News Home

WASHINGTON – Yesterday Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) and Rep. Harley Rouda (D-C.A.) introduced H. Con. Res 62, a resolution requiring the supervisors of employees of Congressional offices to submit reports on the outside compensation earned by such employees. While the House Ethics Manual prohibits Congressional Fellows from working on legislation that could directly or indirectly benefit their sponsors, no reporting requirements exist to enforce this rule. The Foxx-Rouda resolution would bring badly-needed transparency to the program. For the first time, it requires supervisors in Member offices or committees to report the sponsors of their fellows and make publicly available outside compensation earned by the Congressional Fellows.

“Our democratic process is far too important to rely on the honor system for protection from apparent conflicts of interest. Congressional Fellows offer valuable perspectives that shape public policy, but the industry groups, advocacy groups and for-profit industries that sponsor our fellows cannot benefit from supporting their unique educational opportunity. It’s time members of the House of Representatives do our due diligence to ensure this is not the case.” stated Rep. Foxx.

“This resolution brings desperately needed transparency to Washington. I'm proud to work across the aisle with Congresswoman Foxx to introduce common-sense legislation that ensures greater Congressional accountability and closes loopholes that have long been exploited by industry interests.” stated Rep. Rouda

###

U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx represents North Carolina’s 5th Congressional District and is Republican Leader of the House Committee on Education and Labor.

 U.S. Rep Harley Rouda represents California’s 48th Congressional District.