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IX. Impermissible Gifts
If you receive a gift you may not accept, you must take the appropriate action to return or pay for the gift. Which action is appropriate depends on the gift’s nature. Your options are discussed below.
Decline the Gift
If someone offers you a gift you either may not accept, or do not want to accept, you may simply decline the gift. See Gifts from Foreign Governments and International Organizations if a foreign government official is offering the gift.
Return Gift to Donor
You may always return a gift to the person who gave it to you, whether the gift does not meet an exception to the Gift Rule, or you simply do not want it. You should return the item promptly.[25] If the gift came to the official office, please contact the Committee on House Administration for ways to pay for return postage.
[25] The Gift Rule restrictions do not apply to anything a Member, officer, or employee does not use and promptly returns to the donor. House Rule 25, cl. 5(a)(3)(A).
Pay Fair Market Value
If you receive a gift you may not accept, you may pay fair market value for the gift and keep it.[26] If you pay fair market value, the item will no longer be a gift, but rather a commercial transaction. How the Committee calculates fair market value varies depending on the gift.[27] See How to Value a Gift to determine what amount you should repay.
[26] The Gift Rule does not apply to anything for which a Member, officer, or employee pays market value. House Rule 25, cl. 5(a)(3)(A).
[27] Generally, the Committee looks to what would be a reasonable price for something similar in an arms’-length transaction. Any difficulty the recipient may have in paying the fair market value is not a factor in determining how much would need to be repaid. See Comm. on Ethics, In the Matter of Allegations Relating to Representative Jean Schmidt, H.R. Rep. No. 112-195, at 19 (2011).
Perishable or Unreturnable Gifts
If you receive a gift you do not wish to pay for and is impracticable to return because it is perishable, you may donate the gift to a charity or throw it away.[28] You may also donate a tangible item or throw it away if you have made every effort to return it and you cannot find the donor.[29] Donating or destroying a non-perishable tangible gift is an extreme measure. You should make every possible effort to return the gift first.
[28] House Rule 25, cl. 5(a)(6).
[29] House Rule 25, cl. 5(a)(6); Comm. on Ethics, In the Matter of Officially-Connected Travel by House Members to Azerbaijan in 2013, H.R. Rep. No. 114-239, at 10-11 (2015).
If you receive cash that you cannot return, despite every effort, you must send it to the U.S. Treasury. Please contact the Committee for instructions on sending cash to the U.S. Treasury.
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