Financial Disclosure by Federal Officials and Publication of Disclosure Reports

Jack Maskell
Legislative Attorney

High-level officials in all three branches of the federal government are required to publicly disclose detailed information concerning their financial holdings and transactions in income- producing property and assets, such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and real property, as well as information on income, gifts, and reimbursements from private non-governmental sources. Covered federal officials must disclose this information not only for themselves, but also must disclose much of the same required financial information with regard to their spouses and dependent children.

Public financial disclosure and reporting requirements, originally adopted in the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, apply to the President, Vice President, all Members of Congress (as well as to candidates for President, Vice President, or Congress), federal judges and justices, and to employees in all three branches of the federal government who are compensated at a rate of pay over a particular amount (generally, 120% of the base salary of a GS-15) for more than 60 days in a calendar year.

Covered officers and employees of the federal government must file detailed financial reports on an annual basis by May 15, setting out information for the previous year on income, gifts, reimbursements, financial holdings and assets, financial transactions, outside positions held, and any agreements or understandings for future private employment.

In addition to the annual May 15 reports, all covered public filers must file more frequent public reports throughout the year concerning financial transactions of over $1,000 in assets such as stocks or bonds. Such periodic reports on financial transactions must be filed within 30 days of the receipt of notice of any such covered purchase or sale (but not later than 45 days of the actual transaction).

For the highest-level officials in the executive and legislative branches of government—the President, Vice President, Members of Congress, and executive officials compensated on Level I of the Executive Schedule (Cabinet officials) and Level II of the Executive Schedule (including sub-Cabinet officials and heads of executive branch and independent agencies)—all of the public reports required to be filed, including the annual report and the periodic transaction reports, are to be posted on the Internet for public availability, searching, and downloading. For all other  covered employees in the federal government, the financial disclosure reports remain publicly available to individuals and the press at the employee’s agency.

Date of Report: August 22, 2013
Number of Pages: 9
Order Number: R43186
Price: $19.95

To Order:

R43186.pdf   to use the SECURE SHOPPING CART

e-mail congress@pennyhill.com

Phone 301-253-0881

For email and phone orders, provide a Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover card number, expiration date, and name on the card. Indicate whether you want e-mail or postal delivery. Phone orders are preferred and receive priority processing.

Types of Committee Hearings

Valerie Heitshusen
Analyst on Congress and the Legislative Process

Congressional committee hearings may be broadly classified into four types: legislative, oversight, investigative, and confirmation. Hearings may be held on Capitol Hill or elsewhere (e.g., a committee member’s district or state, or a site related to the subject of the hearing). These latter hearings are often referred to as field hearings.1

All hearings have a similar formal purpose: to gather information for use by the committee in its activities. This information often is used to shape legislation, even when the hearing is not specifically a legislative hearing. All four types of hearings share common characteristics. The differences among them may appear indistinct, and their purposes sometimes overlap. For example, investigative hearings are sometimes seen as a type of oversight or may lead to legislation, and legislative hearings on a bill might also provide oversight opportunities.

A single set of rules in each chamber governs the different kinds of hearings (Senate Rule XXVI and House Rule X, particularly clauses 2 and 3, and Rule XI, particularly clauses 2, 4, and 5).2 For example, House and Senate rules set conditions and procedures for closing any hearing to the public and press, all of which must otherwise remain open.3 Some other chamber rules, however, are more pertinent to certain kinds of hearings than to others. Within these rules, a chair has broad latitude in the organization and conduct of hearings.


Date of Report: August 12, 2013
Number of Pages: 4
Order Number: 98-317
Price: $19.95

To Order:

98-317.pdf   to use the SECURE SHOPPING CART

e-mail congress@pennyhill.com

Phone 301-253-0881

For email and phone orders, provide a Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover card number, expiration date, and name on the card. Indicate whether you want e-mail or postal delivery. Phone orders are preferred and receive priority processing.

Points of Order, Rulings, and Appeals in the Senate

Valerie Heitshusen
Analyst on Congress and the Legislative Process

The Senate’s presiding officer typically does not have responsibility for proactively
ensuring that matters under consideration comply with the rules. Instead, Senators may
enforce the Senate’s legislative rules and precedents by making points of order whenever
they believe that one of those rules or precedents is, or is about to be, violated. Under some
circumstances, a ruling by the presiding officer determines whether or not the point of order is
well taken. Under others, the Senate itself decides the point of order, usually by majority vote.1

nate Rule XX states in part that “[a] question of order may be raised at any stage of the
proceedings, except when the Senate is voting or ascertaining the presence of a quorum, and,
unless submitted to the Senate, shall be decided by the Presiding Officer without debate, subject
to an appeal to the Senate.”


Date of Report: August 16, 2013
Number of Pages: 5
Order Number: 98-306
Price: $19.95

To Order:

98-306.pdf   to use the SECURE SHOPPING CART

e-mail congress@pennyhill.com

Phone 301-253-0881

For email and phone orders, provide a Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover card number, expiration date, and name on the card. Indicate whether you want e-mail or postal delivery. Phone orders are preferred and receive priority processing.