734.208—Participation in fundraising.

(a) An employee may make a political contribution to a political party, political group, campaign committee of a candidate for public office in a partisan election and multicandidate political committee of a Federal labor or Federal employee organization.

(b) Subject to the prohibitions stated in section 734.303, an employee may—

(1) Attend a political fundraiser;

(2) Accept and receive political contributions in a partisan election described in 5 CFR part 733 ;

(3) Solicit, accept, or receive uncompensated volunteer services from any individual; and

(4) Solicit, accept, or receive political contributions, as long as:

(i) The person who is solicited for a political contribution belongs to the same Federal labor organization, or Federal employee organization, as the employee who solicits, accepts, or receives the contribution;

(ii) The person who is solicited for a political contribution is not a subordinate employee; and

(iii) The request is for a contribution to the multicandidate political committee of a Federal labor organization or to the multicandidate political committee of a Federal employee organization in existence on October 6, 1993.

(c) Subject to the provisions of § 734.306, an employee may make a financial contribution to a political action committee through a voluntary allotment made under § 550.311(b) of this chapter, if the head of the employee's agency permits agency employees to make such allotments to political action committees.

(d) An employee who is covered under this subpart and is a payroll official in an agency where employees are permitted to make allotments to political action committees may process the completed direct deposit forms for voluntary allotments which have been made to such committees under section 550.311(b) of this title.

Code of Federal Regulations

Example 1: An GS-12 employee of the Department of Treasury who belongs to the same Federal employee organization as a GS-5 employee of the Department of Treasury may solicit a contribution for the multicandidate political committee when she is not on duty as long as the GS-5 employee is not under the supervisory authority of the GS-12 employee.

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Example 2: An employee of the National Park Service may give a speech or keynote address at a political fundraiser when he is not on duty, as long as the employee does not solicit political contributions, as prohibited in § 734.303(b) of this part.

Code of Federal Regulations

Example 3: An employee's name may appear on an invitation to a political fundraiser as a guest speaker as long as the reference in no way suggests that the employee solicits or encourages contributions, as prohibited in § 734.303 of this part and described in example 2 thereunder. However, the employee's official title may not appear on invitations to any political fundraiser, except that an employee who is ordinarily addressed using a general term of address, such as “The Honorable,” may use or permit the use of that term of address for such purposes.

Code of Federal Regulations

Example 4: When an employee of the Department of Transportation is not on duty, he or she may engage in activities which do not require personal solicitations of contributions, such as organizing mail or phone solicitations for political contributions. Activities such as stuffing envelopes with requests for political contributions also are permitted. However, he or she may not sign the solicitation letter unless the solicitation is for the contribution of uncompensated volunteer services of individuals who are not subordinate employees. An employee may not knowingly send to his or her subordinate employees a letter soliciting the contribution of their uncompensated services. However, he or she may sign a letter that solicits contributions of uncompensated volunteer services as part of a general mass mailing that might reach a subordinate employee, as long as the mass mailing is not specifically targeted to his or her subordinate employees.

Code of Federal Regulations

Example 5: An employee who is not on duty may participate in a phone bank soliciting the uncompensated services of individuals. However, an employee may not make phone solicitations for political contributions even anonymously.

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Example 6: An employee of the Department of Agriculture who is on official travel and is not in a pay status nor officially representing the Department may write invitations in his hotel room to a meet-the-candidate reception which he plans to hold in his home.

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Example 7: An employee may serve as an officer or chairperson of a political fundraising organization or committee as long as he or she does not personally solicit, accept, or receive political contributions. For example, the employee may organize or manage fundraising activities as long as he or she does not violate the above prohibition.

Code of Federal Regulations

Example 8: The head of a cabinet-level department may contribute one of her worn-out cowboy boots to the campaign committee of a Senatorial candidate to be auctioned off in a fundraising raffle for the benefit of the candidate's campaign.

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Example 9: An employee may help organize a fundraiser including supplying names for the invitation list as long as he or she does not personally solicit, accept, or receive contributions.

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Example 10: An employee on travel may engage in political activity when he or she is not on duty without taking annual leave.

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Example 11: A Federal employee may solicit, accept, or receive the uncompensated volunteer services of any individual, except a subordinate employee, to work on behalf of a partisan political candidate or organization. However, such solicitation, acceptance, or receipt must comply with part 2635 of this title as well as any other directives that may apply, e.g., the Federal Property Management Regulations in 41 CFR chapter 101. Further, Federal employees are subject to criminal anti-coercion provisions found at 18 U.S.C. 610 .

Code of Federal Regulations

Example 12: An employee who desires to make a financial contribution to a political action committee through a voluntary allotment personally may obtain blank direct deposit forms from his or her payroll office. However, he or she may not complete the form while he or she is on duty, on Federal property, or in a Federally owned or leased vehicle. Moreover, he or she may not personally deliver his or her completed form, or the completed form of another employee, to the payroll office. However, the employee may mail his or her direct deposit form to his or her agency payroll office.

Code of Federal Regulations

Example 13: Employees who are permitted to solicit, accept, or receive political contributions under the circumstances described in § 734.208(b)(4) may not solicit, accept, or receive such contributions either while they are on duty, or while they are on Federal premises, or both.

Code of Federal Regulations

[59 FR 48769, Sept. 23, 1994, as amended at 61 FR 35100, July 5, 1996]