SCRAP Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 199 To terminate certain lifetime benefits provided to former Members of Congress, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 3, 2019 Mr. NORMAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committees on Oversight and Reform, and Rules, for a period to be subsequently deter- mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To terminate certain lifetime benefits provided to former Members of Congress, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘Stop Congressional 4 Retirees Accessing Perks Act’’ or the ‘‘SCRAP Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. PROHIBITING PAYMENT OF GRATUITIES TO SUR- 6 VIVORS OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS. 7 (a) PROHIBITION.— 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:19 Jan 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H199.IH H199 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 199 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—No payment may be made 1 from the applicable accounts of the House of Rep- 2 resentatives, the contingent fund of the Senate, or 3 any other appropriated funds for a death gratuity 4 payment to the widow, widower, or heirs-at-law of 5 any Member of Congress who dies after the com- 6 mencement of the Congress to which the Member 7 has been elected. 8 (2) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—The Speaker and the 9 Minority Leader of the House of Representatives 10 may jointly, on a case-by-case basis, grant a waiver 11 of paragraph (1) with respect to the payment of a 12 death gratuity described in such paragraph. 13 (b) NO EFFECT ON OTHER PAYMENTS TO SUR- 14 VIVORS.—Nothing in subsection (a) shall be construed to 15 prohibit or affect the payment to any individual of any 16 unpaid balance or salary or other sums due to a Member 17 of Congress who dies after the commencement of the Con- 18 gress to which the Member has been elected. 19 (c) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, a 20 ‘‘Member of Congress’’ means a Senator or a Representa- 21 tive in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Con- 22 gress. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:19 Jan 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H199.IH H199 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 199 IH (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply with 1 respect to any death occurring during the One Hundred 2 Seventeenth Congress or any succeeding Congress. 3 SEC. 3. TERMINATION OF BENEFITS UNDER FEDERAL RE- 4 TIREMENT PROGRAMS. 5 (a) TERMINATION OF RETIREMENT COVERAGE OF 6 MEMBERS OF CONGRESS UNDER FEDERAL EMPLOYEES’ 7 RETIREMENT SYSTEM.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 84 9 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by insert- 10 ing after section 8425 the following: 11 ‘‘§ 8425a. Termination of further retirement coverage 12 of Members of Congress 13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro- 14 vision of this chapter, effective as of the first day of the 15 One Hundred Seventeenth Congress— 16 ‘‘(1) in the case of an individual who first be- 17 comes a Member before such day and who, on such 18 first day, has served as a Member for a period of 10 19 years (consecutively or nonconsecutively) or less— 20 ‘‘(A) such Member shall not be subject to 21 this chapter for any further period of time after 22 such day; and 23 ‘‘(B) no further Government contributions 24 or deductions from basic pay may be made with 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:19 Jan 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H199.IH H199 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 199 IH respect to such Member for deposit in the 1 Treasury of the United States to the credit of 2 the Fund; and 3 ‘‘(2) in the case of an individual who first be- 4 comes a Member on or after such day— 5 ‘‘(A) such Member shall not be subject to 6 this chapter; and 7 ‘‘(B) no Government contributions or de- 8 ductions from basic pay may be made with re- 9 spect to such Member for deposit in the Treas- 10 ury of the United States to the credit of the 11 Fund. 12 ‘‘(b) PRIOR RIGHTS NOT AFFECTED.—Nothing in 13 subsection (a) shall be considered to nullify, modify, or 14 otherwise affect any right, entitlement, or benefit under 15 this chapter with respect to any Member covering any pe- 16 riod prior to the first day of the One Hundred Seventeenth 17 Congress. 18 ‘‘(c) RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN THRIFT SAVINGS 19 PLAN NOT AFFECTED.—Nothing in subsection (a) or (b) 20 shall affect the eligibility of a Member to participate in 21 the Thrift Savings Plan in accordance with otherwise ap- 22 plicable provisions of law. 23 ‘‘(d) REGULATIONS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:19 Jan 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H199.IH H199 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 199 IH ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any regulations necessary 1 to carry out this section may— 2 ‘‘(A) except with respect to matters under 3 subparagraph (B), be prescribed by the Direc- 4 tor of the Office of Personnel Management; and 5 ‘‘(B) with respect to matters relating to 6 the Thrift Savings Plan, be prescribed by the 7 Executive Director (as defined by section 8 8401(13)). 9 ‘‘(2) REFUNDS.—Notwithstanding subsection 10 (b), the regulations under paragraph (1)(A) shall, in 11 the case of a Member who has not completed at 12 least 5 years of civilian service as of the first day 13 of the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress, provide 14 that the lump-sum credit shall be payable to such 15 Member to the same extent and in the same manner 16 as if such Member satisfied paragraphs (1) through 17 (4) of section 8424(a) as of such day. 18 ‘‘(e) EXCLUSIONS.—For purposes of this section, the 19 term ‘Member’ does not include the Vice President.’’. 20 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec- 21 tions at the beginning of chapter 84 of title 5, 22 United States Code, is amended by inserting after 23 the item relating to section 8425 the following: 24 ‘‘8425a. Termination of further retirement coverage of Members of Congress.’’. VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:19 Jan 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H199.IH H199 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 199 IH (b) TERMINATION OF FORMER MEMBER PARTICIPA- 1 TION IN THE FEDERAL EMPLOYEES HEALTH BENEFITS 2 PROGRAM.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 4 provision of law, an individual who serves as a Mem- 5 ber of Congress shall not be eligible to enroll in, or 6 receive health benefits under, the Federal Employees 7 Health Benefits Program under chapter 89 of title 8 5, United States Code, including the dental and vi- 9 sion benefits provided under chapters 89A and 89B 10 of such title, as an annuitant on the basis of service 11 as a Member of Congress. Nothing in the previous 12 sentence may be construed to prohibit an individual 13 from enrolling in or receiving health benefits under 14 such Program as an annuitant on the basis of the 15 individual’s creditable service under title 5, United 16 States Code, in a position other than as a Member 17 of Congress. 18 (2) DEFINITION OF MEMBER OF CONGRESS.— 19 The term ‘‘Member of Congress’’ has the meaning 20 given that term in section 2106 of title 5, United 21 States Code, but does not include the Vice Presi- 22 dent. 23 (3) APPLICATION.—This subsection shall apply 24 with respect to an individual who— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:19 Jan 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H199.IH H199 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 199 IH (A) serves as a Member of Congress dur- 1 ing the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress or 2 any succeeding Congress; and 3 (B) on the date that such service com- 4 mences in the applicable Congress, has served 5 as a Member for a period of 10 years (consecu- 6 tively or nonconsecutively) or less. 7 SEC. 4. BENEFITS AND SERVICES PROVIDED TO FORMER 8 MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTA- 9 TIVES. 10 (a) BENEFITS AND SERVICES DESCRIBED.—The 11 House of Representatives may not make any of the fol- 12 lowing benefits and services available to an individual who 13 becomes a former Member of the House (except to the 14 extent such benefits and services are made available to 15 members of the public) and who is a registered lobbyist 16 under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995: 17 (1) Access to the Hall of the House. 18 (2) Access to athletic facilities and other facili- 19 ties available for the use of Members of the House. 20 (3) Access to the Members’ Dining Room lo- 21 cated in the House of Representatives wing of the 22 United States Capitol. 23 (4) Access to parking spaces. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:19 Jan 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H199.IH H199 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 199 IH (5) Access to material from the House docu- 1 ment room. 2 (6) Use of the collections in the House Legisla- 3 tive Resource Center without borrowing privileges. 4 (b) WAIVER AUTHORITY.— 5 (1) AUTHORITY TO WAIVE ELIMINATION OF 6 BENEFIT OR SERVICE.—The Speaker and the Minor- 7 ity Leader of the House of Representatives may 8 jointly, on a case-by-case basis, grant a waiver of 9 subsection (a) with respect to a former Member of 10 the House and a benefit or service described in such 11 subsection. 12 (2) PUBLICATION IN CONGRESSIONAL 13 RECORD.—If the Speaker and the Minority Leader 14 jointly grant a waiver under paragraph (1) to make 15 a benefit or service available to a former Member, 16 the Speaker and Minority Leader shall, not later 17 than 24 hours after the waiver is granted, caused to 18 have published in the Congressional Record a state- 19 ment identifying the former Member and the benefit 20 or service involved. 21 SEC. 5. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 22 Nothing in this Act or any amendment made by this 23 Act may be construed to prohibit a former Member of 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:19 Jan 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H199.IH H199 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 199 IH Congress from interacting with Members of Congress to 1 the extent permitted under law. 2 SEC. 6. DEFINITION. 3 In this Act, the term ‘‘Member of Congress’’ means 4 a Senator or a Representative in, or Delegate or Resident 5 Commissioner to, the Congress. 6 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:19 Jan 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H199.IH H199 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS