The Standards Committee has recognized that at times in the course of performing one's official duties at House expense, a Member or staff person will be offered a de minimis amount of food or transportation as a courtesy. For example, one might be offered a meal in the company cafeteria while touring a facility in one's district, or a ride from the airport to a site being visited as part of a committee-sponsored trip.

In the Committee's view, the acceptance of such occasional, incidental courtesies does not violate the spirit of the gift rule. Accordingly, the Committee has granted a general waiver of the gift rule to enable a Member, officer or employee to accept the following items incidental to legitimate official activity:

--food or refreshments, including a meal, offered by the management of a site being visited, (1) on that business's premises, and (2) in a group setting with employees of the organization; and

--local transportation, outside of the District of Columbia, provided by the management of a site being visited in the course of official duties, between the airport or other terminus and the site.

However, this waiver does not extend to car service made available from the same source on a regular basis, transportation in the District of Columbia, or meals at the Washington, D.C.-area offices of lobbying or law firms.

In addition, acceptance of these items will not be deemed to violate the prohibition against private subsidy of official activities (formerly House Rule 45, and now set forth in clauses 1-3 of House Rule 25). In this regard, it should be stressed that this waiver applies where a Member or staff person is traveling in his or her own district, or is traveling elsewhere at House expense. As is detailed in the chapter on travel, where a Member or staff person is taking an officially related trip at the expense of a private source consistent with the provisions of the gift rule, he or she may generally accept meals and transportation from that source without the limitations noted above.

However, where officially related travel is appropriately paid for by a private source, all of the expenses paid by the private source must be publicly disclosed.