[Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 105th Congress]
[105th Congress]
[House Document 104-272]
[Rules of the House of Representatives]
[Pages 833-836]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]
Rule XLVI.
limitations on the use of the frank.
[[Page 834]]
which assures that such mail will be
sent by the most economical means practicable.
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Sec. 942. |
1. Any franked mail which is mailed by a Member
under section 3210(d) of title 39, United States Code, shall be mailed
at the equivalent rate of postage
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2. A Member shall, before making any mass mailing, submit a sample or
description of the mail matter involved to the House Commission on
Congressional Mailing Standards for an advisory opinion as to whether
such proposed mailing is in compliance with applicable provisions of
law, rule, or regulation.
3. Any mass mailing which otherwise is frankable by a Member under the
provisions of section 3210(e) of title 39, United States Code, shall not
be frankable unless the cost of preparing and printing such mass mailing
is defrayed exclusively from funds made available in any appropriations
Act.
4. A Member may not send any mass mailing outside the congressional
district from which the Member was elected.
5. In the case of any Representative in the House of Representatives,
other than a Representative at Large, who is a candidate for any
statewide public office, any mass mailing shall not be frankable under
section 3210 of title 39, United States Code, when the same is delivered
to any address which is not located in the area constituting the
congressional district from which any such individual was elected.
[[Page 835]]
(whether regular, special, or runoff) in
which such Member is a candidate for public office. If mail matter is of
a type which is not customarily postmarked, the date on which such
matter would have been postmarked if it were of a type customarily
postmarked shall apply.
6. In the case of any Member, any mass mailing shall not be frankable
under section 3210 of title 39, United States Code, when the same is
postmarked less than sixty days immediately before the date of any
primary or general election
7. For purposes of this rule--
(a) The term ``mass mailing'' means, with respect to a session in
Congress, any mailing of newsletters or other pieces of mail with
substantially identical content (whether such mail is deposited singly
or in bulk, or at the same time or different times), totaling more than
500 pieces in that session, except that such term does not include any
mailing--
(1) of matter in direct response to a communication from a
person to whom the matter is mailed;
(2) from a Member to other Members of Congress, or to Federal,
State, or local government officials; or
(3) of a news release to the communications media.
(b) The term ``Member'' means any Member of the House of
Representatives, a Delegate to the House of Representatives, or the
Resident Commissioner in the House of Representatives.
(c) The term ``Members of Congress'' means Senators and
Representatives in, and Delegates and Resident Commissioners to, the
Congress.
[[Page 836]]
and 101-520, respectively) (H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 1991, p. 39). Clause 4
was rewritten in the 103d Congress to conform to the statutory
prohibition against mass mailings outside the congressional district
from which a Member was elected.
This rule was adopted in the 95th Congress (H. Res. 287, Mar. 2, 1977,
pp. 5933-53). In the 102d Congress it was extensively amended to conform
to restrictions on franking and mass mailings included in the
legislative branch appropriations acts for fiscal years 1990 and 1991
(P.L. 101-163
For an indepth discussion of this rule prepared by the Committee on
Standards of Official Conduct, see the House Ethics Manual (102d Cong.,
2d Sess.).