Prohibiting Perks and Privileges Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1078 To provide that a former Member of Congress receiving compensation as a lobbyist shall be ineligible to receive certain Federal retirement benefits or to use certain congressional benefits and services, to require each Member of Congress to post on the Member’s official public website a hyperlink to the most recent annual financial disclosure report filed by the Member under the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, to prohibit the use of appropriated funds to pay for the costs of travel by the spouse of a Member of Congress who accompanies the Member on official travel, to restrict the use of travel promotional awards by Members of Congress who receive such awards in connection with official air travel, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 15, 2021 Mr. SCHNEIDER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committees on Oversight and Reform, Rules, and Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com- mittee concerned A BILL To provide that a former Member of Congress receiving compensation as a lobbyist shall be ineligible to receive certain Federal retirement benefits or to use certain con- gressional benefits and services, to require each Member of Congress to post on the Member’s official public website a hyperlink to the most recent annual financial disclosure report filed by the Member under the Ethics VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Mar 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H1078.IH H1078 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1078 IH in Government Act of 1978, to prohibit the use of appro- priated funds to pay for the costs of travel by the spouse of a Member of Congress who accompanies the Member on official travel, to restrict the use of travel promotional awards by Members of Congress who receive such awards in connection with official air travel, and for other pur- poses. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Prohibiting Perks and 4 Privileges Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. INELIGIBILITY OF FORMER MEMBERS RECEIVING 6 COMPENSATION AS LOBBYISTS FOR CERTAIN 7 BENEFITS AND SERVICES. 8 (a) FORFEITURE OF BENEFITS.— 9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 10 provision of law, a former Member of Congress may 11 not be paid any covered benefit if such former Mem- 12 ber is— 13 (A) a registered lobbyist; or 14 (B) receives compensation as a direct re- 15 sult of lobbying activities. 16 (2) COVERED BENEFITS.—For purposes of this 17 subsection, the term ‘‘covered benefits’’, as used 18 with respect to a former Member of Congress, means 19 any payment or other benefit which is payable, by 20 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Mar 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1078.IH H1078 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1078 IH virtue of service performed by such former Member, 1 under any of the following: 2 (A) The Civil Service Retirement System, 3 including the Thrift Savings Plan. 4 (B) The Federal Employees Retirement 5 System, including the Thrift Savings Plan. 6 (C) The Federal Employees Health Bene- 7 fits Program, including enhanced dental bene- 8 fits and enhanced vision benefits under chapters 9 89A and 89B, respectively, of title 5, United 10 States Code. 11 (3) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 12 this subsection shall be considered to prevent the 13 payment of— 14 (A) any lump-sum credit, as defined by 15 section 8331(8) or 8401(19) of title 5, United 16 States Code, to which a former Member of Con- 17 gress subject to paragraph (1) is entitled; 18 (B) any contributions in the account of a 19 former Member of Congress subject to para- 20 graph (1) in the Thrift Savings Fund which, as 21 of the date on which paragraph (1) applies to 22 a former Member, are nonforfeitable; or 23 (C) any annuity payments with respect to 24 an annuity of a former Member of Congress 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Mar 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1078.IH H1078 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1078 IH subject to paragraph (1) to a former spouse or 1 survivor who is entitled to such payments. 2 (4) REGULATIONS.—Any regulations necessary 3 to carry out this subsection may be prescribed by— 4 (A) except as provided in subparagraph 5 (B), the Director of the Office of Personnel 6 Management; and 7 (B) to the extent that this subsection re- 8 lates to the Thrift Savings Plan, by the Execu- 9 tive Director (as defined by section 8401(13) of 10 title 5, United States Code). 11 (b) PROHIBITION ON ACCESS TO CERTAIN CONGRES- 12 SIONAL BENEFITS AND SERVICES.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 14 provision of law, a former Member of Congress may 15 not use any of the congressional benefits and serv- 16 ices described in paragraph (2) (except to the extent 17 such benefits and services are made available to 18 members of the public) at any time during which 19 such former Member is— 20 (A) a registered lobbyist; or 21 (B) receives compensation as a direct re- 22 sult of lobbying activities. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Mar 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1078.IH H1078 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1078 IH (2) BENEFITS AND SERVICES DESCRIBED.— 1 The congressional benefits and services described in 2 this paragraph are as follows: 3 (A) Access to the Hall of the House or the 4 Hall of the Senate. 5 (B) Access to athletic facilities and other 6 facilities available for the use of Members of 7 Congress. 8 (C) Access to the Members’ Dining Room 9 located in the House of Representatives wing of 10 the United States Capitol or the Senators’ Din- 11 ing Room located in the Senate wing of the 12 United States Capitol. 13 (D) Access to material from the House 14 document room or the Senate document room. 15 (E) Use of the collections in the House 16 Legislative Resource Center or the Senate Li- 17 brary without borrowing privileges. 18 (c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this subsection— 19 (1) the terms ‘‘agency’’, ‘‘client’’, ‘‘covered exec- 20 utive branch official’’, ‘‘covered legislative branch of- 21 ficial’’, ‘‘lobbyist’’, ‘‘lobbying activities’’, and ‘‘lob- 22 bying contact’’, have the meaning given such terms 23 in section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 24 (2 U.S.C. 1602); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Mar 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1078.IH H1078 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1078 IH (2) the term ‘‘former Member of Congress’’ 1 means any Member of Congress who becomes a 2 former Member of Congress after the date of enact- 3 ment of this Act; 4 (3) the term ‘‘Member of Congress’’ has the 5 meaning given such term in section 2106 of title 5, 6 United States Code; and 7 (4) the term ‘‘registered lobbyist’’ means a lob- 8 byist registered or required to register, or on whose 9 behalf a registration is filed or required to be filed, 10 under section 4 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 11 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1603). 12 SEC. 3. POSTING LINKS TO FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE RE- 13 PORTS OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS ON MEM- 14 BER WEBSITES. 15 (a) REQUIREMENT TO POST LINKS TO REPORTS.— 16 Upon filing the report required under section 101(d) of 17 the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 18 101(d)), each Member of Congress shall, in consultation 19 with the Clerk of the House of Representatives (in the 20 case of a Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Com- 21 missioner to, the Congress) or the Secretary of the Senate 22 (in the case of a Senator), post a hyperlink to the report 23 on the official public website of the office of the Member. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Mar 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1078.IH H1078 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1078 IH (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply with 1 respect to reports filed on or after the expiration of the 2 60-day period which begins on or after the date of the 3 enactment of this Act. 4 SEC. 4. PROHIBITING USE OF APPROPRIATED FUNDS FOR 5 TRAVEL OF SPOUSES ACCOMPANYING MEM- 6 BERS OF CONGRESS ON OFFICIAL TRAVEL. 7 (a) PROHIBITION.—No appropriated funds, including 8 official funds of the House of Representatives, official 9 funds of the Senate, or funds available under any Federal 10 law, rule, or regulation, may be used to pay for the costs 11 of travel by the spouse of a Member of Congress in accom- 12 panying the Member on official travel. 13 (b) CERTIFICATION.—If the spouse of a Member of 14 Congress accompanies the Member on official travel, the 15 head of the office whose funds are to be used to pay for 16 the costs of such travel shall certify prior to the travel 17 that no additional costs will be incurred by the Govern- 18 ment as the result of the spouse accompanying the Mem- 19 ber on such travel. 20 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec- 21 tion may be construed to prohibit the spouse of a Member 22 of Congress who accompanies the Member on official trav- 23 el from paying for the costs of the spouse’s travel. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Mar 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1078.IH H1078 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1078 IH (d) OFFICIAL TRAVEL DEFINED.—In this section, 1 the term ‘‘official travel’’ means any travel for which the 2 costs (including the costs of transportation, lodging, 3 meals, and related expenses) may be covered by appro- 4 priated funds, including official funds of the House of 5 Representatives, official funds of the Senate, or funds 6 available under any Federal law, rule, or regulation. 7 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply with 8 respect to travel undertaken on or after the date of the 9 enactment of this Act. 10 SEC. 5. RESTRICTING USE BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS OF 11 TRAVEL PROMOTIONAL AWARDS RECEIVED 12 IN CONNECTION WITH OFFICIAL AIR TRAVEL. 13 (a) RESTRICTIONS ON USE BY MEMBERS OF THE 14 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.—Clause 5 of rule XXV of 15 the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended by 16 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 17 ‘‘(j)(1) Except as provided in subparagraph (2), if a 18 Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner receives a 19 travel promotional award in connection with any official 20 air travel undertaken by the Member, Delegate, or Resi- 21 dent Commissioner, the Member, Delegate, or Resident 22 Commissioner may use the award only in connection with 23 other official air travel undertaken by such Member, Dele- 24 gate, or Resident Commissioner. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Mar 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1078.IH H1078 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1078 IH ‘‘(2) Notwithstanding subparagraph (1), a Member, 1 Delegate, or Resident Commissioner may donate a travel 2 promotional award described in such subparagraph to an 3 organization described in section 501(c) of the Internal 4 Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under 5 section 501(a) of such Code. 6 ‘‘(3) In this paragraph— 7 ‘‘(A) the term ‘official air travel’ means travel 8 by commercial aircraft for which the costs are paid 9 with Federal funds, including the Members’ Rep- 10 resentational Allowance; and 11 ‘‘(B) the term ‘travel promotional award’ in- 12 cludes free travel, travel discounts, upgrade certifi- 13 cates, coupons, frequent flyer miles, access to carrier 14 club facilities, and other similar travel promotional 15 items, as determined in accordance with regulations 16 of the Committee on House Administration.’’. 17 (b) RESTRICTIONS ON USE BY SENATORS.—Rule 18 XXXV of the Standing Rules of the Senate is amended— 19 (1) by redesignating paragraphs 5 and 6 as 20 paragraphs 6 and 7; and 21 (2) by inserting after paragraph 4 the following 22 new paragraph: 23 ‘‘5. (a) Except as provided in subparagraph (b), if 24 a Member receives a travel promotional award in connec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Mar 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1078.IH H1078 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1078 IH tion with any official air travel undertaken by the Member, 1 the Member may use the award only in connection with 2 other official air travel undertaken by such Member. 3 ‘‘(b) Notwithstanding subparagraph (a), a Member 4 may donate a travel promotional award described in such 5 subparagraph to an organization described in section 6 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and ex- 7 empt from taxation under section 501(a) of such Code. 8 ‘‘(c) In this subparagraph— 9 ‘‘(A) the term ‘official air travel’ means travel 10 by commercial aircraft for which the costs are paid 11 with Federal funds, including the Senators’ Official 12 Personnel and Office Expense Account; and 13 ‘‘(B) the term ‘travel promotional award’ in- 14 cludes free travel, travel discounts, upgrade certifi- 15 cates, coupons, frequent flyer miles, access to carrier 16 club facilities, and other similar travel promotional 17 items, as determined in accordance with regulations 18 of the Committee on Rules and Administration.’’. 19 (c) SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING TRANSFER- 20 ABILITY OF TRAVEL PROMOTIONAL AWARDS.—It is the 21 sense of Congress that commercial airlines should permit 22 individuals who receive travel promotional awards, includ- 23 ing frequent flyer miles, in connection with travel on the 24 airlines to transfer such awards to nonprofit organizations 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Mar 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1078.IH H1078 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1078 IH under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1 1986. 2 (d) EXERCISE OF RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.—This 3 section is enacted by Congress— 4 (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of 5 the Senate and House of Representatives, respec- 6 tively, and as such it is deemed a part of the rules 7 of each House, respectively, and it supersedes other 8 rules only to the extent that it is inconsistent with 9 such rules; and 10 (2) with full recognition of the constitutional 11 right of either House to change the rules (so far as 12 relating to that House) at any time, in the same 13 manner, and to the same extent as in the case of 14 any other rule of that House. 15 SEC. 6. MEMBER OF CONGRESS DEFINED. 16 Except as otherwise provided, in this Act the term 17 ‘‘Member of Congress’’ means a Senator or Represe [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]