{ "id": "RL31382", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "RL31382", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 459609, "date": "2016-06-27", "retrieved": "2017-03-22T18:34:25.696966", "title": "Expulsion, Censure, Reprimand, and Fine: Legislative Discipline in the House of Representatives", "summary": "The House of Representatives\u2014in the same manner as the United States Senate\u2014is expressly authorized within the United States Constitution (Article I, Section 5, clause 2) to discipline or \u201cpunish\u201d its own Members. This authority of the House to discipline a Member for \u201cdisorderly Behaviour\u201d is in addition to any criminal or civil liability that a Member of the House may incur for particular misconduct, and is used not merely to punish an individual Member, but to protect the institutional integrity of the House of Representatives, its proceedings, and its reputation.\nThe House may discipline its Members without the necessity of Senate concurrence. The most common forms of discipline in the House are now \u201cexpulsion,\u201d \u201ccensure,\u201d or \u201creprimand,\u201d although the House may also discipline its Members in other ways, including fine or monetary restitution, loss of seniority, and suspension or loss of certain privileges. In addition to such sanctions imposed by the full House of Representatives, the standing committee in the House which deals with ethics and official conduct matters, the House Committee on Ethics\u2014formerly called the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct\u2014is authorized by House Rules to issue a formal \u201cLetter of Reproval\u201d for misconduct which does not rise to the level of consideration or sanction by the entire House of Representatives. Additionally, the Committee on Ethics has also expressed its disapproval of certain conduct in informal letters and communications to Members.\nThe House may generally discipline its Members for violations of statutory law, including crimes; for violations of internal congressional rules; or for any conduct which the House of Representatives finds has reflected discredit upon the institution. Each house of Congress has disciplined its own Members for conduct which has not necessarily violated any specific rule or law, but which was found to breach its privileges, demonstrate contempt for the institution, or reflect discredit on the House or Senate. \nWhen the most severe sanction of expulsion has been employed in the House, the underlying conduct deemed to have merited removal from office has historically involved either disloyalty to the United States, or the violation of a criminal law involving the abuse of one\u2019s official position, such as bribery. The House of Representatives has actually expelled only five Members in its history, but a number of Members, facing likely congressional discipline for misconduct, have resigned from Congress or have been defeated in an election prior to any formal House action.\nA \u201ccensure\u201d is a formal, majority vote in the House on a resolution disapproving a Member\u2019s conduct, generally with the additional requirement that the Member stand at the \u201cwell\u201d of the House chamber to receive a verbal rebuke and reading of the resolution by the Speaker. Twenty-three Members of the House have been censured for various forms of misconduct, including (in the 19th century) insulting or other unparliamentary language on the floor or assaults on other Members, as well as, more recently, financial improprieties.\nA \u201creprimand\u201d in the House involves a lesser level of disapproval of the conduct of a Member than that of a \u201ccensure,\u201d but also involves a formal vote by the entire House. Ten House Members have been \u201creprimanded\u201d for a range of misconduct, including failure to disclose personal interests in official matters; misrepresentations to investigating committees; failure to report campaign contributions; conversion of campaign contributions to personal use; ghost voting and payroll improprieties; the misuse of one\u2019s political influence in administrative matters to help a personal associate; providing inaccurate, incomplete, and unreliable information to the investigating committee; for a breach of decorum in a joint session; and the misuse of official resources by compelling congressional staff to work on political campaigns.\nThis report has been updated from earlier versions and will be revised as events and changes in Rules or laws may warrant.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL31382", "sha1": "8cd7fe22c9be2aa98faaed15743fbf343798541e", "filename": "files/20160627_RL31382_8cd7fe22c9be2aa98faaed15743fbf343798541e.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL31382", "sha1": "8b0e5d7921411e047eee6a9a7bba38e6c389a172", "filename": "files/20160627_RL31382_8b0e5d7921411e047eee6a9a7bba38e6c389a172.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4746, "name": "House Floor Procedure" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4876, "name": "Government Ethics & Lobbying" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4924, "name": "Congressional Ethics & Lobbying" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 420526, "date": "2013-05-02", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T21:09:04.481160", "title": "Expulsion, Censure, Reprimand, and Fine: Legislative Discipline in the House of Representatives", "summary": "The House of Representatives\u2014in the same manner as the United States Senate\u2014is expressly authorized within the United States Constitution (Article I, Section 5, clause 2) to discipline or \u201cpunish\u201d its own Members. This authority of the House to discipline a Member for \u201cdisorderly Behaviour\u201d is in addition to any criminal or civil liability that a Member of the House may incur for particular misconduct, and is used not merely to punish an individual Member, but to protect the institutional integrity of the House of Representatives, its proceedings, and its reputation.\nThe House may discipline its Members without the necessity of Senate concurrence. The most common forms of discipline in the House are now \u201cexpulsion,\u201d \u201ccensure,\u201d or \u201creprimand\u201d; although the House may also discipline its Members in other ways, including fine or monetary restitution, loss of seniority, and suspension or loss of certain privileges. In addition to such sanctions imposed by the full House of Representatives, the standing committee in the House which deals with ethics and official conduct matters, the House Committee on Ethics\u2014formerly called the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct\u2014is authorized by House Rules to issue a formal \u201cLetter of Reproval\u201d for misconduct which does not rise to the level of consideration or sanction by the entire House of Representatives. Additionally, the Committee on Ethics has also expressed its disapproval of certain conduct in informal letters and communications to Members.\nThe House may generally discipline its Members for violations of statutory law, including crimes; for violations of internal congressional rules; or for any conduct which the House of Representatives finds has reflected discredit upon the institution. Thus, each house of Congress has disciplined its own Members for conduct which has not necessarily violated any specific rule or law, but which was found to breach its privileges, demonstrate contempt for the institution, or reflect discredit on the House or Senate. When the most severe sanction of expulsion has been employed in the House of Representatives, however, the underlying conduct deemed by the House to have merited removal from office has historically involved either disloyalty to the United States Government, or the violation of a criminal law involving the abuse of one\u2019s official position, such as bribery. The House of Representatives has actually expelled only five Members in its history, but a number of Members, facing likely congressional discipline for various forms of misconduct, have resigned from Congress prior to any formal House action or leave office after election defeat.\nThis report has been updated from earlier versions and will be revised as events and changes in Rules or laws may warrant.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL31382", "sha1": "c5c8606e6d479baf9bb6bb8915e0b08e3efe8e53", "filename": "files/20130502_RL31382_c5c8606e6d479baf9bb6bb8915e0b08e3efe8e53.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL31382", "sha1": "6bd41d2d40b9e26f5def9500d10880ccc381cad5", "filename": "files/20130502_RL31382_6bd41d2d40b9e26f5def9500d10880ccc381cad5.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 2405, "name": "Government Ethics and Lobbying" }, { "source": "CongOpsList", "id": 4139, "name": "House Floor Proceedings" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc824509/", "id": "RL31382_2005Jan25", "date": "2005-01-25", "retrieved": "2016-04-04T14:48:17", "title": "Expulsion, Censure, Reprimand, and Fine: Legislative Discipline in the House of Representatives", "summary": "This report discusses the processes of expulsion and censure in the House of Representatives. The House is expressly authorized within the United States Constitution (Article I, Section 5, clause 2) to discipline or \"punish\" its own Members. It is designed as a measure to protect the institutional integrity of the House of Representatives, its proceedings and its reputation.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20050125_RL31382_e56a2a050e16f380c7b2cf271a2ecc113fb81336.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20050125_RL31382_e56a2a050e16f380c7b2cf271a2ecc113fb81336.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Congress", "name": "Congress" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "House rules and procedure", "name": "House rules and procedure" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Congressional ethics", "name": "Congressional ethics" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs2302/", "id": "RL31382 2002-04-16", "date": "2002-04-16", "retrieved": "2005-06-10T23:47:07", "title": "Expulsion, Censure, Reprimand, and Fine: Legislative Discipline in the House of Representatives", "summary": "The House of Representatives is expressly authorized within the United States Constitution (Article I, Section 5, clause 2) to discipline or \u201cpunish\u201d its own Members. This authority of the institution of the House to discipline a Member for \u201cdisorderly Behaviour\u201d is in addition to any criminal or civil liability that a Member of the House may incur for particular misconduct, and is a device or procedure designed not so much as merely a punishment of the individual Member, but rather ultimately as a measure to protect the institutional integrity of the House of Representatives, its proceedings and its reputation.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20020416_RL31382_0aec3af3c93f49c7391c8ed68bda7c8e214982c6.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20020416_RL31382_0aec3af3c93f49c7391c8ed68bda7c8e214982c6.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Congress", "name": "Congress" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "House rules and procedure", "name": "House rules and procedure" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Congressional ethics", "name": "Congressional ethics" } ] } ], "topics": [] }