The Digital File Cabinet: House and Senate File Ethics Disclosures

Members of Congress in the House and Senate, candidates for federal office, senior congressional staff, nominees for executive branch positions, Cabinet members, the president and vice president and Supreme Court justices are required by the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to file annual reports disclosing their personal finances. Compliance and enforcement of this requirement is overseen by the congressional ethics committees, the ethics offices of government agencies and, in the case of executive branch officials, the U.S. Office of Government Ethics.

These disclosures include financial forms, gift and travel filings, post-employment lobbying restrictions, and more. It’s a lot of disclosure information, and oftentimes, some disclosures must be filed in person rather than online. 

The following outlines the major types of information that must be reported on personal ethics disclosures, as well as if the information is publicly available online, in person, or both.

House Report TypeAvailable Online or Offline?Senate Report TypeAvailable Online or Offline?
CAO Semiannual ReportsOnlineSemiannual Statement of ExpendituresBoth
Federal Election Campaign ReportsBothCampaign Financial DisclosureBoth
Financial Disclosure Forms and ReportsBothPersonal Financial DisclosureBoth
Foreign Travel Reports and ExpendituresBothForeign TravelBoth
Franking Commission (Mass Mailings)BothFranked MailOffline
Gift and Travel FilingsBothGift and Travel DisclosureBoth
House Ethics Committee ReportsOnlineSenate Ethics Committee ReportsBoth
Legal Expense Fund DisclosuresOfflineLegal Defense FundsOffline
Lobbying ContributionBothPolitical Fund Activity DesigneesBoth
Lobbying Disclosure FilingBothLobbying DisclosureBoth
Post Employment Lobbying Restrictions DatabaseBothPost Employmnet Restrictions on LobbyingBoth
Statement of Rescusal Arising from Negotiations for Future Employment for Congressional StaffOfflinePost Employment Negotiation Conflict Forms For StaffBoth
Statement of Rescusal Arising from Negotiations for Future Employment for Members of CongressOfflinePost Employment Negotiation Conflict Forms for MembersBoth
Statements of DisbursmentsOnlineAgreements to Comply with Code of Official ConductOffline
Supervisor’s Report on Individuals who Perform Senate ServicesOffline

You can view the complete spreadsheet containing comprehensive information on all House and Senate ethics disclosures, including what must be filed, where they can be filed, who files them, and additional requirements for filing:

[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQ4bRVvk3StuNTKahQWC8N4g_9C6QldDskaAdAgFs9QAbVnixTwWfe5lQgwwd98eI9CdzfRVz7aLUBa/pubhtml” query=”widget=true&headers=false” /]