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RULE XXIII: CODE OF OFFICIAL CONDUCT
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.
3. A Member, Delegate, Resident
Commissioner, officer, or employee
of the House may not receive compensation
and may not permit compensation
to accrue to his beneficial
interest from any source, the receipt
of which would occur by virtue of influence
improperly exerted from his
position in Congress.
4. A Member, Delegate, Resident
Commissioner, officer, or employee
of the House may not accept gifts except
as provided by clause 5 of rule
XXV.
5. A Member, Delegate, Resident
Commissioner, officer, or employee
of the House may not accept an honorarium
for a speech, a writing for
publication, or other similar activity,
except as otherwise provided
under rule XXV.
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) except as provided in clause
1(b) of rule XXIV, 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 fundraising
events.
8. (a) A Member, Delegate, Resident
Commissioner, or officer of the House
may not retain an employee who does
not perform duties for the offices of
the employing authority commensurate
with the compensation he receives.
(b) In the case of a committee employee
who works under the direct
supervision of a member of the committee
other than a chairman, the
chairman may require that such
member affirm in writing that the
employee has complied with clause
8(a) (subject to clause 9 of rule X) as
evidence of compliance by the chairman
with this clause and with clause
9 of rule X.
(c)(1) Except as specified in subparagraph
(2)—
(A) a Member, Delegate, or Resident
Commissioner may not retain
his spouse in a paid position; and
(B) an employee of the House
may not accept compensation for
work for a committee on which his
spouse serves as a member.
(2) Subparagraph (1) shall not apply
in the case of a spouse whose pertinent
employment predates the One
Hundred Seventh Congress.
9. A Member, Delegate, Resident
Commissioner, officer, or employee
of the House may not discharge and
may not refuse to hire an individual,
or otherwise discriminate against an
individual with respect to compensation,
terms, conditions, or privileges
of employment, because of the race,
color, religion, sex (including marital
or parental status), disability, age, or
national origin of such individual,
but may take into consideration the
domicile or political affiliation of
such individual.
10. A Member, Delegate, or Resident
Commissioner who has been
convicted by a court of record for the
commission of a crime for which a
sentence of two or more years’ imprisonment
may be imposed should
refrain from participation in the
business of each committee of which
he is a member, and a Member should
refrain from voting on any question
at a meeting of the House or of the
Committee of the Whole House on
the state of the Union, unless or until
judicial or executive proceedings result
in reinstatement of the presumption
of his innocence or until he is reelected
to the House after the date of
such conviction.
11. A Member, Delegate, or Resident
Commissioner may not authorize
or otherwise allow an individual,
group, or organization not under the
direction and control of the House to
use the words ‘‘Congress of the
United States,’’ ‘‘House of Represen
tatives,’’ or ‘‘Official Business,’’ or
any combination of words thereof, on
any letterhead or envelope.
12. (a) Except as provided in paragraph
(b), an employee of the House
who is required to file a report under
rule XXVI may not participate personally
and substantially as an employee
of the House in a contact with
an agency of the executive or judicial
branches of Government with respect
to nonlegislative matters affecting
any nongovernmental person in
which the employee has a significant
financial interest.
(b) Paragraph (a) does not apply if
an employee first advises his employing
authority of a significant financial
interest described in paragraph
(a) and obtains from his employing
authority a written waiver stating
that the participation of the employee
in the activity described in
paragraph (a) is necessary. A copy of
each such waiver shall be filed with
the Committee on Standards of Official
Conduct.
13. Before a Member, Delegate,
Resident Commissioner, officer, or
employee of the House may have access
to classified information, the
following oath (or affirmation) shall
be executed:
‘‘I do solemnly swear (or affirm)
that I will not disclose any classified
information received in the
course of my service with the
House of Representatives, except as
authorized by the House of Representatives
or in accordance with
its Rules.’’
Copies of the executed oath (or affirmation)
shall be retained by the
Clerk as part of the records of the
House. The Clerk shall make signatures
a matter of public record, causing
the names of each Member, Delegate,
or Resident Commissioner who
has signed the oath during a week (if
any) to be published in a portion of
the Congressional Record designated
for that purpose on the last legislative
day of the week and making cumulative
lists of such names available
each day for public inspection in
an appropriate office of the House.
14. (a) In this Code of Official Conduct,
the term ‘‘officer or employee
of the House’’ means an individual
whose compensation is disbursed by
the Chief Administrative Officer.
(b) An individual whose services are
compensated by the House pursuant
to a consultant contract shall be considered
an employee of the House for purposes of clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, and
13 of this rule. An individual whose
services are compensated by the
House pursuant to a consultant contract
may not lobby the contracting
committee or the members or staff of
the contracting committee on any
matter. Such an individual may
lobby other Members, Delegates, or
the Resident Commissioner or staff
of the House on matters outside the
jurisdiction of the contracting committee.
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