From "Does an Exception to the Gift Rule Apply?" a handout given to participants at an American League of Lobbyists seminar held in January, 1996, in Washington, D.C. The seminar was designed to educate league members about the new restrictions on gift-giving to members of Congress and their staffs that went into effect on the first of that month. The following "workshop problems" were written by the group's president, Wright Andrews, in order to "illustrate the use" of the gift ban's "numerous exceptions":

• Dick and Katie are lobbyists from two unrelated lobbying firms. They take Mary, a Senate employee, to lunch and split the cost of Mary's $19 lunch bill. Since the Senate rules allow gifts of under $50, and items under $10 do not count, are these allowable gifts? If Mary's bill had been $90 and they split it, would they have sidestepped the $50 limit?

• Mary is taken out again for a $25 lunch by Dick the following week, and the next day Jane treats Mary to a $30 lunch. Dick and Jane both work for the same firm. If Dick and Jane pay for Mary's lunches with the firm credit card do the amounts have to be aggregated for purposes of the $100 annual limit? What if Dick and Jane took Mary to lunch together and split the cost using separately numbered firm credit cards? What if Dick and Jane split the cost of Mary's lunch using their personal credit cards instead of their firm's card? What if the costs of the meals are billed to a client, or prorated among several clients?

  

• Mary's boss, Senator Lykesmore, a senior Finance Committee member, calls Dick, saying that he needs to buy two tickets to the hoop-jumping event at the upcoming Olympics but can't find any because the $100 tickets were sold out months ago. Dick both likes Lykesmore and needs his help on many tax-legislation issues, so he promises to scrounge up some tickets. Dick pays a scalper $500 for two tickets and gives them to the senator. Lykesmore is pleased and writes out a $200 check to Dick for the tickets. Does the exception for items for which the covered employee pays "market value" apply? Is the "market value" $200 or $500?

• Dick and Jane have been lobbying Mary and Senator Lykesmore on several corporate-tax-reform amendments, and, having concluded that neither the senator nor his aide understands the issues or their client's position, they invite them to a training session in order to educate them on these matters. Cocktails and a wonderful dinner are served during this training session. Lykesmore smokes an expensive Cuban cigar, provided by Dick, after dinner. Mary pockets one to give to a friend later. She and Lykesmore leave feeling better informed about the legislative issues but also a little drunk and bloated. Jane pays for the cab to get them home safely. Are the gifts here allowable under the exception for "training" activity?

• Dick and Jane schedule a second training session for Senator Lykesmore and Mary, this time in Las Vegas at the offices of their client, the Lucky Duck Casino. On the day after the training session, Lykesmore is offered a free green fee if he plays golf in a charity event sponsored by the Lucky Duck. While he and Jane play golf, Dick and Mary drink pina coladas and sunbathe by the Lucky Duck's swimming pool. As the afternoon progresses, their friendship grows, as does their physical attraction to each other. Dick invites Mary to stay over with him for two days at his condo in Lake Tahoe. Since Mary has plenty of accrued vacation time and no pressing work back in D.C., she wants to accept. Can she do so under the gift rule's exception for "outside activities"?

[Ed.: Passing laws against political corruption is a bit like outlawing sharks while bailing chum overboard.]

†