Cite as: 513 U. S. 454 (1995)
Opinion of the Court
many respondents to identify "some sort of nexus between the employee's job and either the subject matter of the expression or the character of the payor" undercut its proffered concern about actual or apparent improprieties. Id., at 1275.6 Stressing the absence of evidence of either corruption or the appearance of corruption among lower level federal employees receiving honoraria with no connection to their employment, the Court of Appeals concluded that the Government had failed to justify the ban's burden on their speech. Id., at 1277. The court rejected the Government's argument that administrative and enforcement difficulties justify § 501(b)'s broad prophylactic rule.7
6 The Court of Appeals acknowledged that "even some of the plaintiffs receive payments that might at least raise an eyebrow," citing a business editor for the Voice of America who received payment for business analysis and a GS-7 "tax examining assistant" as to whom payment of any honorarium might raise some concern "[i]n view of the universality of citizens' subjection to the Internal Revenue Service." 990 F. 2d, at 1275- 1276. Another plaintiff whose expressive activities appear to come within a nexus to Government employment is the Treasury Employees' Union itself, which complains that the honoraria ban has hindered publication of its chapters' newsletters. App. 58-62.
7 "As summarized in testimony before the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, the prior regulations allowed honoraria so long as the speaker or writer held a rank lower than GS-16 and all of the following questions could be answered negatively:
"(1) Is the honorarium offered for carrying out government duties or for an activity that focuses specifically on the employing agency's responsibilities, policies and programs?
"(2) Is the honorarium offered to the government employee or family member because of the official position held by the employee?
"(3) Is the honorarium offered because of the government information that is being imparted?
"(4) Is the honorarium offered by someone who does business with or wishes to do business with the employee in his or her official capacity?
"(5) Were any government resources or time used by the employee to produce the materials for the article or speech or make the appearance? "S. Rep. No. 29, 102d Cong., 1st Sess., at 8 (1991). While some of the limits may have an amorphous quality about them (such as the one purporting to probe the motive of the honorarium's offeror), there appears no
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