officeholder means an individual elected to or serving in any elected public office within a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or any subdivision thereof.

(e) Excess campaign funds. Excess campaign funds means amounts received by a candidate as contributions which he or she determines are in excess of any amount necessary to defray his or her campaign expenditures.

(f) Qualified Member. Qualified Member means an individual who was serving as a Senator or Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, Congress, on January 8, 1980.

(g) Personal use. Personal use means any use of funds in a campaign account of a present or former candidate to fulfill a commitment, obligation or expense of any person that would exist irrespective of the candidate's campaign or duties as a Federal officeholder.

(1)(i) Personal use includes but is not limited to the use of funds in a campaign account for:

(A) Household food items or supplies;

(B) Funeral, cremation or burial expenses;

(C) Clothing, other than items of de minimis value that are used in the campaign, such as campaign ``T-shirts'' or caps with campaign slogans;

(D) Tuition payments, other than those associated with training campaign staff;

(E) Mortgage, rent or utility payments--

(1) For any part of any personal residence of the candidate or a member of the candidate's family; or

(2) For real or personal property that is owned by the candidate or a member of the candidate's family and used for campaign purposes, to the extent the payments exceed the fair market value of the property usage;

(F) Admission to a sporting event, concert, theater or other form of entertainment, unless part of a specific campaign or officeholder activity;

(G) Dues, fees or gratuities at a country club, health club, recreational facility or other nonpolitical organization, unless they are part of the costs of a specific fundraising event that takes place on the organization's premises; and

(H) Salary payments to a member of the candidate's family, unless the family member is providing bona fide services to the campaign. If a family member provides bona fide services to the campaign, any salary payment in excess of the fair market value of the services provided is personal use.

(ii) The Commission will determine, on a case by case basis, whether other uses of funds in a campaign account fulfill a commitment, obligation or expense that would exist irrespective of the candidate's campaign or duties as a Federal officeholder, and therefore are personal use. Examples of such other uses include:

(A) Legal expenses;

(B) Meal expenses;

(C) Travel expenses, including subsistence expenses incurred during travel. If a committee uses campaign funds to pay expenses associated with travel that involves both personal activities and campaign or officeholder related activities, the incremental expenses that result from the personal activities are personal use, unless the person(s) benefiting from this use reimburse(s) the campaign account within thirty days for the amount of the incremental expenses; and

(D) Vehicle expenses, unless they are a de minimis amount. If a committee uses campaign funds to pay expenses associated with a vehicle that is used for both personal activities beyond a de minimis amount and campaign or officerholder related activities, the portion of the vehicle expenses associated with the personal activities is personal use, unless the person(s) using the vehicle for personal activities reimburse(s) the campaign account within thirty days for the expenses associated with the personal activities.

(2) Charitable donations. Donations of campaign funds or assets to an organization described in section 170(c) of Title 26 of the United States Code are not personal use, unless the candidate receives compensation from the organization before the organization has expended the entire amount donated for purposes unrelated to his or her personal benefit.

(3) Transfers of campaign assets. The transfer of a campaign committee asset is not personal use so long as the transfer is for fair market value. Any depreciation that takes place before the transfer must be allocated between the committee and the purchaser based on the useful life of the asset.

(4) Gifts. Gifts of nominal value and donations of a nominal amount made on a special occasion such as a holiday, graduation, marriage, retirement, or death are not personal use, unless made to a member of the candidate's family.

(5) Political or officially connected expenses. The use of campaign funds for an expense that would be a political expense under the rules of the United States House of Representatives or an officially connected expense under the rules of the United States Senate is not personal use to the extent that the expense is an expenditure under 11 CFR 100.8 or an ordinary and necessary expense incurred in connection with the duties of a holder of Federal office. Any use of funds that would be personal use under 11 CFR 113.1(g)(1) will not be considered an expenditure under 11 CFR 100.8 or an ordinary and necessary expense incurred in connection with the duties of a holder of Federal office.

(6) Third party payments. Notwithstanding that the use of funds for a particular expense would be a personal use under this section, payment of that expense by any person other than the candidate or the campaign committee shall be a contribution under 11 CFR 100.7 to the candidate unless the payment would have been made irrespective of the candidacy. Examples of payments considered to be irrespective of the candidacy include, but are not limited to, situations where--

(i) The payment is a donation to a legal expense trust fund established in accordance with the rules of the United States Senate or the United State House of Representatives;

(ii) The payment is made from funds that are the candidate's personal funds as defined in 11 CFR 110.10(b), including an account jointly held by the candidate and a member of the candidate's family;

(iii) Payments for that expense were made by the person making the payment before the candidate became a candidate. Payments that are compensation shall be considered contributions unless--

(A) The compensation results from bona fide employment that is genuinely independent of the candidacy;

(B) The compensation is exclusively in consideration of services provided by the employee as part of this employment; and

(C) The compensation does not exceed the amount of compensation which would be paid to any other similarly qualified person for the same work over the same period of time.

(7) Members of the candidate's family. For the purposes of section 113.1(g), the candidate's family includes:

(i) The spouse of the candidate;

(ii) Any child, step-child, parent, grandparent, sibling, half- sibling or step-sibling of the candidate or the candidate's spouse;

(iii) The spouse of any child, step-child, parent, grandparent, sibling, half-sibling or step-sibling of the candidate; and

(iv) A person who has a committed relationship with the candidate, such as sharing a household and having mutual responsibility for each other's personal welfare or living expenses.

[45 FR 15124, Mar. 7, 1980, as amended at 56 FR 34126, July 25, 1991; 60 FR 7874, Feb. 9, 1995]

Sec. 113.2 Use of funds (2 U.S.C. 439a).

Excess campaign funds and funds donated:

(a) May be used to defray any ordinary and necessary expenses incurred in connection with the recipient's duties as a holder of Federal office, if applicable, including:

(1) The costs of travel by the recipient Federal officeholder and an accompanying spouse to participate in a function directly connected to bona fide official responsibilities, such as a fact-finding meeting or an event at which the officeholder's services are provided through a speech or appearance in an official capacity; and

(2) The costs of winding down the office of a former Federal officeholder for a period of 6 months after he or she leaves office; or

(b) May be contributed to any organization described in section 170(c) of Title 26, of the United States Code; or

(c) May be transferred without limitation to any national, State, or local committee of any political party; or

(d) May be used for any other lawful purpose, except that, other than as set forth in paragraph (e) of this section, no such amounts may be converted by any person to any personal use, other than: To defray any ordinary and necessary expenses incurred in connection with his or her duties as a holder of Federal office, or to repay to a candidate any loan the proceeds of which were used in connection with his or her campaign.

(e)(1) Except as limited by paragraph (e)(5) of this section, a qualified Member who serves in the 102d or an earlier Congress may convert to personal use no more than the unobligated balance of excess funds as of November 30, 1989. This unobligated balance shall be calculated under either paragraph (e)(1) (i) or (ii) of this section.

(i) Cash assets. The Member may convert any excess campaign or donated funds in an amount up to the Member's authorized committee(s)' cash on hand, determined under 11 CFR 104.3(a)(1), as of November 30, 1989, less the committee(s)' total outstanding debts as of that date.

(ii) Cash Plus Nonliquid Assets. (A) The Member may convert unliquidated committee assets held by his or her authorized committee(s) on November 30, 1989; or the value of such assets may be added to the value of the committee(s)' cash assets under paragraph (e)(1)(i) of this section to determine the amount which is eligible for conversion. In either case, prior to conversion, the committee shall amend its 1989 year end reports to indicate, as memo entries to Schedule A, the assets to be converted. These amendments shall list each asset, give its date of acquisition, its fair market value as of November 30, 1989, and a brief narrative description of how this value was ascertained. The committee shall also disclose the disposition made of each such asset, including its fair market value on the date of sale or other disposition, in its termination report, unless the asset was sold or otherwise disposed of during an earlier period and included in the report covering that period.

(B) The Member may add the value of debts and loans reported as owed to the Member's authorized committee(s) as of November 30, 1989, and itemized on the committee(s)' year end reports for 1989, to the unobligated balance, provided that such receivables are actually collected by the committee(s) prior to their termination.

(C) The Member may add to the unobligated balance the value of vendor credits and deposit refunds to which authorized campaign committee(s) are entitled, if these receivables are itemized on Schedule C or D of the committee(s)' 1989 year end reports or in amendment(s) thereto.

(2) If the unobligated balance subsequently falls below its November 30, 1989, level, a qualified Member may use contributions lawfully received or other lawful committee income received after that date to restore the account up to that level.

(3) A qualified Member may convert committee assets which were not held on November 30, 1989, to personal use; however, the fair market value of such assets at the time of conversion shall be counted against the unobligated balance.

(4) Under no circumstances may an amount greater than the unobligated balance on November 30, 1989, be converted to personal use. Should money from subsequent contributions, other committee income, and/or the sale of campaign assets exceed the amount needed to restore the unobligated balance to its November 30, 1989, level, such additional funds shall not be converted to personal use but may be used for the purposes set forth in paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) of this section.

(5) 103d Congress or later Congress: A qualified Member who serves in the 103d Congress or a later Congress may not convert to personal use any excess campaign or donated funds, as of the first day of such service.

(f) Nothing in this section modifies or supersedes other Federal statutory restrictions or relevant State laws which may apply to the use of excess campaign or donated funds by candidates or Federal officeholders.

[45 FR 15124, Mar. 7, 1980, as amended at 56 FR 34126, July 25, 1991; 60 FR 7875, Feb. 9, 1995]

All funds donated to a federal officeholder, or State officeholder who is a candidate for federal office, shall be deposited into one of the following accounts:

(a) An account of the officeholder's principal campaign committee or other authorized committee pursuant to 11 CFR part 103;

(b) An account to which only funds donated to an individual to support his or her activities as a holder of federal office are deposited (including an office account).

Sec. 113.4 Contribution and expenditure limitations (2 U.S.C. 441a).

(a) Any contributions to, or expenditures from an office account which are made for the purpose of influencing a federal election shall be subject to 2 U.S.C. 441a and 11 CFR part 110 of these regulations.

(b) If any treasury funds of a corporation or labor organization are donated to an office account, no funds from that office account may be transferred to a political committee account or otherwise used in connection with a federal election.