The United States Senate and House of Representatives have specific rules on gifts--giving guidance regarding acceptable gifts and travel for Members of Congress and their staff. If you or your unit host an event at which a federal official or staff participates, please contact the Office of Government Affairs to ensure compliance.
Gift and Travel Rules for Federal Officials
University Guidance on Gift Rules
To Vice Presidents, Deans, Directors, and Government Affairs Team Members
Each quarter you are required to report expenditures related to federal lobbying activities, as required by the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995. In addition, the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 requires the university to biannually certify compliance with the House and Senate rules regarding acceptable gifts and travel for Members of Congress and their staff. A summary of the House and Senate rules is below, followed by links to the full guidance.
As a Vice President, Dean, Director or Government Affairs Team member, you must review and understand the House and Senate gift and travel rules. If you or your unit hosts an event at which a federal official or staff participates, please contact the Office of Government Affairs as soon as possible to ensure compliance with this regulation.
Summary of Gift Rules
Members and Staff can attend events or accept gifts ONLY under the following circumstances:
- Gifts paid directly by a federal, state, or local government including public universities.
- Widely Attended Events with 25 or more people other than the Member and staff
- Food or Refreshments of a Nominal Value such as juice, bagels, coffee, appetizers
- Gifts of a Nominal Value - baseball caps, t-shirts, greeting cards, or anything less than $10
- Charity events
- Home State Products intended for promotional purposes
- Books, periodicals, or other instructional materials
- Political events like fundraisers or other campaign events
- Travel is permitted if it is funded by an institution of higher education and must be to a meeting, speaking engagement, fact-finding trip or similar official event. All travel must be approved in advance by the House Committee on Standards and Official Conduct or the Senate Select Committee on Ethics.
The House gift and travel rules are available online from the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct website.
The Senate gift and travel rules are available online from the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration website.