House Loosens Ban on Gifts to Lawmakers

For more than three years, House ethics rules have given new meaning to the old political maxim: “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” House members were flatly prohibited from letting others pay for one of their meals--or accepting even a token gift, such as a ballpoint pen or a baseball cap.

On Wednesday, the House changed that, bowing to looser limitations that have been used by the Senate. Starting immediately, you can buy a meal or a gift for your representative, as long as it costs $50 or less. Also, lawmakers cannot accept more than $100 worth of such freebies from any individual in a year.

The change was sought because the House Ethics Committee has been overwhelmed with requests for small exemptions to the gift ban, adopted in 1995 as part of an effort by new Republican leaders to portray themselves as sticklers on ethics.

Reps. James V. Hansen (R-Utah) and Howard L. Berman (D-Mission Hills), chief sponsors of the rule change, said it will clarify the limitation for the general public. “The more differences there are [between the House and Senate], the more the confusion,” Berman said.

The change will not do anything to tighten the loophole that permits lawmakers to accept lavish all-expenses-paid trips to conventions and other meetings, as long as they can show that their appearance at such events is related to official business.

Wednesday’s action did demonstrate that when it comes to meals and gifts, lawmakers from the two parties are willing to “hang together,” presumably, as Benjamin Franklin said, so that they do not “hang separately.” The change was approved on a voice vote.