Amending the Rules of the House of Representatives to discourage frivolous ethics complaints.

Summary

Amends rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives to allow the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, at any time and by an affirmative vote of a majority of its total membership, to determine that a complaint filed against a Member is frivolous and baseless if: (1) the alleged violation is of a minor and technical nature that does not discredit the House; or (2) such complaint has no basis in fact, was filed for purely partisan reasons, or is part of a pattern of abuse and misuse of the Committee. Requires the Committee: (1) to determine and report the costs of its inquiry into a frivolous complaint; and (2) if the complaint was filed by one or more Members of Congress, to charge each Member's Representational Account for such costs or, alternatively, recommend that the Members responsible be fined.

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Documents

3 official files

• Introduced in House (text)

  Introduced in House · EN · 26 February 1997

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• Introduced in House (PDF)

  Introduced in House · EN · 26 February 1997

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• Introduced in House

  summary · EN · 26 February 1997

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