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B. Gifts Worth Less Than $50
You may accept a gift worth less than $50 ($49.99 or less before tax) from someone who is not a registered federal lobbyist, foreign agent, or entity that employs or retains a registered federal lobbyist or foreign agent, with some caveats.[38] The caveats are
- The cumulative value of gifts you may accept under this exception in a calendar year from a single source must be less than $100 ($99.99 or less before tax);
- A gift worth less than $10 ($9.99 before tax) does not count towards the cumulative limit;
- You may not accept cash or cash equivalents, like gift cards; and
- You may not buy down the gift’s value to get it below $50.
[38] House Rule 25, cl. 5(a)(1)(B)(i). “Registered federal lobbyist” means a lobbyist who is registered under the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA). House Rule 25, cl. 5(g). The LDA is the successor statute to the Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act cited in House Rule 25, clause 5(g). Because the LDA defines “lobbyist” to mean “any individual” who engages in certain activities set forth in the LDA, the Committee interprets the prohibitions for registered federal lobbyists to include both the individuals who are registered and lobbying firms. More information about the LDA and its searchable database can be found here.
“Foreign agent” means an agent of a foreign principal who is registered with the Department of Justice under the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA). More information about the FARA and the database can be found here.
“Foreign agent” means an agent of a foreign principal who is registered with the Department of Justice under the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA). More information about the FARA and the database can be found here.
You do not have to maintain formal records related to gifts you accept under this exception, but you must make a good faith effort to comply with these terms.[39]
[39] Id.
Example (Permissible). You were invited to dinner by a group that does not employ or retain a registered federal lobbyist or foreign agent. Your meal and beverages before tax and tip cost $45. You may accept the group’s offer to pay for your meal.
Example (Impermissible). A registered federal lobbyist invites you to dinner and offers to pay. You may not accept the offer, regardless of the meal’s value. You may still go to dinner with the lobbyist and pay for your own meal.
Example (Impermissible). An organization that does not employ or retain a registered federal lobbyist or foreign agent offers you tickets to a baseball game with a face value of $65. You may not pay $16 to buy down the value so the gift is less than $50. You must pay the ticket’s entire face value to accept it.
Example (Impermissible). An organization that does not employ or retain a registered federal lobbyist or foreign agent has a monthly speaker series over dinner. The dinners are $20 per person. In that calendar year, you already attended four dinners and would now like to attend a fifth dinner. Because the fifth dinner’s value would make a total of $100 in cumulative yearly gifts from that organization, you may not accept the fifth dinner, nor may you pay $1 to bring the cumulative value to $99. You may still attend the event and pay for your own dinner.
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