Updated: February 2025
Senate Rule 35 (the Gifts Rule) prohibits Senate Members, officers, and employees from accepting gifts, including gifts of travel, unless an exception applies. Incorporating reforms from the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (HLOGA),1 Senate Rule 35.2 permits Members, officers, and employees to accept unsolicited gifts of necessary transportation, lodging, and related expenses from a private source for travel in connection with the traveler’s official Senate duties with the prior written approval of the Select Committee on Ethics (the Committee).
These Regulations contain the requirements for seeking and receiving Committee approval consistent with HLOGA, Senate Rule 35, and related standards of conduct.
These Regulations are issued pursuant to the Committee’s authority under § 544(b) of HLOGA and Senate Rule 35.6, and supersede previous Regulations issued by the Committee. These Regulations are effective for all trips beginning on or after January 1, 2025.
These Regulations govern all gifts of travel approved under Senate Rule 35.2. The Regulations do not apply to travel accepted under another provision of the Gifts Rule, including:
The Committee’s approval of a traveler’s participation in privately sponsored travel
refers only to compliance with these Regulations, HLOGA, Senate Rules, and related standards
of conduct. Other federal, state, or local laws, rules, and regulations may also apply.
Any term that appears in blue with a dotted underline has a special meaning for purposes of these Regulations. Such terms are defined in Section V, infra.
Senate Members, officers, and employees may only accept gifts of privately sponsored travel with the Committee’s prior written approval. The Committee will not retroactively approve any trip governed by these Regulations.
To request Committee approval, Senate Members, officers, and employees must submit a pre-travel package to the Committee no later than 30 days prior to the departure date of a proposed trip. The Committee will not approve privately sponsored travel for employees who submit pre-travel packages fewer than 30 days prior to the departure date of a trip. The Committee maintains a Travel Calculator on its website to assist in calculating travel package due dates. If the 30-day deadline falls on a weekend or federal holiday, the travel package is due by the close of the next business day.
Senate Members, officers, and employees may submit the pre-travel package to the Committee in hard copy, or through the Committee’s online Travel Portal, available at https://pst.senate.gov.
The Committee will not accept a pre-travel package that is incomplete. A pre-travel package must contain the following documents:
Senate travelers must retain copies of all relevant travel forms and documents.
The Committee will review completed travel packages. The Committee may, if necessary, contact the sponsor or the Senate traveler with questions, a request for additional information, or a request for revised travel materials. If the trip complies with the Regulations, the Committee will issue an approval letter to the Senate traveler. If the trip does not comply with the Regulations, Committee staff will notify the sponsor and Senate traveler, but will not issue a letter to the traveler.
The Committee approves individual travelers, not trips. Accordingly, each Senate Member, officer, and employee must receive their own approval letter from the Committee and may not rely on the Committee’s approval of another Member, officer, or employee taking part in the same trip.
Material changes to a trip that occur after the Committee has issued an approval letter may invalidate the Committee’s approval. Any Senate traveler with Committee approval to participate in a trip must notify the Committee as soon as possible if there is a material change to the trip. Material changes include, but are not limited to, changes to the dates of the trip, the expenses paid by the sponsor, and the itinerary.
Similarly, the Senate traveler must notify the Committee in the event that the trip is canceled or if the traveler no longer intends to participate in the trip.
A Senate Member, officer, or employee must publicly disclose their participation in travel approved under these Regulations by filing a post-travel package with the Secretary of the Senate, Office of Public Records, within 30 days of the last day of travel. Trip extensions for any purpose do not extend this deadline. If the post-travel deadline falls on a weekend or federal holiday, the post-travel package is due by the close of the next business day. The Committee maintains a Travel Calculator on its website to assist in calculating post-travel package due dates.
A post-travel package must contain the following documents:
Senate travelers must retain copies of all relevant travel forms and documents. Given that revisions to the pre-travel package may occur after the Senate traveler’s initial submission of the travel package, the Committee recommends contacting the trip sponsor prior to submitting the post-travel package to ensure that the Senate traveler has the final approved materials.
If a Senate traveler is a reporting individual, they must include the travel on Part 6 of their Financial Disclosure Report only if they do not file their post-travel package with the Office of Public Records within 30 days of the last day of the trip, as required by these Regulations.
Filing an accurate and complete post-travel package is a necessary condition of complying with these Regulations. The Committee reviews all filed post-travel packages. If a filing is deficient, the Committee will contact the Senate traveler to amend the filing.
To receive approval for privately sponsored travel under these Regulations, Senate travelers must demonstrate that a proposed trip is related to their official duties.
Senate employees must provide a written certification from their supervising Member or officer that the travel relates to their official duties and will not create the appearance that the employee is using public office for private gain. The Committee will give the supervising Member or officer’s determination great weight. Staffing a Member, officer, or other employee is not, by itself, a sufficient connection to official duties to justify privately sponsored travel when no other official purpose exists for the traveler’s attendance.
Senate Members and officers generally do not need to provide a similar pre-certification for their own travel, but the Committee may on a case-by-case basis require a written explanation as to how participation in a given trip relates to the Member’s or officer’s official or representational duties.
The Committee will review itineraries to ensure the length of the trip and the scheduled activities are consistent with the official purpose of the trip. As a general matter, each day of a trip must contain a minimum of six (6) hours of substantive, officially related activities for all Senate travelers. The Committee will consider the amount of time spent traveling each day when determining whether the substantive, officially related activities are sufficient for approval. Long periods of unscheduled activity can create the appearance that a trip is primarily recreational or otherwise does not have an official purpose. The Committee therefore expects that for travel days involving no substantive activity, travelers arrive in the trip location in the evening and depart the trip location in the morning.
Privately sponsored travel must also comply with Senate Rule 38, which prohibits Senate offices from accepting supplementation, in funds or in kind, from outside entities. Therefore, while privately sponsored travel must be related to official duties in order to comply with these Regulations, a Senate Member, officer, or employee may not accept travel from a private source to perform a core Senate function, such as appearing before a federal agency or taking part in events sponsored by a Senate office.
Finally, campaign activity is not related to official duties and is not a permissible purpose for privately sponsored travel. The Committee will review itineraries to ensure a trip does not create the appearance that the Senate traveler is using the travel for campaign activity.
The Committee will assess whether there is a direct and immediate relationship between a sponsor and a trip. A sponsor is any person or entity, other than a grantmaking organization, that contributes funds or in-kind support, directly or indirectly, for a specific trip or congressional travel generally. A trip may have multiple sponsors. All sponsors must have a significant role in organizing and conducting the trip. When a trip has multiple sponsors, each sponsor must separately complete the required certifications and provide the requested information regarding the trip. If any sponsor retains or employs a lobbyist or foreign agent, the restrictions and prohibitions in these Regulations regarding trips sponsored by a lobbyist or foreign agent (see Section III.B.3, infra) govern the trip, even if the other sponsors would not otherwise be subject to those restrictions.
All sponsors must show a specific organizational interest in the purpose of a trip. In evaluating a sponsor’s organizational interest in the purpose of a trip, the Committee will consider:
A sponsor may not accept contributions from any source earmarked for a specific trip or congressional travel generally except as described in this section.
A sponsor may use unrestricted funds received from third parties when the funds have not been earmarked for a specific trip or congressional travel generally.
A sponsor may use funds earmarked for a specific trip or congressional travel generally when the funds come from the federal government or a state or local government, or when the funds come from a grantmaking organization. A grantmaking organization may provide funds only if the grantmaking organization:
If a sponsor receives funds from a grantmaking organization, the sponsor must disclose this on the Private Sponsor Travel Certification Form, and the grantmaking organization must complete the Grantmaking Organization Certification Form.
No lobbyist, lobbying firm, or foreign agent may sponsor or contribute funds or in-kind support to a trip, directly or indirectly, regardless of whether the funds are subsequently reimbursed.
An entity that retains or employs a lobbyist or foreign agent may not sponsor a trip unless the trip is for a one-day event (see Section III.C.1, infra), or the entity is an organization designated under § 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
No lobbyist or foreign agent may plan, organize, arrange, or request travel. This restriction does not prohibit certain de minimis participation by a lobbyist or foreign agent. As a general matter, de minimis means negligible or inconsequential. The Committee has identified the following activities as examples of de minimis participation:
The Committee has identified the following activities as examples of exceeding de
minimis participation:
For all trips, lobbyist and foreign agent agent accompaniment is restricted. The scope of the restriction depends on the length of the trip.
For trips where all activities take place on one day, consistent with the restrictions of Section III.C.1, infra, a lobbyist or foreign agent may not accompany a Senate traveler on any segment of the trip, but may accompany a Senate traveler at events in the trip location.
For all other trips, a lobbyist or foreign agent may not accompany a Senate traveler at any point throughout the trip.
Both of these “accompaniment” prohibitions include a de minimis exception. As a general matter, de minimis means negligible or inconsequential. In determining whether a lobbyist or foreign agent’s accompaniment is de minimis, the Committee will consider the totality of the circumstances, including, but not limited to:
The Committee considers a lobbyist or foreign agent’s presence de minimis when their presence is merely coincidental. For example, if a trip includes attendance at an event put on by a third party, it is possible that a lobbyist or foreign agent could attend the event without the sponsor’s knowledge or involvement. Such coincidental attendance is de minimis. Similarly, the coincidental presence of a lobbyist or foreign agent as another passenger on a common carrier used during a trip, without the sponsor’s knowledge or involvement, is de minimis.
The Committee does not consider lobbyist accompaniment de minimis where a trip itinerary includes a lobbyist or foreign agent. For example, a lobbyist or foreign agent’s participation as a speaker or panelist at an event appearing on a trip itinerary is not de minimis accompaniment.
Note that the above restrictions applicable to lobbyists and foreign agents apply regardless of whether the lobbyist or foreign agent is registered to represent the trip sponsor.
In its discretion, the Committee may decline to approve any trip where the sponsor has made material misrepresentations to the Committee, violated applicable law, Senate Rules, or related standards of conduct, or previously sponsored a trip that led to a Committee investigation.
The maximum permissible length of a trip depends on the trip sponsor and the trip location.
Trips sponsored by entities that retain or employ a lobbyist or foreign agent may not exceed one (1) day, exclusive of travel time and one overnight stay, regardless of whether the trip takes place within the continental United States or outside the continental United States. The Committee may approve a second overnight stay if the sponsor establishes in writing that a two-night stay is practically required and necessary to accomplish the purpose of the trip. The Committee will examine these requests on a case-by-case basis and will consider:
Regardless of whether one or two overnight stays are approved, all scheduled officiallyconnected activities must take place on one calendar day (i.e., from 12:01 a.m. to 11:59 p.m.). The sponsor may pay for meals and expenses for the overnight stays but may not plan or sponsor any activities for the Senate traveler on those days.
The trade association may:
The trade association may not:
Entities that do not retain or employ a lobbyist or foreign agent may sponsor trips within the continental United States of up to three (3) days. The three-day time limitation means three 24-hour periods, calculated from the time the traveler arrives in the trip location (“wheels down”) to the time the traveler departs the trip location (“wheels up”).
Non-profit organizations designated as tax-exempt organizations under § 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 may also sponsor domestic trips of up to three days regardless of whether they retain or employ a lobbyist or foreign agent. However, as described in Section III.B.3.c, supra, any trip that exceeds one day is subject to the more restrictive lobbyist accompaniment standard.
Entities that do not retain or employ a lobbyist or foreign agent may sponsor trips outside the continental United States of up to seven (7) days. Like the three-day limitation, the sevenday limitation means seven 24-hour periods, calculated from the time the traveler arrives in the trip location (“wheels down”) to the time the traveler departs the trip location (“wheels up”).
Section 501(c)(3) organizations may also sponsor foreign trips of up to seven days regardless of whether they retain or employ a lobbyist or foreign agent. However, as described in Section III.B.3.c, supra, any trip that exceeds one day is subject to the more restrictive lobbyist accompaniment standard.
A trip that involves stops both within and outside the continental United States may be up to seven days, but all parts of the trip within the continental United States combined must not exceed 72 hours.
Consistent with 26 U.S.C. § 4941, a non-profit entity designated under § 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code as a “private foundation,” as opposed to a “public charity,” may not sponsor travel outside the United States.
A sponsor may only provide or reimburse necessary expenses in connection with travel. Necessary expenses are generally limited to reasonable expenditures for transportation, lodging, and food and refreshments. Necessary expenses may also include reasonable miscellaneous expenses such as interpreter fees, conference fees, visa fees, and similar expenses. The sponsor may also pay necessary expenses for either the spouse or child of a Member, officer, or employee (but not both), subject to a determination signed by the Member or officer (or in the case of an employee, the Member or officer under whose direct supervision the employee works) that the attendance of the spouse or child is appropriate to assist in the representation of the Senate.
Necessary expenses do not include expenses for entertainment other than that provided to all attendees as an integral part of the event; expenses for recreational activities; or expenses associated with appearances or activities unrelated to the sponsor’s event.
The Committee will evaluate all expenses paid by a sponsor to determine whether they are reasonable. The Committee’s evaluation will include a review of all circumstances of the trip, including but not limited to the official purpose of the trip, the trip sponsor, the length of the trip, and the trip location. When evaluating the reasonableness of expenses, either individually or in total, the Committee will give weight to a supervising Member or officer’s determination that the trip will not create the appearance that the Senate traveler is using their public office for private gain. The Committee will also evaluate the reasonableness of specific expenses as detailed below.
A sponsor may generally provide only coach or business class travel. Travel on a private aircraft is prohibited.
First-class or commercial charter transportation is permissible only with the specific prior written approval of the Committee. The Committee may, but is not required to, grant such approval only in exceptional circumstances, and when one or more of the following limited conditions are present:
Additionally, in order to provide commercial charter transportation, the sponsor must provide documentation that the charter plane is operated or paid for by either (a) an air carrier or commercial operator certificated by the Federal Aviation Administration and required to be conducted under air carrier safety rules, or (b) in the case of travel which is abroad, an air carrier or commercial operator certificated by an appropriate foreign civil aviation authority and required to be conducted under air carrier safety rules.
A traveler may use personal frequent flyer or similar travel awards to upgrade to first-class as long as the traveler pays all expenses related to the upgrade.
As with officially related travel across the federal government, expenses for meals and lodging for privately sponsored travel must generally fall within the maximum per diem rates for official federal government travel published annually by the General Services Administration, the Department of State, and the Department of Defense. Meal and lodging expenses above the government per diem will be considered only where the Committee determines that such expenses are necessary given the circumstances of a specific trip.
The Committee will generally not approve expenses over the government per diem when the trip was organized with regard to congressional participation.
In its discretion, the Committee may, but is not required to, approve expenses over the government per diem when the trip was organized without regard to congressional participation, and the meals and lodging provided to the Senate travelers are the same as are provided to all non-Congressional attendees.
In determining whether to approve meal and lodging expenses that are over the government per diem, the Committee will consider:
The meal and lodging expenses must be reasonable and must not create the appearance that the Senate traveler attending the event is using their public office for personal gain, including for recreational purposes. Travel costs that significantly exceed the relevant government per diem rate are presumptively unreasonable.
Senate Members, officers, and employees may accept a sponsor’s offer of necessary expenses for an accompanying spouse or child (but not both), provided:
Notwithstanding the standards governing necessary expenses for Senate travelers described in ¶ III.E, infra, with respect to transportation expenses for an accompanying spouse or child, the Committee may, but is not required to, approve a trip sponsor’s unsolicited offer of transportation from a different point of departure or return as the Senate traveler. In evaluating such a request, the Committee will consider:
In no other instance may a sponsor pay or reimburse any expense for the accompanying spouse or child that could not be paid or reimbursed for the Senate traveler.
The sponsor may provide or reimburse reasonable miscellaneous expenses when such expenses are necessary for the official purpose of the trip. Whether an expense is considered necessary depends on the nature of the particular trip. Reasonable miscellaneous expenses generally include interpreter fees, visa fees, and conference fees. Reasonable miscellaneous expenses may, on a case-by-case basis, include expenses for vaccines and trip insurance. Reasonable miscellaneous expenses do not include personal expenses or recreational expenses (e.g., laundry expenses, sightseeing tours, theater or concert visits).
The following expenses are not considered necessary expenses and will not be approved by the Committee:
Expenses for alcohol may only be approved if offered as part of a meal, reception, or other event that is necessary to the official purpose of the trip and attended by individuals other than Members, officers, and employees of Congress.
No Senate Member, officer, or employee may accept privately sponsored travel to a location within their duty station. All travel approved under these Regulations must involve only events taking place outside the Senate Member, officer, or employee’s duty station.
Senate travelers are expected to participate in the trip as planned by the trip sponsor except as follows:
A Senate traveler may modify their point of departure or return to facilitate an official purpose if the Senate office pays any difference in cost between the modified travel and the travel as originally planned.
A Senate traveler may modify their point of departure or return to facilitate a personal purpose only if the Senate traveler pays all transportation expenses in connection with that side of the trip.
All trip modifications must be approved by the Committee, and must not create an appearance, as determined in the sole discretion of the Committee, that the Senate traveler is using the resources of the sponsoring entity for personal gain or to supplement impermissibly the work of the Senate office.
When a traveler extends their trip by arriving earlier or staying later than scheduled by the sponsor, this is a trip extension. Prior written Committee approval is required for all trip extensions, regardless of whether the traveler is extending for an official or personal purpose. In the case of a Senate employee, the individual’s supervising Senator or officer must also approve the extension.
Under no circumstance may a trip sponsor pay expenses attributable to a trip extension. At a minimum, the Senate traveler is responsible for the cost of any increase in expenses incurred because of a personal extension, and all meal and lodging expenses associated with the extension day(s). For officially-related extensions, consistent with Senate Rule 38, the Senate office must pay all additional expenses.
The Committee will determine the expenses the Senate traveler or Senate office will be required to pay based on a review of the totality of the circumstances of the trip, including the length and purpose of the extension, as follows:
In determining whether to approve an extension, the Committee will also consider whether special circumstances support extending the trip, such as restrictions on travel due to religious observances or for medical reasons.
A Senate Member, officer, or employee who accepts privately sponsored travel without receiving prior written approval from the Committee must notify the Committee as soon as possible and promptly reimburse the sponsor for all travel expenses. The Member, officer, or employee must provide the Committee with written confirmation reflecting the reimbursement. The Committee may deem participation in a trip that is materially different from the trip approved during the pre-travel process to be participation without approval, subject to the same remedy.
If a Senate Member, officer, or employee fails to file the required post-travel package, the Committee may decline to approve future travel for that Member, officer, or employee.
If a sponsor makes a material misrepresentation to the Committee or violates applicable law, rules, or related standards of conduct, the Committee may decline to approve privately sponsored travel, including future travel, offered by the sponsor.
If any individual makes materially false or misleading statements to the Committee, they may be subject to criminal penalties, including penalties for false statements under 18 U.S.C. § 1001, or other discipline by the Committee.
The Committee retains all disciplinary powers granted to it by its Rules of Procedure and Supplementary Procedural Rules.
At “any point throughout the trip” means during travel to and from the trip location(s) and at all times and events in the trip location(s).
On “any segment of the trip” means on any part of the travel to and from the event, but not at events or other activities in the trip location(s).
For purposes of these Regulations and regardless of the duty station designated pursuant to the Committee on Rules and Administration Senate Travel Regulations, the duty station for all Senate Members is Washington, D.C. and a 35-mile radius of their home state residence.
The Washington, D.C. duty station encompasses the District of Columbia, the Maryland counties of Charles, Montgomery, and Prince George's; the Virginia counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudon, and Prince William; the Virginia cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas, and Manassas Park; and the airport locations of Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport, and Ronald Regan Washington National Airport.
For Senate employees and officers, the duty station is designated by the employee's or officer's Senate office.
For purposes of these Regulations, duty stations other than Washington, D.C. are defined as the 35-mile radius surrounding the duty station city designated by the employee's or officer's Senate office.
For purposes of these regulations, earmarking includes any direction, agreement, or suggestion, formal or informal, to use donated funds, goods, services, or other in-kind contributions for the purpose of financing, either directly or indirectly, a specific trip or congressional travel generally.
A Senate employee includes any employee whose salary is disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate, or who is required by Senate Rule 41 to comply with the Senate Code of Official Conduct in the same manner and to the same extent as an employee of the Senate. This definition includes interns, fellows, and detailees.
A foreign agent is an agent of a foreign principal registered, or required to be registered, under the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 17 1938, as amended, 22 U.S.C. § 611 et seq.
A grantmaking organization is a § 501(c)(3) organization that contributes funds or in-kind support, directly or indirectly, to a trip sponsor for a specific trip or congressional travel generally subject to the conditions described in Section III.B.1, infra.
For purposes of these Regulations, a lobbyist is any person registered, or required to be registered, under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, as amended, 2 U.S.C. § 1601 et seq.
For purposes of these Regulations, a lobbying firm is a person or entity that has one or more employees who are lobbyists on behalf of a client other than that person or entity. The term also includes a self-employed individual who is a lobbyist.
An entity that employs a lobbyist to lobby only on its own behalf is not a lobbying firm for purposes of these Regulations, though such entities may be required to register their lobbyists under the Lobbying Disclosure Act.
The Senate officers are the President of the Senate, the President pro tempore, the Secretary of the Senate, the Sergeant at Arms, the Secretary for the Majority, the Secretary for the Minority, and the Chaplain.
As described in Senate Rule 35.1(c)(1)(C)(ii), a private aircraft is any aircraft that is not operated or paid for by either (a) an air carrier or commercial operator certificated by the Federal Aviation Administration and required to be conducted under air carrier safety rules, or (b) in the case of travel which is abroad, an air carrier or commercial operator certificated by an appropriate foreign civil aviation authority and required to be conducted under air carrier safety rules.
A reporting individual is anyone required to file Financial Disclosure Reports under Senate Rule 34 and the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, as amended.
This includes all Members, officers, employees whose rate of pay is at or above 120% of the basic rate of pay for GS-15, and Political Fund Designees as designated under Senate Rule 41.1. This also includes Senate fellows and detailees paid at or above 120% of the basic rate of pay for GS-15.
A sponsor is any person or entity, other than a grantmaking organization, that contributes funds or in-kind support, directly or indirectly, for a specific trip or congressional travel generally.
An employee’s supervising Member or officer is the Member or officer under whose direct supervision the employee works.
A trip is organized “with regard to congressional participation” if it is not organized “without regard to congressional participation.”
A trip is organized “without regard to congressional participation” if all activities on the trip are part of an event (e.g., an annual meeting, conference, seminar, or symposium of a trade association, professional society, business association, or other membership organization) that would take place regardless of congressional participation.
If a trip includes any activities that would not take place regardless of congressional participation (e.g., a private dinner for congressional staff), the trip was organized “with regard to congressional participation,” except that if a particular activity at a larger event (e.g., a single session at a conference) is dependent on a congressional traveler’s participation as a speaker, panelist, etc., but a similar activity would take place if the congressional traveler were not participating, the event may still be considered “without regard to congressional participation.”