May 8, 2002

 

MEMBERS’ ATTENTION – NEW POLICY

MEMORANDUM TO ALL MEMBERS, OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES

 

FROM: Committee on Standards of Official Conduct

Joel Hefley, Chairman

Howard L. Berman, Ranking Minority Member

SUBJECT: Member Use of Campaign Funds to Pay Food and Beverage Expenses at Events Sponsored by Their Office and Other Official House Events

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The purpose of this memorandum is to announce that effective immediately, Members may use funds of their principal campaign committee to pay food and beverage expenses at events sponsored by their Member office, as well as at other official House events in which they or a member of their staff are participating.

Under the policy announced here, Members are free to use funds of their principal campaign committee to pay food and beverage expenses at, for example, town hall meetings, briefings, conferences and other events sponsored by their Member office, whether in their congressional district or on Capitol Hill. As another example, Members may now use funds of their principal campaign committee to pay meal expenses at meetings of congressional caucuses or state delegation meetings.

The change that the Standards Committee here announces does not permit the use of campaign funds to pay any other expenses of such events, or any other expenses of any congressional office. While this change is limited to food and beverage expenses, it is a significant one. Up to now, the Committee has administered the pertinent House rules1  in a manner that strictly prohibits the use of campaign funds to pay any congressionally related expenses.2  Thus the effect of this Committee action is to create an exception – albeit a specific, limited one – to the general prohibition against using campaign funds to pay any such expenses. A number of cautionary points that Members should bear in mind when considering using campaign funds to pay food and beverage expenses at official events are set out at the end of this memorandum.

Reasons for the Committee Action. According to inquiries and comments that the Standards Committee has received from congressional offices, the prohibition against using campaign funds to pay food and beverage expenses at official House events has been among the aspects of the rules that Members have found most troubling. Often they wish to offer a meal or other refreshments at an official meeting or similar event as a means of encouraging attendance and full participation, but frequently Members find that absent authority to use campaign funds for this purpose, they are unable to do so.

The rules governing the use of the Members’ Representational Allowance (MRA) do allow use of the MRA to pay food and beverage expenses in certain circumstances.3  However, in a number of instances, Members find that MRA funds are unavailable either because of specific limitations in the governing rules, or as a practical matter because the office budget could not absorb the required outlay. In addition, the Standards Committee has long advised that where a Member office is sponsoring an event – such as a forum on senior citizen issues, or a conference on paying for higher education – the office has the option of charging attendees for their meals.4  However, this procedure can be somewhat cumbersome, and at times Members are reluctant to charge their constituents for refreshments at an event sponsored by their congressional office. In the Committee’s view, funds of a Member’s principal campaign committee are an appropriate alternative for the payment of these expenses.

The Standards Committee was also prompted to review the rules in this area by a recent change in the Senate rules, the effect of which is to permit Senators to use funds of their principal campaign committee to pay any congressional expenses except those in five designated categories.5  The Committee favors House adoption of an approach similar to that adopted by the Senate, but such a broader change would require amendment of both statutory law and the House Rules. In the Committee’s view, no such amendments are necessary in order for the limited change set out in this memorandum to be made.6 

Five Cautionary Points. As Members consider using campaign funds to pay food or beverage expenses at official events, there are at least five points that they should bear in mind.

1. The only campaign funds that a Member may use to pay food and beverage expenses at official events are funds of his or her principal campaign committee. Neither the funds of any multicandidate committee nor any "soft money" may be used to pay those expenses.

2. This change concerns the use of funds of a Member’s principal campaign committee only, and there has been no change in the rules prohibiting other private organizations or individuals from subsidizing any congressional activity, whether on a cash or an in-kind basis. Thus it continues to be the rule that no Member or staff person may accept an offer of any private organization or individual to provide or pay for food or beverages at an event sponsored by a Member office, a congressional caucus, or any other House office.

3. Neither a Member nor anyone working on his or her behalf may either solicit campaign contributions for the payment of food or beverage expenses at official events, or accept campaign contributions that are in any way earmarked for the payment of such expenses.

4. There has been no change in the prohibition against conversion of campaign funds to personal use. As noted in the Campaign Activities booklet issued by the Standards Committee (on pp. 46-47, 57), outlays of campaign funds for food and beverages are among those that can, in certain circumstances, raise concerns of impermissible personal use. Accordingly, any Member considering using the permission granted here in a context other than a specific scheduled event sponsored by a congressional office should first review those pages of the Campaign Activities booklet and consult with the Committee’s Office of Advice and Education.

5. The Standards Committee understands that disbursements made by a Member’s principal campaign committee for the purposes discussed in this memorandum are to be reported on the campaign committee’s reports to the Federal Election Commission in the category of "other disbursements." However, campaign committees should consult with the FEC on the applicable reporting requirements.

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Any questions on this subject should be directed to the Committee’s Office of Advice and Education at extension 5-7103.

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1 House Rule 24, clauses 1-3; House Rule 23, clause 6(c).

2This point was made most recently in the Campaign Activities booklet that the Committee issued in December 2001 (on pp. 61-65), and a Committee Advisory Memorandum of September 28, 2001 on events sponsored by House offices (on p. 3). Insofar as the use of campaign funds to pay food and beverage expenses at official House events is concerned, the guidance provided in this memorandum supercedes the guidance in those publications.

3Those rules provide that food and beverages expenses are reimbursable when "incidental to an official and representational meeting that includes a person(s) who is not a Member or employee of the House." Thus, for example, official funds may not be used where a meeting includes only House Members and/or staff. This is often the case at meetings of the congressional caucuses, and so up to now, the participating Members have had no alternative but to pay meal expenses with personal funds.

4See the Standards Committee advisory memorandum of September 28, 2001, p. 6.

5See 2 U.S.C. §59e(d), as amended by §110 of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2002, Pub. L. No. 107-68 (2001), and Senate Select Comm. on Ethics Interpretative Ruling 444 (Feb. 14, 2002). Under the revised Senate rule, Senators may use campaign funds to pay any congressional expenses except those in the categories of (1) franked mail, (2) employee salaries, (3) office space, (4) furniture, or (5) equipment and associated information technology services, except that cellphones and similar devices may be paid with campaign funds. As detailed in the text, currently this rule applies in the Senate only, and not in the House.

6In this regard, even when the Senate was governed by a statutory provision relating to use of campaign funds for official purposes that was identical to that which now governs the House, the Senate Select Committee on Ethics advised Senators that they may use campaign funds to pay for refreshments at official Senate events. On this point, see the Senate Ethics Manual, 106th Cong., 2d Sess., p. 300.

In addition, while Member use of campaign funds is subject to the Federal Election Campaign Act, as well as the House Rules, that Act provides that campaign funds may be used to defray "ordinary and necessary expenses incurred in connection with [the candidate’s] duties as a holder of Federal office." 2 U.S.C. §439a.