Ethics Reform resolution

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

Title I: Adoption of Rules of One Hundred Ninth Congress - (Sec. 101) Adopts the Rules of the House of Representatives for the 109th Congress as the Rules for the 110th Congress, with amendments.

Title II: Ethics - (Sec. 202) Amends Rule XXIII (Code of Official Conduct) to prohibit Members, with the intent to influence on the basis of partisan political affiliation an employment decision or practice of private entities, from: (1) taking or withholding, or offering or threatening to to take or withhold, an official act; or (2) influencing, or offering or threatening to influence, the official act of another.

(Sec. 203) Amends Rule XXV (Limitations on Outside Earned Income and Acceptance of Gifts) to ban Members, officers, or employees of the House from knowingly accepting a gift from a registered lobbyist or agent of a foreign principal or from a private entity that retains or employs such individuals.

(Sec. 204) Declares that a gift of a ticket to a sporting or entertainment event shall be the face value of the ticket, or equivalent. Deems the price printed on a ticket to an event as its face value only if it also is the price at which the issuer offers that ticket for sale to the public.

(Sec. 205) Allows Members, officers or employees of the House to accept from a private source (other than a registered lobbyist or agent of a foreign principal or a private entity that retains or employs such individuals) reimbursement for necessary transportation, lodging, and related expenses for travel to a meeting, speaking engagement, factfinding trip, or similar event related to officeholder duties.

Allows Members, officers, or employees to accept such reimbursements (without regard to whether the source retains or employs registered lobbyist or agents of a foreign principal) if, under implementing Committee on Standards of Official Conduct (Committee) regulations, they are: (1) directly from colleges and universities; or (2) provided only for attendance at or participation in a one-day event (exclusive of travel time and an overnight stay).

Allows the regulations to permit a two-night stay when determined by the Committee on a case-by-case basis to be practically required to participate in the one-day event.

(Sec. 206) Prohibits a Member, officer or employee from accepting a reimbursement (including payment in kind) for transportation, lodging, or related expenses for a trip on which the traveler is accompanied on any segment by a registered lobbyist or agent of a foreign principal. Exempts trips for which the source of reimbursement is a college or university.

Prohibits a Member, officer, or employee from accepting such reimbursement for a trip or attendance at or participation in a one-day event (exclusive of travel time and an overnight stay) that is financed in whole or in part by a private entity that retains or employs registered lobbyists or agents of a foreign principal, unless their involvement in the planning, organization, request, or arrangement of the trip is de minimis under Committee rules.

Prohibits the individuals from accepting such reimbursement for a trip (other than a trip permitted under Sec. 205) if such trip is planned, organized, requested, or arranged by a registered lobbyist or agent of a foreign principal.

Requires a Member, officer or employee, before accepting permissible travel from any source, to provide written certification to the Committee signed by the source or (in the case of a corporate person) by its officer that meets specified criteria, including but not limited to: (1) that the trip will not be financed in any part by a registered lobbyist or agent of a foreign principal nor does the source retain or employ such individuals; and (2) the source will not accept from another source any funds earmarked directly or indirectly to finance any aspect of the trip. Requires prior approval of the Committee before such trip.

Reduces from 30 to 15 days after the travel is completed the deadline for reporting such a reimbursement to the Clerk of the House.

Requires the Clerk to make all Committee certifications available for public inspection as soon as they are received.

(Sec. 207) Amends Rule XXIII to prohibit a Member, officer or employee from using personal, official, or campaign funds to pay for a flight on a non-governmental airplane that is not licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to operate for compensation or hire.

(Sec. 208) Amends Rule XXV to require the Committee to develop and revise: (1) specified guidelines on judging the reasonableness of an expense or expenditure; and (2) regulations describing information required by the Committee of individuals in order to obtain prior approval for such travel, including any required certifications.

(Sec. 209) Modifies disclosure requirements of Members for reimbursement of travel-related expenses by private sources. Requires a description of meetings and events attended.

(Sec. 211) Amends Rule XI (Procedures of Committees and Unfinished Business) to require the Committee to provide annual ethics training to each Member, officer and employee of the House.

Requires a new officer or employee to receive such training within 60 days after beginning service.

Requires each officer and employee to certify with the committee, by January 31 of each year, that the individual attended such ethics training.

(Sec. 212) Amends Rule X (Organizations of Committees) to change the name of the Committee on: (1) Education and the Workforce to Education and Labor; (2) International Relations to Foreign Affairs; (3) Resources to Natural Resources; (4) Government Reform to Oversight and Government Reform; (5) Science to Science and Technology.

(Sec. 217) Reserves the first 10 numbers for bills (H.R. 1 through H.R. 10) for assignment by the Speaker.

Title III: Civility - (Sec. 302) Amends Rule XX (Voting and Quorum Calls) to prohibit holding open a record vote by electronic device for the sole putpose of reversing the outcome of such vote.

(Sec. 303) Amends Rule XXII (House and Senate Relations) to urge House managers, in conducting conferences with the Senate, to endeavor to ensure that: (1) meetings for the resolution of differences between the two chambers occur only under circumstances in which every House manager has notice of the meeting and a reasonable opportunity to attend; (2) all provisions on which the two chambers disagree are considered as open to discussion at any conference committee meeting; and (3) papers reflecting a conference agreement are held inviolate to change without renewal of the opportunity of all House managers to reconsider their decisions to sign or not to sign the agreement.

Requires House managers to be provided a unitary time and place with access to at least one complete copy of the final conference agreement to record their approval or disapproval of the final conference agreement by placing their signatures (or not) on the sheets prepared to accompany the conference report and joint explanatory statement.

Makes it out of order to consider a conference report the text of which differs in any way, other than clerical, from the text that reflects the action of the conferees on all of the differences between the two chambers, as recorded by their placement of their signatures (or not) on such sheets.

Title IV: Fiscal Responsibility - (Sec. 402) Amends Rule XXI (Restrictions on Certain Bills) to make it out of order to consider a concurrent resolution on the budget, an amendment to it, or a conference report containing reconciliation directives under the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (CBA) that specify changes in law reducing the surplus or increasing the deficit for the current fiscal year and the five or 10 ensuing fiscal years.

(Sec. 403) Provides that, with respect to measures considered pursuant to a special order of business, CBA points of order shall operate without regard to whether the measure concerned has been reported from committee.

(Sec. 404) Makes it out of order to consider: (1) legislation reported by a committee unless the report includes a list of congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, and limited tariff benefits in the bill or in the report (and the name of the requesting Member), or a statement that the proposition contains none; or (2) legislation not reported by a committee unless the chairman of each committee of initial referral has caused a list of such information or statement to be printed in the Congressional Record before its consideration.

Makes it out of order to consider: (1) an amendment to legislation to be offered at the outset of its floor consideration for amendment by a member of a committee of initial referral as designated in a Committee on Rules report to accompany a resolution prescribing a special order of business, unless the proponent has also caused such a list or statement to be printed in the Record before its consideration; or (2) a conference report to accompany legislation unless the joint explanatory statement includes such a list or statement.

Makes it out of order to consider a rule or order that waives this application.

Defines limited tax benefit as: (1) any revenue-losing provision that provides federal tax deduction, credit, exclusion, or preference to 10 or fewer beneficiaries under the Internal Revenue Code and contains eligibility criteria that are not uniform in application with respect to potential beneficiaries; or (2) any federal tax provision which provides one beneficiary temporary or permanent transition relief from a change to such Code.

Defines limited tariff benefit as a provision modifying the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States in a manner that benefits 10 or fewer entities.

Amends Rule XXIII to amend the Code of Official Conduct to prohibit a Member from conditioning the inclusion of language to provide funding for a congressional earmark, a limited tax benefit, or a limited tariff benefit in any legislation (or an accompanying report), or in any conference report on such legislation (including an accompanying joint explanatory statement), on any vote cast by another Member.

Requires a Member requesting such a funding language inclusion to provide a written statement to the chairman and ranking minority member of the committee of jurisdiction that provides specified earmark or limited tax or tariff benefit information.

Makes open for public inspection all such information and written disclosures for any congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits included in any reported legislation or conference report filed by the committee or subcommittee chairman.

(Sec. 405) Amends Rule XXI to make it out of order to consider any legislation, amendment, or conference report if the provisions of such measure affecting direct spending and revenues have the net effect of increasing the deficit or reducing the surplus for the current fiscal year and the five or 10 ensuing fiscal years.

Title V: Miscellaneous - (Sec. 502) Amends Rule X to authorize the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to adopt a rule authorizing and regulating the taking of depositions by a member or counsel of such Committee, including pursuant to subpoena under Rule XI (hereby made applicable for such purpose).

(Sec. 503) Amends Rule XIII (Calendars and Committee Reports) to exempt a report from the Committee on Rules from the requirement that record votes be included in committee reports.

(Sec. 504) Amends Rule X to modify jurisdiction of the Select Committee on Intelligence to reflect intelligence community reform. Replaces the Director of Central Intelligence with the Director of National Intelligence as the subject of proposed legislation, messages, petitions, memorials, and other related matters referred to the select committee.

(Sec. 505) Amends Rule I (The Speaker) to authorize the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole to declare an emergency recess, subject to the call of the Chair, to suspend the business of the Committee on the state of the Union when notified of an imminent threat to its safety.

Amends Rule XIII and Rule XV to make technical changes regarding the Speaker's entertaining motions that the House adjourn.

(Sec. 506) Sets forth the rule for consideration of a resolution to enhance intelligence oversight authority.

(Sec. 507) Sets forth the rule for consideration of H.R. 1 (Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act of 2007).

(Sec. 508) Sets forth the rule for consideration of H.R. 2 (Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007).

(Sec. 509) Sets forth the rule for consideration of H.R. 3 (Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007).

(Sec. 510) Sets forth the rule for consideration of H.R. 4 (Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act of 2007).

(Sec. 511) Continues specified budget enforcement mechanisms from the 109th Congress. Declares that references to resolutions in Sec. 306 of the CBA (prohibiting consideration of legislation within the Budget Committee's jurisdiction unless reported by the Budget Committee) shall be construed as applying only to joint resolutions (not simple or concurrent resolutions).

Makes a Sec. 303 point of order (requiring adoption of a budget resolution before consideration of budget-related legislation) applicable to text made in order as an original bill by a special rule, or to the text on which the previous question is ordered directly to passage, as the case may be.

Declares that a provision in a bill or joint resolution (or amendment or conference report) that establishes prospectively for a federal office or position a specified or minimum level of compensation to be funded by annual discretionary appropriations shall not be considered as providing new entitlement authority.

States that the provisions of H.Con.Res. 376 (FY2007 Congressional Budget resolution), as adopted by the House in the 109th Congress, shall have effect in the 110th Congress until a concurrent budget resolution for FY2008 is adopted.

Requires the chairman of the Committee on the Budget (when elected) to have printed in the Congressional Record: (1) the committee allocations comtemplated by CBA to accompany the FY2008 budget resolution, which shall be considered as allocations under a concurrent resolution on the budget; and (2) "Accounts Identified for Advance Appropriations," which shall be considered as programs, projects, activities, or accounts referred to in H.Con.Res. 376.

Makes out of order, during the 110th Congress, a motion that the Committee of the Whole rise and report a bill to the House if the bill, as amended, exceeds an applicable committee allocation of new budget authority, as estimated by the Committee on the Budget.

Exempts from such a point of order: (1) a motion offered under Rule XXI on general appropriations bills and amendments; and (2) disposition of a question by the Chair on a given bill when a point of order is sustained.

Increases from six to seven the maximum number of subcommittees authorized for the Committee on Armed Services. Maintains at a maximum of: (1) seven the number of subcommittees authorized for the Committee on Foreign Affairs; and (2) six the number of subcommittees authorized for the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Prohibits the House from providing access to any exercise facility available exclusively to Members and former Members, officers and former officers, and their spouses to any former Member, former officer, or spouse who is a registered lobbyist or agent of a foreign principal.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov