Whereas Members of the House of Representatives are entrusted with positions of authority and are expected to uphold the highest standards of ethical conduct in both their official and personal interactions;

Whereas actions by Representative Tony Gonzalez of the State of Texas failed to meet even the minimum standards of ethical conduct by having an affair with a member of his staff;

Whereas alleged text messages between Representative Tony Gonzales and this staff member have been published by multiple news outlets;

Whereas those published messages include a request by Representative Gonzales where he asks the staff member to send [him] a sexy pic;

Whereas reporting further indicates that the staff member told Representative Gonzales the interaction was too far, yet the communications continued anyway;

Whereas a Member of Congress who solicits sexually explicit material from an employee under his authority abuses the inherent power imbalance in that relationship and betrays the trust placed in him by his staff, his constituents, and the House;

Whereas such communications between a Member of Congress and a subordinate staff member are incompatible with the standards of professionalism required of a Member of Congress;

Whereas rule XXIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives (Code of Official Conduct) provides that a Member shall behave at all times in a manner that shall reflect creditably on the House; and

Whereas the publication of these communications has undermined public trust in the integrity and professionalism of the House of Representatives: Now, therefore, be it