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House Ethics Manual 2022 Edition

House Ethics Manual 2022 Edition

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V. Travel for Political Purposes

You may accept travel paid for by a political organization for a political fundraiser or campaign event sponsored by that political organization.[37]  For the purpose of the House Gift Rule, political organizations are those recognized under 527(e) of the Internal Revenue Code.[38]

[37] House Rule 15, cl. 5(a)(3)(G)(iii).

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[38] § 527 organizations are 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. See 26 U.S.C. § 527.

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If you are traveling for a campaign or political purpose and your campaign committee, or another candidate’s campaign committee is paying for travel expenses, you may not make the travel arrangements in the official, congressional office or using any congressional resources.

Example. A Member is traveling for a campaign fundraiser. The Member asks the official, congressional scheduler to help make travel arrangements. The official, congressional scheduler may not make those arrangements while on House grounds (including the district office), or using congressional resources. The official, congressional scheduler may, in his or her own time, schedule the Member’s campaign-related travel. The congressional scheduler must be willing to assist the campaign and may not be told to schedule that campaign-related travel as a condition of the scheduler’s congressional employment.

If you are a financial disclosure filer, you will only need to report travel paid for by a federal political organization on your annual financial disclosure statements if that federal political organization did not properly report the travel on its FEC expenditure reports. You will, however, have to report travel paid for by a state or local political organization on annual financial disclosure statements.

If you are offered travel on a non-commercial aircraft for campaign purposes, please call the Committee and the FEC. As discussed in Travel on Non-Commercial Aircraft, travel on private planes for campaign purposes is very restricted.

If you are traveling for a campaign or political purpose, but a third party offers to pay for the travel, please contact the FEC, or the state’s election authority if for a state campaign purpose. Payment by the third party could be considered a campaign contribution.

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