Congressional Caucus - Rules

Rules

The House Committee on House Administration prescribes certain rules for Congressional Member Organizations. Each Congress, CMOs must electronically register with the Committee on House Administration, providing the name of the caucus, a statement of purpose, the CMO officers, and the employee designated to work on issues related to the CMO.

The Committee on House Administration rules include:

  • Members of both the House and Senate may participate in CMO, but at least one of the Officers of the CMO must be a Member of the House. The participation of Senators in a CMO does not impact the scope of authorized CMO activities in any regard.
  • CMOs have no separate corporate or legal identity. A CMO is not an employing authority. The Members' Representational Allowance (MRA) may not directly support a CMO as an independent entity. A CMO may not be assigned separate office space.
  • Neither CMOs nor individual Members may accept goods, funds, or services from private organizations or individuals to support the CMO. Members may use personal funds to support the CMO.
  • A Member of a CMO, in support of the objectives of that CMO, may utilize employees (including shared employees) and official resources under the control of the Member to assist the CMO in carrying out its legislative objectives, but no employees may be appointed in the name of a CMO.
  • CMOs may not use the frank, nor may a Member lend his or her frank to a CMO.
  • A Member may use official resources for communications related to the purpose of a CMO. Any such communications must comply with the Franking Regulations.
  • Members may devote a section of their official Web site to CMO issues, but CMOs may not have independent Web pages.
  • A Member may use inside mail to communicate information related to a CMO.
  • Members may prepare material related to CMO issues for dissemination.
  • Official funds may not be used to print or pay for stationery for the CMO.
  • Members may refer to their membership in a CMO on their official stationery.

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