The House Ethics Committees
Claudia pulled a binder out of her shoulder bag.
“I brought these for your father to look at when he gets back to town on Tuesday. Proposed amendments to the water bill.” She handed me the binder.
“Are you working on a Sunday?” I asked.
“I work every day,” she said.
“Really?”
“Not really. I thought I’d see if you guys needed anything. If you were okay without your dad around.”
“Did Papa ask you to check up on us?”
“Not exactly. Your dad gets in trouble with the Ethics Committee if his staff runs personal errands for him. So I dropped by on an official errand.” She pointed to the binder of amendments. “Checking in on you guys was my idea.” - Welcome to Washington Fina Mendoza
Official Duties vs Personal Errands
Congressional staffers walk a careful line: when is doing a favor for your boss a violation of the ethics code?
The rules are clear. Sort of.
Funds appropriated for congressional staff to perform official duties should be used only for assisting a Member in his or her legislative and representational duties, working on committee business, or performing other congressional functions. Employees may not be compensated from public funds to perform nonofficial, personal, or campaign activities on behalf of the Member, the employee, or anyone else. - House Committee on Ethics
(photo by Kitty Felde)
Make it stand out
Ethics has been a concern since the early days of the United States. In 1798, Congressman Matthew Lyon of Vermont spit on a fellow lawmaker. The entire House of Representatives considered throwing Lyon out of Congress for disorderly conduct. He survived expulsion by two votes.
The Constitution itself gives Congress the power to discipline lawmakers. But it wasn’t until 1967 that the House got around to creating an official ethics committee. It’s a non-partisan committee, with an equal number of Democrats and Republicans, the only such committee in the House.
More than two centuries after Matthew Lyon's transgression, House Democrats created a second ethics body after a series of lobbyist scandals: The Office of Congressional Ethics.
It allows independent investigations into alleged misconduct by lawmakers or staff. Unlike the House Committee on Ethics, it cannot hand out punishments. Instead it hands its conclusions to Committee on Ethics.
So What’s Allowed?
Is John the Staffer allowed to walk Congresswoman Mitchell's dog on company time? No.
Is Claudia allowed to take Fina and Gabby to the zoo? Probably. (It was on her own time and her own idea.)
Has anyone gotten in trouble for mixing personal errands and congressional business?
Yes. But it was for big time violations.
(photo by Kitty Felde)
An Errand Too Many?
In 2019, both the Office of Congressional Ethics and the House Committee on Ethics concluded that Virginia Congressman Tom Garrett had crossed the line. The congressman and his wife had asked staff to help them move to a new apartment, shop at IKEA for furniture, take their car in for an oil change, make doctor’s appointments for the kids and help with school applications, and take care of the dog “particularly outside the office.”
Garrett chose to not run for re-election rather than face punishment.
(official Congressional photo)But the House Committee on Ethics used the case to warn everyone on Capitol Hill that "government resources should be used judiciously and with primary regard toward serving the needs of constituents Members are elected to serve, not the personal needs of Members or their spouses."
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