{
  "id": "RL33047",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL33047",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 388765,
      "date": "2005-08-24",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-07T19:33:34.402029",
      "title": "Restrictions on the Acceptance of \u201cOfficially Connected\u201d Travel Expenses from Private Sources Under House and Senate Ethics Rules",
      "summary": "While the acceptance by Members of Congress and staff of personal gifts from most outside, private sources is significantly regulated and restricted by internal congressional rules, Members of the House and Senate may still generally accept from some private sources\u2014other than those who are registered lobbyists or registered foreign agents\u2014necessary travel expenses, including transportation, food and lodging, for travel \u201cin connection with\u201d their official duties, such as for fact-finding trips, conferences or symposia, under certain limited circumstances. Under both House and Senate Rules, the over-all purpose of any privately funded trip of this nature must be related or connected to official duties, and may not be \u201csubstantially recreational in nature.\u201d Furthermore, while Members may accept \u201cnecessary\u201d travel expenses for events which are sufficiently officially-related or \u201cofficially connected,\u201d the expenses for incidental recreational activities during these trips, such as the costs for golf, snow-skiing, jet-skiing, or tennis, are expressly not considered \u201cnecessary\u201d expenses of such travel under either the House or the Senate Rules, and thus fall within the general prohibitions and the $50 limitations on gifts from private sources. (Under both the House and Senate Rules, gifts from any private source, other than from relatives and certain long-term personal friends, are generally prohibited if the value of the gift is $50 or more.) The duration of any permitted trip under the \u201cofficially connected\u201d travel exception is limited in the House to four days for domestic and seven days for foreign travel (excluding travel days), and in the Senate to three days for domestic travel and seven days for foreign travel (also excluding travel days). Staff employees must receive advance approval for accepting from private sources expenses for such officially connected travel, and whenever expenses or reimbursement for officially connected travel are accepted by Members or staff, a disclosure report on such travel and expenses is required to be made within 30 days of the end of the travel.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "encoding": "utf-8",
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL33047",
          "sha1": "0cc0690b5c9f7ee14faf50be00dc625f012ac1d1",
          "filename": "files/20050824_RL33047_0cc0690b5c9f7ee14faf50be00dc625f012ac1d1.html",
          "images": null
        },
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "encoding": null,
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL33047",
          "sha1": "45e9d3384a29bf840f006fee12006c0149758f55",
          "filename": "files/20050824_RL33047_45e9d3384a29bf840f006fee12006c0149758f55.pdf",
          "images": null
        }
      ],
      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": []
}