No Free Pass to Kanye Concert for House
Senate and House diverge on party ethics rules.
August 26, 2008 — -- It seems like a simple question: do ethics rules bar members of Congress and their staff from attending the free Kanye West concert Wednesday at the Democratic National Convention?
But the answer depends on whom you ask.
To the Senate Select Committee on Ethics, the concert -- part of an event hosted by the U2 singer Bono's ONE Campaign and the Recording Industry Association of America -- is perfectly acceptable.
To the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, the event is too big a gift for members and their staff to attend for free.
These divergent opinions point to the continuing confusion surrounding the new ethics rules on lobbying and gift giving -- ones that were supposed to impose stricter and clear boundaries between Congress and those who seek to influence them.
These distinctions have come to the fore this week during the Democratic convention in Denver where members of both the House and Senate mingle with industry lobbyists, politicos and other attendees at parties, receptions and luncheons.
Yet the ethics interpretations are changing up to the opening hours of the convention, causing last-minute changes and uncertainty among planners, said Kenneth Gross, an election law lawyer with the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. "I think the confusion is putting people in potential jeopardy," he said.
Ethics rules bar staffers and members of Congress from taking gifts from lobbyists or anyone employed by a company that has lobbyists beyond a very limited amount. But there are several exceptions: for charity events, for receptions and for what are deemed "widely attended events."
Senate ethics officials consider the concert a widely attended event because it says it meets the three basic requirements: it includes 25 or more people excluding the members of Congress; the invitees come from a diverse group of companies and associations and the activities are "connected" to the members' official duties because they are being held at the political convention.
House ethics officials agree with the first two parts but don't agree that the event is "connected" to the members' duties simply because it's at the convention.
Concerts aren't the only events in which the two houses disagree. For instance, House ethics officials ban groups from honoring particular representatives while Senate ethics officials allow events to publicize a senator as a featured speaker. But Senate officials bar event sponsors from describing parties as honoring particular caucuses or congressional grouping while the House does not.
For its' part the RIAA's has struck a middle ground. In an email to attendees, it asked House members and their staff to "pay fair market value for their ticket." The cost: $90.
The high cost, however, hasn't seemed to hurt attendance. The event is already maxed out.