The Ethics in Government Act (EIGA, specifically 5 U.S.C. §§ 13101-13111), Senate Rule 34, and Senate Rule 41, require Members, officers, certain employees, and candidates to file public Financial Disclosure Reports with the Secretary of the Senate, Office of Public Records. The Committee administers the financial disclosure reporting program for the U.S. Senate.

In addition, the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act (STOCK Act) requires the Senate to establish and maintain an electronic filing system for Financial Disclosure Reports. The Senate’s electronic system, eFD, is available at efd.senate.gov. The eFD system provides secure online access for filers to complete and file Financial Disclosure Reports, amendments to such reports, and requests for extensions. All Senate filers must set up an eFD account at efd.senate.gov.

The Committee publishes detailed instructions governing financial disclosure reporting requirements. See Financial Disclosure Instructions for CY 2023. For additional information about completing Financial Disclosure Reports, please contact the Committee at (202) 224-2981.

Public disclosure of assets, financial interests, and investments has been required and generally regarded as the preferred method of monitoring possible conflicts of interest of Members and certain Senate staff since at least 1978, the year the Senate Code of Official Conduct was adopted. The drafters of the Code of Official Conduct considered “full and complete public financial disclosure” to be the heart of the Code of Conduct. In drafting the Code of Conduct and the accompanying financial disclosure statute, the 95th Congress recognized that Members enter public service owning assets and having private investment interests like other citizens. Further, unlike many officials in the executive branch, who are concerned with administration and regulation in a narrow area, a Member exercises judgment concerning legislation across the entire spectrum of business and economic endeavors. Congress, thus, determined that Members should not be expected “to fully strip themselves of worldly goods.” Instead, public financial disclosure would provide the mechanism for monitoring and deterring conflicts.

Public disclosure is intended to provide the information necessary to allow Members’ constituencies to judge official conduct in light of possible financial conflicts with private holdings. In drafting the financial disclosure provisions of the Senate Code of Official Conduct, the 95th Congress “sought to strike a balance . . . to mandate disclosure and prohibit practices in a way that would restore the public confidence and serve the public’s legitimate interests without condoning wholesale, unwarranted invasions of privacy.”

The following individuals must file Financial Disclosure Reports. Except where noted below, all individuals must file: (1) a New Filer Report or Candidate Report; (2) Annual Report(s); (3) a Termination Report; and (4) Periodic Transaction Reports.

• Members

• Officers

• Employees Paid At or Above the Filing Threshold

An “employee” is any individual, other than a Member or the Vice President, whose salary is disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate. Senate employees must file Financial Disclosure Reports if their rate of pay is at or above the “filing threshold.” The term “filing threshold” is defined as 120% of the basic rate of pay in effect for GS-15 of the General Schedule. For calendar year 2023, the filing threshold was $141,022. For calendar year 2024, the filing threshold is $147,649.

Part-Time Employees

Part-time employees are required to file if their rate of pay, after adjustment to reflect full-time service, is at or above the filing threshold.

Example: An employee is paid $75,000 per year. She works for a Senate office two and a half days per week, for a total of 20 hours. In her office, a full-time employee works 40 hours per week. For financial disclosure purposes, this individual’s rate of pay is $150,000 ($75,000 x 2), and she is required to file Financial Disclosure Reports.

Shared Employees

Employees who work for more than one Senate office at the same time are required to file if their combined rate of pay from all Senate sources is at or above the filing threshold. Shared employees whose combined salary is at or above the filing threshold must communicate their status as a shared employee to the Committee.

Example: An employee is paid at a rate of $75,000 per year by Senator A’s personal office and $75,000 per year by Senator B’s personal office. The two offices share the employee, who, in total, works full-time for the Senate. Because the combined rate of pay of the employee, $150,000, is above the filing threshold, the employee is required to file Financial Disclosure Reports.

Employees Who Receive a Bonus

Employees whose regular rate of pay is below the filing threshold, but who receive one or more temporary pay increases (e.g., bonuses) that increase their pay to a rate at or above the threshold, must file an Annual Report for any calendar year in which: (1) their rate of pay was at or above the filing threshold for at least 60 days and (2) their gross pay was at or above the filing threshold for that calendar year. Senate employees who only meet one prong of this standard in a calendar year due to a temporary pay increase do not need to file an Annual Report, unless they are required to file Financial Disclosure Reports for another reason (e.g., Political Fund Designees).

Employees who file an Annual Report solely due to a temporary pay increase are not required to file a New Filer Report, a Termination Report, or Periodic Transaction Reports.

Example: A Senate employee paid at a rate of pay of $144,000 receives a bonus that increases her rate of pay to $165,000 for three months (91 days) in CY 2024. At the end of the year, her gross salary is approximately $149,481, which is above the financial disclosure threshold for CY 2024 ($147,649). Because (1) her rate of pay was above the threshold for more than 60 days during the calendar year and (2) her gross pay at the end of the calendar year exceeded the threshold, she is required to file an Annual Report for CY 2023.

Re-Employed Annuitants

For financial disclosure purposes, the pay of any re-employed annuitant includes amounts received by the employee as an annuity.

• Fellows and Detailees

Pursuant to Senate Rule 41.3 and 41.4, any person paid by an outside source to provide services to the Senate (i.e., fellows and detailees) is treated as a Senate employee whose pay is disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate. Such employees must therefore file to the same extent as Senate employees if their pay from their sponsoring entity is at or above the financial disclosure threshold, except that they are not required to file Periodic Transaction Reports. Fellows or detailees who receive special pay (e.g., locality pay, flight pay, LEAP) must contact the Committee to determine their filing requirements. Detailees may need to file Financial Disclosure Reports through their home agency in addition to the reports that are filed with the Committee.

• Certain Employees of Other Legislative Branch Offices

Employees of certain other Legislative Branch offices must also file Financial Disclosure Reports with the Secretary of the Senate. These offices are: the Government Accountability Office (GAO); the Office of the Attending Physician; and any agency or commission in the legislative branch where the statute establishing such agency or commission designates filing with the Secretary of the Senate, or, if there is no such designation, any agency or commission established in an even numbered calendar year. Employees in these offices, other than GAO, file reports based on the rate of pay criteria established for Senate employees, as described above. GAO employees should seek separate guidance from the Office of the General Counsel at GAO.

• Political Fund Designees

Any employee designated under Senate Rule 41 as a Political Fund Designee (PFD) must file an Annual Report for each calendar year in which they hold that position and a Termination Report 30 days after leaving the PFD position. Employees who must file exclusively based on PFD status (i.e., employees paid below the filing threshold) are not required to file New Filer Reports or Periodic Transaction Reports.

• Principal Assistants

Each Member who does not have an employee paid at or above the filing threshold during a given calendar year must designate a Principal Assistant to file an Annual Report for that calendar year. The Principal Assistant must also file a Termination Report if they leave Senate employment during that calendar year. The Principal Assistant is not required to file a New Filer Report or Periodic Transaction Reports.

• Candidates

For purposes of financial disclosure, a “candidate” is any individual who (1) seeks nomination for election, or election, to Federal office; and has received contributions aggregating in excess of $5,000, or (2) has made expenditures aggregating in excess of $5,000; or has given consent to another to receive contributions or make expenditures on their behalf aggregating in excess of $5,000.

An “election” means (1) a general, special, primary, or run-off election, or (2) a convention or caucus of a political party which has authority to nominate a candidate.

For candidates who have withdrawn their candidacy, see Interpretative Ruling 413.

Note that filings with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) do not satisfy a candidate’s requirement to file a Financial Disclosure Report with the Senate pursuant to EIGA. This is because the Committee and the FEC have separate reporting requirements and require the disclosure of different information. Candidates have an independent obligation to file Financial Disclosure Reports with the Senate. The Committee does not initiate the financial disclosure process when a candidate files with the FEC.

1. Candidates must file an initial Candidate Report within 30 days of becoming a candidate or on or before May 15 of that calendar year, whichever is later, but in no event later than 30 days before an election. Such candidates must file additional Candidate Reports by May 15 of each subsequent calendar year in which he or she remains a candidate.
2. A Member must file a New Filer Report only if he or she did not file a Candidate Report prior to being sworn in to the Senate (i.e., when he or she obtained the position by appointment, rather than election).
3. Legislative commission (e.g., the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe) employees must file Financial Disclosure Reports with the Senate, rather than the House, when either (1) the statute creating the commission designates the Senate as the proper chamber, or (2) the statute is silent as to where to file, and the commission is established in an even numbered calendar year.

New Filer Reports

Must be filed within 30 days of assuming a filing position. Incumbent employees who receive a permanent raise to a rate of pay that is at or above the filing threshold are required to file a New Filer Report within 30 days of receiving that permanent raise.

Members who filed a Candidate Report prior to taking office may receive a waiver from the requirement to file a New Filer Report. Similarly, officers and employees who left a public filing position (as specified in EIGA) within 30 days of assuming the new position may receive a waiver from the requirement to file a New Filer Report. In both cases, the individual must submit a request that the report be waived through the eFD system. Contact the Committee with questions. 

Annual Reports

Termination Reports

Candidate Reports

Periodic Transaction Reports (PTRs)

A report is timely filed when filed through the eFD system by 11:59 p.m. EST on the date the report is due. Any electronic report filed after 11:59 p.m. EST on the due date is late. Once a report is successfully filed, the eFD system will re-direct to a confirmation screen. Each filer will also receive an email confirming that the report has been successfully filed. This includes Periodic Transaction Reports. If a filer does not receive both an on-screen receipt and an email confirmation, the report has not been filed. 

A paper report is timely filed when filed with the Office of Public Records before the office’s close of business on the date the report is due. Any paper report filed after close of business on the due date is late. If the due date for a paper report falls on a weekend or a holiday, the report must be filed with the Office of Public Records before the office’s close of business on the last business day prior to the due date.

The Committee may, in its discretion, grant reasonable extensions of time for filing Annual, New Filer, Candidate, and Termination Reports. The total of any extensions granted for any one report, including amendments, may not exceed 90 days. If you intend to file your report on paper, you must submit an extension request via paper. To obtain an extension, submit an extension request in eFD. All extension requests must be submitted on or before the filing deadline.  

Note that extension requests for Candidate Reports will not be granted if the requested due date is fewer than 30 days prior to a primary or general election in which the reporting individual is a candidate.  

Any individual who is required to file a report and files such report more than 30 days after the due date, or, if an extension is granted, more than 30 days after the last day of the filing extension period, shall be subject to a $200 penalty. The Committee will send the filer a penalty notification letter explaining how to pay any penalty that is due. Payment must be delivered to the Committee and made payable for deposit in the United States Treasury.  

The Committee may waive a penalty only in extraordinary circumstances. All penalty waiver requests, including those submitted by paper filers, must be submitted online via eFD and must indicate the specific, extraordinary circumstances that led to the untimely filing of the required report.

An individual who is required to file a report and who knowingly or willfully falsifies information, or fails to file or report information required to be reported by § 13104 of EIGA, may be subject to a civil penalty of up to $50,000 and disciplinary action by the Committee and/or any other appropriate authority under § 13106 of EIGA. Knowing and willful falsification of information required to be reported by § 13104 of EIGA may also be subject to criminal prosecution under 18 U.S.C. § 1001.

The Committee will review the information contained in a report and any attachments thereto within 60 days of filing to determine whether the report is in compliance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations. If the Committee identifies an apparent error, omission, or discrepancy in a report, it will notify the filer in writing via an amendment request letter and ask the filer to correct or clarify the information by amendment within 30 days of receiving the request. Additionally, if a filer believes that they made an error on a previous report, they may submit an unsolicited amendment to that report. Amendments must be filed using the same method (eFD or paper) used to file the original report. If a filer believes an amendment was requested in error, they must contact the Committee promptly. The Committee will determine whether such amendment or clarification is needed.

Financial Disclosure Reports are made publicly available by the Secretary of the Senate within 30 calendar days of being filed. Any person requesting a copy of a report may be required to pay a reasonable fee to cover the cost of reproduction and mailing. Each filer may inspect applications for public access to their reports upon request at the Office of Public Records or in eFD. All Financial Disclosure Reports—except Candidate Reports for those candidates who were not elected—shall remain available for public inspection for a period of six years after receipt. In addition, § 8(a) of the STOCK Act, as amended, requires the Secretary of the Senate to ensure that Financial Disclosure Reports filed by Members and candidates since calendar year 2012 are made available to the public online. These reports are available at efdsearch.senate.gov. 

It is unlawful for any person to obtain or use a Financial Disclosure Report for: (1) any unlawful purpose; (2) any commercial purpose, other than by news and communications media for dissemination to the general public; (3) determining or establishing the credit rating of an individual; or (4) use, directly or indirectly, in the solicitation of money for any political, charitable, or other purpose.

An individual who obtains or uses a report for any of the prohibited purposes outlined above may be subject to civil penalties and any other remedy available under statutory or common law.

As used below, the term “date of filing” refers to the original due date for the report.  Extensions to due dates do not affect the date of filing when determining the reporting period.

New Filer Reports and Candidate Reports

• Part 1 (Honoraria): Report honoraria received during the preceding calendar year and current calendar year through the date of filing.
• Part 2 (Earned Income): Report income received during the preceding calendar year and current calendar year through the date of filing.
• Part 3 (Assets): Value assets as of any date within 31 days of the date of filing. Report income received during the preceding calendar year and current calendar year through the date of filing.
• Part 4a (PTR Summary): Not required
• Part 4b (Transactions): Not required
• Part 5 (Gifts): Not required
• Part 6 (Travel): Not required
• Part 7 (Liabilities): For revolving charge accounts (e.g., credit cards), report the amount owed as of date of filing. For all other liabilities, report the highest amount owed during the preceding calendar year and current calendar year through the date of filing.
• Part 8 (Positions): Report positions held at any time during the preceding two calendar years or the current calendar year through the date of filing.
• Part 9 (Agreements): Report agreements and arrangements as of the date of filing.
• Part 10 (Compensation): Report sources of compensation in any of the preceding two calendar years or the current year through the date of filing.

Annual Reports

• Part 1 (Honoraria): Report honoraria received during the preceding calendar year.
• Part 2 (Earned Income): Report income received during the preceding calendar year.
• Part 3 (Assets): Value assets as of December 31. Report income received during the preceding calendar year.
• Part 4a (PTR Summary): Report transactions that occurred during the preceding calendar year. Do not include transactions made during a period when the filer was not a Federal employee.
• Part 4b (Transactions): Report transactions that occurred during the preceding calendar year. Do not include transactions made during a period when the filer was not a Federal employee.
• Part 5 (Gifts): Report gifts received during the preceding calendar year. Do not include gifts received during a period when the filer was not a Federal employee.
• Part 6 (Travel): Report travel received during the preceding calendar year. Do not include travel received during a period when the filer was not a Federal employee.
• Part 7 (Liabilities): For revolving charge accounts (e.g., credit cards), report the amount owed as of December 31. For all other liabilities, report the highest amount owed during the preceding calendar year.
• Part 8 (Positions): Report positions held at any time during the current calendar year through the date of filing.
• Part 9 (Agreements): Report agreements and arrangements as of the date of filing.
• Part 10 (Compensation): Report sources of compensation in any of the preceding two calendar years or the current year through the date of filing (first-time filers only).

Termination Reports

• Part 1 (Honoraria): Report honoraria received from the end of the period covered by the previous report through the termination date.
• Part 2 (Earned Income): Report income received from the end of the period covered by the previous report through the termination date.
• Part 3 (Assets): Value assets as of any date within 31 days of the termination date. Report income received from the end of the period covered by the previous report through the termination date.
• Part 4a (PTR Summary): Report transactions that occurred from the end of the period covered by the previous report through the termination date.
• Part 4b (Transactions): Report transactions that occurred from the end of the period covered by the previous report through the termination date.
• Part 5 (Gifts): Report gifts received from the end of the period covered by the previous report through the termination date.
• Part 6 (Travel): Report travel received from the end of the period covered by the previous report through the termination date.
• Part 7 (Liabilities): For revolving charge accounts (e.g., credit cards), report the amount owed as of the termination date. For all other liabilities, report the highest amount owed from the end of the period covered by the previous report through the termination date.
• Part 8 (Positions): Report positions held at any time from the end of the period covered by the previous report through the termination date.
• Part 9 (Agreements): Report agreements and arrangements as of the termination date.
• Part 10 (Compensation): Report sources of compensation in any of the previous two calendar years or the current year through the termination date (first-time filers only).

• Senate Rule 34 (Public Financial Disclosure)
• Senate Rule 36 (Outside Earned Income)
• Senate Rule 41 (Political Fund Activity; Definitions)

• 5 U.S.C. §§ 13101-13111 – Ethics in Government Act (Financial Disclosure)
• 5 U.S.C. § 13143 – Ethics in Government Act (Outside Earned Income and Honoraria)
• Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012 (STOCK Act), Pub. L. 112-105, § 17 (2012)
• Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007, Pub. L. 110-81 (2007)