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G. Gifts from Federal, State, or Local Governments
You may accept anything that is paid for by the federal government, a state or local government, or secured under a contract with the federal government.[52] The domestic government agency or entity must directly pay for the gift and may not merely be a conduit for someone else.[53]
[52] House Rule 25, cl. 5(a)(3)(O). “Government contracts” under this provision mean federal government contracts. See, e.g., 5 C.F.R. § 2635.203(7); 57 Fed. Reg. 35,014 (Aug. 7, 1992) (“The exclusion is intended to cover items the Government procures for use by its employees under a Government contract or knowingly obligates itself to pay for.”).
[53] See Comm. on Rules, Amending the Rules of the House of Representatives to Provide for Gift Reform, H.R. Rep. No. 104-337, at 11 (1995).
To determine if an entity is a domestic governmental entity, the Committee looks to whether the entity is treated as a government entity for other purposes. The Committee considers these entities to be government entities.
- United States federal government
- United States state and federal district governments
- United States municipal governments
- Commonwealths and territories of the United States
- Smithsonian Institute
- Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA)[54]
- Tennessee Valley Authority
- California Joint Powers Authorities such as the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California[55]
- Public universities, including Pennsylvania state-related universities[56] The Committee does not consider these entities to be government entities.
- Native American tribes[57]
- Amtrak[58]
- Regional Federal Home Loan Bank
[54] An interstate compact entered into by the State of Maryland, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the District of Columbia, and was approved by Congress, established WMATA as a governmental agency, with funding derived from the federal government and state governments, as well as from rider fares.
[55] See Cal. Gov’t Code §§ 6500-6599.3 (joint powers authorities).
[56] See 22 Pa. Code § 31.2 (Pennsylvania state-related universities are instrumentalities of the commonwealth).
[57] The Committee carefully considered the matter of Native American tribes and found nothing in the legislative history of the current gift rule or its predecessors indicating an intent to treat Native American tribes as state or local government entities for these purposes. The Committee also does not consider Native American tribes to be foreign governments. Additionally, many Native American tribes employ or retain registered federal lobbyists. Your ability to accept gifts from those Native American tribes will be limited by the Gift Rule exceptions relevant to organizations that employ or retain registered federal lobbyists.
[58] “Amtrak is not a department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States Government . . .” 49 U.S.C. § 24301(a)(3).
These lists are not exhaustive. Please contact the Committee if you have questions about a particular entity.
Example (Permissible). A public university offers you tickets to an upcoming football game. The university uses its general funds to pay for your ticket. You would be sitting in the university president’s box. You may accept the tickets.
Example (Impermissible). A private university offers you tickets to an upcoming football game. You may not accept the tickets as a gift from a state government, but you may be able to accept the tickets under a different exception.
Example (Additional Action Required). The company running a national lab invites you to tour its facility and offers to take you out to lunch afterwards to discuss your observations. If providing tours and meals to congressional observers is part of the company’s contract with the Department of Energy, you may accept as a gift secured by a federal government contract. If not, you may be able to accept under a different exception.
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