Summary

The subject of ethics is broadly defined. The content of the page is dependent upon each individual representative. Some consider campaign finance reform to be the key topic on ethics, while others consider lobbying rules for former representatives to be the biggest problem. The ethics tab holds any statements that the representatives have made concerning ethics, and as each representative deals with the subject differently each ethics tab is unique.

Although each candidate or representative addresses ethics differently, there have been key developments and legislation that most representatives discussed if they were in office at the time. These pieces of legislation and other developments include:

• the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (McCain-Feingold)
• the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007
• the Executive Order on Ethics issued by President Obama in 2009
• The Stock Act

The ethics tab for each representative does not address the individual controversies associated with each representative. Those items are addressed individually under the controversies tab for that representative.

Legislation

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002

The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 is more commonly referred to as McCain-Feingold, a name given to the legislation to represent it's two main sponsors - John McCain and Russ Feingold (Summary, Text). The legislation was intended to reduce the role of soft money in campaign financing by prohibiting national political party committees from raising or spending any funds not subject to federal limits, even for state and local races or issue discussion. The legislation also addressed the issue of  advocacy ads by prohibiting ads that name a federal candidate within 30 days of a primary or caucus or 60 days of a general election. It also prohibited any such ad paid for by a corporation or non-profit or paid for by an unincorporated entity using any corporate or union general treasury funds. (Text taken from about.com source)

Title I: Reduction of Special Interest Influence

Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) to prohibit:

• national political party committees (including any officer, agent, or entity they directly or indirectly establish, finance, maintain, or control) (officer, agent, or entity) from soliciting, receiving, directing, transferring, or spending money that is subject to FECA limitations, prohibitions, and reporting requirements;
• soft money spending (not currently subject to FECA) for a Federal election activity, in general, by State, district, and local political party committees (including any officer, agent, or entity) or by an association or similar group of candidates for State or local office or State or local officials;
• soft money spending for fundraising costs by any such committee, officer, agent, or entity;
• national, State, district, or local political party committees (including national political party congressional campaign committees, entities, officers, or agents) from soliciting, any funds for, or making or directing any donations to certain tax-exempt organizations; and
• candidates for Federal office, Federal office holders, or their agents from soliciting, receiving, directing, transferring, or spending funds in connection with a Federal election, including funds for any Federal election activity, unless they are subject to FECA limitations, prohibitions, and reporting requirements, or in connection with any non-Federal election unless such funds meet specified requirements.

(Sec. 101) Prohibits any funds for soft money accounts from being solicited, received, directed, transferred, or spent in the name of national political parties, Federal candidates or officials, or by joint fundraising activities by two or more party committees.

Defines Federal election activity to include:

• voter registration activity in the last 120 days of a Federal election;
• voter identification, get-out-the-vote, or generic campaign activity conducted in connection with an election in which a Federal candidate is on the ballot;
• public communications that refer to a clearly identified Federal candidate and promote, support, attack, or oppose a candidate for Federal office (regardless of whether they expressly advocate a vote for or against); or
• services by a State, district, or local political party employee who spends at least 25 percent of paid time per month on activities in connection with a Federal election.

Defines generic campaign activity as a campaign activity that promotes a political party and does not promote a candidate or non-Federal candidate. Defines public communications as communications by means of any broadcast, cable, satellite communication, newspaper, magazine, outdoor advertising facility, mass mailing (over 500 identical or substantially similar pieces mailed within any 30-day period), or phone bank (over 500 identical or substantially similar telephone calls made within any 30-day period) to the general public, or any other form of general public political advertising.

(Sec. 102) Increases limit on individual contributions to a State committee of a political party from $5,000 to $10,000 per year.

(Sec. 103) Codifies Federal Election Commission (FEC) regulations on disclosure of all national political party committee activity, both Federal and non-Federal.

Requires disclosure by State and local parties of spending on Federal election activities, including any soft money permitted to be used for such activities. Terminates the building fund exception to the definition of contribution.

Title II: Noncandidate Campaign Expenditures

Subtitle A: Electioneering Communications

Amends FECA to require disclosure to the FEC of electioneering communications by any spender exceeding an aggregate of $10,000 per year in disbursements for them (including contracts to disburse), within 24 hours of each specified disbursement date (disclosure date).

(Sec. 201) Requires such disclosure to include:

1. identification of spender, of any person with control over the activities of such person, and of the custodian of the spender's books and accounts;
2. the spender's principal place of business (if the spender is not an individual);
3. amount of disbursements of over $200 and identification of recipient;
4. the election and candidates to which communications pertain; and
5. identification of all contributors of $1,000 or more (either to a separate segregated fund or, if none, to the spender).

Defines electioneering communication as any broadcast, cable, or satellite communication that refers to a clearly identified Federal candidate, made within 60 days of a general, special, or runoff election, or within 30 days of a primary or preference election, or a convention or caucus of a political party that has authority to nominate a candidate, for the office the candidate seeks, and, in the case of a communication that refers to a candidate for an office other than President or Vice President, is targeted to the relevant electorate. Provides an alternative definition of the term if the first definition is held to be constitutionally insufficient. Lists exceptions to the definition of electioneering communication. Provides that a communication that refers to a clearly identified candidate for Federal office is "targeted to the relevant electorate" if the communication can be received by 50,000 or more persons in the district the candidate seeks to represent, in the case of a candidate for Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, Congress or in the State the candidate seeks to represent, in the case of a candidate for Senator. Directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to compile, maintain, and publicize on its website any information the FEC may require to carry out these requirements.

(Sec. 202) Treats an electioneering communication that is coordinated with a candidate or an authorized committee of such candidate, a Federal, State, or local political party or committee thereof, or an agent or official of any such candidate, party, or committee as a contribution to, and expenditure by, such candidate or such party.

(Sec. 203) Bans disbursements for electioneering communications from union or certain corporate funds, except certain tax-exempt corporations making electioneering communications:

• paid for exclusively with funds provided directly by individuals who are citizens or permanent resident aliens; and
• which are not targeted electioneering communications.

Subtitle B: Independent and Coordinated Expenditures - Amends FECA to define independent expenditure as an expenditure by a person expressly advocating the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate, and that is not made in concert or cooperation with or at the request or suggestion of such candidate, the candidate's authorized political committee, or their agents, or a political party committee or its agents.

(Sec. 212) Outlines reporting requirements for certain independent expenditures, including the time frame for filing reports with the FEC on independent expenditures aggregating $1,000 or more and $10,000 or more.

(Sec. 213) Prohibits a committee of a political party from making both independent and coordinated expenditures for a general election candidate.

(Sec. 214) Provides that expenditures made by any person (other than a candidate or candidate's authorized committee) in cooperation, consultation, or concert with, or at the request or suggestion of, a national, State, or local committee of a political party, shall be considered to be contributions made to such party committee.

Repeals current FEC regulations, and directs the FEC to promulgate new regulations on coordinated communications paid for by persons other than candidates, authorized committees of candidates, and party committees. Prohibits such regulations from requiring agreement or formal collaboration to establish coordination. 

Title III: Miscellaneous

Amends FECA to codify FEC regulations on permissible uses for contributions and donations, while retaining the ban on the conversion of a contribution or donation to personal use.

(Sec. 302) Revises the ban under the Federal criminal code against solicitation or receipt of campaign contributions by Federal officials and from anyone located in any Federal government building used to discharge official duties. Extends the ban to:

• specify State and local as well as Federal elections; and
• cover soft money.

(Sec. 303) Amends FECA to revise the ban on campaign contributions from foreign nationals to include donations, expenditures, independent expenditures, disbursements for an electioneering communication, as well as contributions or donations to any political party committee.

(Sec. 304) Specifies formulae for increasing the limits on individual and political party committee contributions for a Senate candidate whose opponent exceeds the threshold level of spending from personal funds in the campaign, whose basic formula shall be $150,000 plus $0.04 times the voting age population. Limits repayment of a candidate's personal loans incurred in connection with his or her campaign to $250,000 from contributions made to the candidate or any authorized committee of the candidate after the election.

(Sec. 305) Declares that a candidate for Federal office shall not be entitled to the lowest unit rate broadcast time unless he or she certifies to the broadcast station that the candidate (or any of his or her authorized committees) will not refer directly to another candidate for the same office unless a broadcast ad includes the candidate's photo or image on TV and a statement of the candidate's approval printed for display on TV and spoken by the candidate on radio.

(Sec. 306) Amends FECA to require:

• the FEC to promulgate standards for and to provide standardized software for filing FEC reports electronically;
• candidates' use of such software; and
• the FEC to post any information received electronically on the Internet as soon as practicable.

(Sec. 307) Raises:

• the limit on aggregate individual contributions to national political party committees from $20,000 to $25,000 per year;
• the limit on annual aggregate individual contributions to Federal candidates, political action committees (PACs), and parties from $25,000 to $37,500 in the case of contributions to candidates and the authorized committees of candidates, and to $57,500 in the case of any other contributions, of which not more than $37,500 may be attributable to contributions to political committees which are not political committees of national political parties during a specified period; and
• the special limit on combined contributions to Senate candidates by national and senatorial party committees $17,500 to $35,000 in year of election. Provides for indexing for inflation of limits on certain contributions and expenditures.

(Sec. 308) Amends Federal law on presidential inaugural ceremonies to require disclosure to the FEC by Presidential Inaugural Committees of any donation made to them in an aggregate amount equal to or greater than $200. Bans foreign national donations to a Presidential Inaugural Committee. Directs the FEC to make any report filed by such a Committee accessible to the public at FEC offices and on the Internet.

(Sec. 309) Amends FECA to prohibit fraudulent misrepresentation in the solicitation of campaign funds.

(Sec. 310) Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on statistics for and effects of public financing (clean money clean elections) of the 2000 elections in Arizona and Maine.

(Sec. 311) Amends FECA to require:

• sponsorship identification on all election-related advertising (including on electioneering communications) by the political committee or other person paying for the communication and the name of any connected organization of the payor; and
• enhanced visibility or other disclosure of such identification in the communication.

(Sec. 312) Increases criminal penalties for knowing and willful violations involving:

• contributions, expenditures, or donations in amounts aggregating from $2,000 to $25,000 per year; and
• contributions, expenditures, or donations in amounts aggregating $25,000 or more per year.

(Sec. 313) Changes from three to five years the statute of limitations for criminal violations of Federal election law.

(Sec. 314) Directs the United States Sentencing Commission to promulgate penalty guidelines and to make legislative or administrative recommendations to Congress regarding enforcement of Federal election law.

(Sec. 315) Imposes specific civil money and criminal penalties for knowing and willful violations of the ban on contributions made in the name of another person (conduit contribution ban)

(Sec. 316) Provides that:

• for purposes of determining the aggregate amount of expenditures from a candidate's personal funds used in determining the opposition personal funds amount in Senate elections, such aggregate amount shall include the gross receipts advantage of the candidate's authorized committee; and
• the ban on contributions and donations from foreign nationals does not include U.S. nationals.

(Sec. 318) Prohibits contributions to candidates and donations to political party committees by individuals age 17 or younger.

(Sec. 319) Amends FECA to provide that if the opposition personal funds amount with respect to a candidate for election to Congress exceeds $350,000:

• the individual contribution limit with respect to the House of Representatives candidate shall be tripled (from $1,000 to $3,000);
• the aggregate annual individual contribution limit ($25,000) shall not apply with respect to any contribution made with respect to the candidate if the contribution is made under such increased limit; and
• the limits on any expenditure by a State or national committee of a political party on behalf of the candidate shall not apply.

Legal Challenges to McCain-Feingold

There have been numerous challenges to the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 which have been decided in the supreme court. These decisions include:

• McConnell v. Federal Election Commission
• Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc.
• Davis v. Federal Election Commission
• Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission

In McConnell v. Federal Election Commission, the supreme court upheld the main provisions of McCain-Feingold in holding that the rules restricting campaign speech did not violate freedom of speech. In the case of the FEC versus the Wisconsin Right to Life, the court held that issue ads which did not mention or target a candidate were not prohibited.

In Davis v. FEC, the court overturned a provision of the act which required that a candidate file a letter of intent stating how much of their own funds they intended to use during an election. This was known as the "millionaire's amendment."

In the Citizen's United case, the court struck down the provision of the law that prevented  corporations, both for-profit and not-for-profit, and unions from broadcasting “electioneering communications” that mentioned a candidate within 60 days of a general election or thirty days of a primary.

Honest Leadership and Open Government Act 

In 2007, the newly elected Democratic majority passed through the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (Summary, Text). President Bush signed the bill into law in September of that year. The legislation passed both chambers with vast majorities in both parties.

The legislation is divided into seven categories that include: closing the revolving door in lobbying and congress, disclosure in lobbying, amending House and Senate conduct rules, pension changes for Congress, rules on aircraft use, and a miscellaneous section. The main points of the legislation are shown below. (text taken from wiki source) 

Closing the revolving door

• Prohibits Senators from gaining undue lobbying access by increasing the “cooling off” period for Senators from one to two years before they can lobby Congress.
• Prohibits Cabinet Secretaries and other very senior executive personnel from lobbying the department or agency in which they worked for two years after they leave their position.
• Prohibits senior Senate staff and Senate officers from lobbying contacts with the entire Senate for one year, instead of just their former employing office.
• Prohibits senior House staff from lobbying their former office or Committee for one year after they leave House employment.
• Requires that executive and legislative branch employees who leave government positions and seek to lobby on behalf of Indian tribes face the same revolving door provisions as others. It exempts those who serve as elected or appointed officials of Indian tribes.

Ending the “K Street Project”

• Prohibits Members and their staff from influencing hiring decisions of private organizations on the sole basis of partisan political gain. Subjects those who violate this provision to a fine and imprisonment for up to 15 years.
• Prohibiting gifts by lobbyists
• Prohibits lobbyists from providing gifts or travel to Members of Congress with knowledge that the gift or travel is in violation of House or Senate Rules.

Full public disclosure of lobbying activity

• Requires lobbyist disclosure filings to be filed twice as often, by decreasing the time between filing from semi-annual to quarterly.
• Requires lobbyist disclosures in both the Senate and House to be filed electronically and requires creation of a public searchable Internet database of such information.
• Increases civil penalty for knowing and willful violations of the Lobby Disclosure Act from $50,000 to $200,000 and imposes a criminal penalty of up to five years for knowing and corrupt failure to comply with the Act.
• Requires the Government Accountability Office to audit annually lobbyist compliance with disclosure rules.
• Requires lobbyists to certify they have not given gifts or travel that would violate Senate or House rules.
• Requires the disclosure of businesses or organizations that contribute more than $5,000 and actively participate in lobbying activities by certain coalitions and associations.

New transparency for lobbyist political donations, bundling and other financial contributions

• Requires disclosure to the Federal Election Commission when lobbyists bundle over $15,000 semiannually in campaign contributions for any federal elected official, candidate (including Senate, House and Presidential), or leadership PAC.
• Requires lobbyists to disclose to the Secretary of the Senate and the House Clerk their campaign contributions and payments to Presidential libraries, Inaugural Committees or entities controlled by, named for or honoring Members of Congress.

Congressional pension accountability

• Denies Congressional retirement benefits to Members of Congress who are convicted of bribery, perjury, conspiracy or other related crimes in the course of carrying out their official duties as a Member of Congress.
• Prohibited use of private aircraft
• Requires that candidates, other than those running for a seat in the House, pay the fair market value of airfare (charter rates) when using non-commercial jets to travel. (This affects senate, presidential and vice-presidential candidates)
• Requires candidates for the House to comply with rule XXIII (15), which prohibits use of non-commercial aircraft.

Toughening penalties for falsifying financial disclosure forms

• Increases the penalty for Members of Congress, Senior Staff and Senior Executive officials for falsifying or failing to report financial disclosure forms from $10,000 to $50,000 and establishes criminal penalties of up to one year of imprisonment.

The DISCLOSE Act

In response to the Citizens United Case, members of the House and Senate introduced the Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections Act, or the DISCLOSE Act (Summary, Text). The act passed the House is June of 2010 with almost all Democrats supporting the bill and almost all Republicans opposing it. The legislation was brought up in the Senate, but twice failed to pass a cloture motion to overcome a filibuster.

The DISCLOSE Act would enact broad reforms to campaign financing. The summary for the House version of the legislation is shown below. The prohibitions on companies that took TARP funds, on oil and gas companies, and on companies that had contracts with the government were seen as favoritism by those who opposed the legislation. The official summary of the House version of the legislation is shown below.   

Title I: Regulation of Certain Political Spending -

(Sec. 101) Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) to prohibit: (1) independent expenditures and payments for electioneering communications by government contractors if the value of the contract is at least $10 million; (2) recipients of assistance under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA) from making any contribution to any political party, committee, or candidate for public office, or to any person for any political purpose or use, or from making any independent expenditure or disbursing any funds for an electioneering communication; and (3) persons who enter into negotiations for an oil or gas exploration, development, or production lease under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act from making any contribution to any political party, committee, or candidate for public office or to any person for any political purpose or use, or from making any independent expenditure or disbursing any funds for an electioneering communication.

(Sec. 102) Applies the ban on contributions and expenditures by foreign nationals to foreign-controlled domestic corporations. Requires the highest ranking official of a corporation, before making any contribution, donation, expenditure, independent expenditure, or disbursement for an electioneering communication in connection with a federal election, to file a certification with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), if this has not been done already, that the corporation is not prohibited from carrying out such activity. Declares that nothing prohibits any domestic corporation from establishing, administering, and soliciting contributions to a separate segregated fund, so long as: (1) none of the amounts in the fund are provided by any prohibited foreign national; and (2) no such foreign national has the power to direct, dictate, or control the fund. Declares that nothing prohibits any domestic corporation from making a contribution or donation in connection with a state or local election to the extent permitted under state or local law, so long as no foreign national has the power to direct, dictate, or control such contribution or donation. Declares that nothing prohibits any domestic corporation from carrying out certain activities, so long as: (1) none of the amounts used to carry out such activities are provided by any prohibited foreign national; and (2) no prohibited foreign national has the power to direct, dictate, or control such activity.

(Sec. 103) Treats as contributions: (1) any payments by any person (except a candidate, a candidate's authorized committee, or a political committee of a political party) for coordinated communications; and (2) political party communications made on behalf of candidates if made under the control or direction of a candidate or a candidate's authorized committee. Defines "coordinated communication" as: (1) a publicly distributed or disseminated communication referring to a candidate or an opponent of such candidate which is made during a specified election period in cooperation, consultation, or concert with, or at the request or suggestion of, a candidate, a candidate's authorized committee, or a political committee of a political party; or (2) any communication that republishes, disseminates, or distributes, in whole or in part, any broadcast or any written, graphic, or other form of campaign material prepared by a candidate, a candidate's authorized committee, or their agents. Excludes from the meaning of "coordinated communication": (1) a communication appearing in a news story, commentary, or editorial distributed through the facilities of any broadcasting station, newspaper, magazine, or other periodical publication, unless such facilities are owned or controlled by any political party, political committee, or candidate; or (2) a communication which constitutes a candidate debate or forum.` Repeals the prohibition against contributions by individuals age 17 or younger.

(Sec. 105) Prohibits a communication which is disseminated through the Internet from being treated as a form of general public political advertising unless the communication was placed for a fee on another person's website.

Title II: Promoting Effective Disclosure of Campaign-Related Activity

Subtitle A: Treatment of Independent Expenditures and Electioneering Communications Made by All Persons 

(Sec. 201) Revises the definition of independent expenditure to mean, in part, an expenditure that, when taken as a whole, expressly advocates the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate, or is the functional equivalent of express advocacy. Requires any person making independent expenditures exceeding $10,000 to: (1) file a report electronically within 24 hours; and (2) file a new report electronically each time the person makes or contracts to make independent expenditures in an aggregate amount equal to or greater than $10,000 (or $1,000, if less than 20 days before an election) with respect to the same election.

(Sec. 202) Increases from 60 days to 120 days the period before a general election during which a communication shall be considered an electioneering communication.

(Sec. 203) Requires mandatory electronic filing by persons making independent expenditures or electioneering communications exceeding $10,000 at any time. Subtitle B: Expanded Requirements for Corporations and Other Organizations -

(Sec. 211) Requires corporations, labor organizations, tax-exempt charitable organizations, and political organizations other than political committees (covered organizations) to include specified additional information in reports on independent expenditures of at least $10,000, including certain actual or deemed transfers of money to other persons, but excluding amounts paid from separate segregated funds as well as amounts designated for specified campaign-related activities. Requires certain additional information in electioneering communication reports. Prescribes special rules for transfers aggregating at least $50,000 between covered organizations treated as transfers between affiliates, including transfers to affiliated tax-exempt charitable organizations.

(Sec. 212) Sets forth special rules for the use of general treasury funds by covered organizations for campaign-related activity, including both designated and unrestricted donor payments to an organization. Authorizes mutually agreed restrictions on the use of donated funds for campaign-related activity between a covered organization and a person who does not want his or her identity disclosed in a significant funder statement or a Top 5 Funders list. Prescribes special rules for transfers aggregating at least $50,000 between covered organizations treated as transfers between affiliates, including transfers to affiliated tax-exempt charitable organizations.

(Sec. 213) Authorizes covered organizations to make optional use of a separate Campaign-Related Activity Account for making disbursements for campaign-related activity. Requires such an Account to be reduced by the amount of organization revenues attributable to donations or payments from a person other than the covered organization who has an agreement with the organization that it will not use such donations or payments for campaign related activity.

(Sec. 214) Requires any electioneering communication transmitted through radio or television which is paid for by a political committee (including a political committee of a political party), other than a political committee which receives or accepts contributions or donations which do not comply with the contribution limits or source prohibitions of FECA, to include an audio statement identifying the name of the political committee responsible. Prescribes additional information to be included in certain radio or television electioneering communications by persons (including significant funders of campaign-related communications of a covered organization) other than a candidate, a candidate's authorized committee, or a political committee of a political party. Prescribes a format for the individual disclosure statement.

(Sec. 215) Indexes certain amounts under FECA. Subtitle C: Reporting Requirements for Registered Lobbyists -

(Sec. 221) Amends the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to require registered lobbyists to report information on independent expenditures or electioneering communications of at least $1,000 to the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives.

Title III: Disclosure by Covered Organizations of Information on Campaign Related Activity 

(Sec. 301) Requires covered organizations to disclose to shareholders, members, or donors information on disbursements for campaign-related activity. Requires a covered organization that maintains an Internet site to post on it a hyperlink from its homepage to the location on the FEC website containing information required to be reported with respect to public independent expenditures, including disbursements for electioneering communications.

STOCK Act

Significant Votes

The votes to pass the ethics reform legislation in 2007 and a House vote on the DISCLOSE Act will show under the profile of any representative that was in office at the time. 

Additional Legislation

Each year, there are numerous bills introduced that are not voted on in the House or Senate. These bills may be sponsored by numerous people and a representative's co-sponsorship of that legislation gives insight into that person's viewpoints.