Ethics rules complicate life for Santa

Ethics rules could be the Grinch that stole Christmas for
Santa Claus and any Capitol Hill staffer hoping for some one-on-one time with
the big guy from the North.

Santa was one figure lacking from the various holiday
parties happening around Washington in the past few weeks. And the reason is
that Jolly Ole St. Nick could be an ethics violation.

{mosads}It has to do with a section of the ethics law that
requires payment for seeing a performer, explained Larry Noble, an attorney at
Skadden Arps and a former general counsel for the Federal Election Commission.
Some think having Santa Claus at a party would violate that part of the law,
but Noble disagrees.

“I think you could have Santa Claus come to a party,” he
said. “Ethics rules stop you from having free entertainment. I think that’s
going too far to not have Santa Claus at your party.”

At past holiday receptions at the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce, which throws one of Washington’s biggest Christmas parties, Santa has
posed for photos with staffers. This year, the spot where Santa usually sat
contained an empty chair.

“The Chamber doesn’t take a position for or against Santa
Claus,” said Chamber spokesman J.P. Fielder, who declined to address directly
whether new ethics rules were a factor.

But he joked: “Santa is an important part of the
holidays. It’s really not the ethics rules that are holding him up. We
hear last year the airspace was over capacity, prohibiting him from getting
here. It’s a shame our nation’s poor infrastructure is keeping Santa away
from the states. It’s time for Congress to address the issue.”

Others say the problem lies not just with having Santa at
a party, but with staffers having their picture taken with him.

A source on the Senate Ethics Committee explained it
depends on the value of the picture. It would have to be under $10 to make it
legal. “It just gets complicated,” he added.

Common Cause, an organization devoted to honesty in
government, agrees.

“It depends on who pays for it. I don’t know if that
could be tied to gifts,” said Mary Boyle, a spokeswoman for the group.

At the same time, Boyle’s group isn’t making a fuss about
Santa Claus pictures.

“The point of ethics rules is not to dampen holiday
spirit,” she said. “The point is to prevent access and influence-buying.”

And she noted Santa Claus “is certainly not addressed in
the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act.”

There was one Santa spotted on Capitol Hill this week.

On Wednesday, D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton hosted
a party for disadvantaged children featuring Santa and a helper.

A Norton spokeswoman did not respond to requests for a
comment.