Roles and Responsibilities of the Congressional Offices Under Title I of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978

A study was made of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 as it applies to the responsibilities of the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct and the Clerk of the House. There appeared to be some ambiguities in the law concerning the implementation of the financial disclosure requirements for the May 15, 1979, filing date. The Act requires financial disclosure reports of House members, employees, other designated employees, candidates, and new employees to be filed with the Clerk of the House. While the Clerk is responsible for making all reports available for public inspection, the Clerk is not authorized to perform a substantive review of the reports filed. The House Committee is responsible for developing reporting forms, rendering advisory opinions interpreting the statute, reviewing reports, directing an individual who does not file to take corrective action, approving blind trust agreements, granting waivers of the requirements, and generally administering and enforcing the disclosure requirements. The report also addressed specific filing requirements.