I. Overview

• 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, as amended (2 U.S.C. §§ 431-455) (“FECA”), 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, with limited exceptions;
• Rules of the Committee on House Administration 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 or staff who are seeking state or local office are not subject to FECA in that undertaking, but they likely are subject to a comparable set of state laws and rules.

This chapter 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 chapter: (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 FECA establishes an extensive set of regulations on contributions and expenditures for campaigns for federal offices, this chapter, with one exception, does not address the provisions of FECA. FECA 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 chapter 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 chapter 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 House Rule 23, clause 2 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. Chapter 1 on general ethical standards includes further discussion on this point.

While FECA and other statutes on campaign activity are not rules of the House, Members and employees must also bear in mind that the House Rules require that they conduct themselves “at all times in a manner that shall reflect creditably on the House” (House Rule 23, clause 1). In addition, the Code of Ethics for Government Service, which applies to House Members and staff, provides in ¶ 2 that government officials should “[u]phold the Constitution, laws and legal regulations of the United States and of all governments therein and never be a party to their evasion.” Accordingly, in violating FECA or another provision of statutory law, a Member or employee may also violate these provisions of the House rules and standards of conduct. [1] In addition, acceptance of an unlawful campaign contribution may also violate the House gift rule (House Rule 25, clause 5).

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 the individual’s own 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 Committee on Standards of Official Conduct in the 104^th Congress, a Member admitted to a Statement of Alleged Violation that charged a violation of the predecessor of House Rule 23, clause 1 (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]