I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2523 To prohibit the use of funds provided for the official travel expenses of Members of Congress and other officers and employees of the legislative branch for airline accommodations which are not coach-class accommoda- tions, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 6, 2023 Mr. RUIZ introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration A BILL To prohibit the use of funds provided for the official travel expenses of Members of Congress and other officers and employees of the legislative branch for airline accom- modations which are not coach-class accommodations, 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 ‘‘Coach-Only Airfare 4 for Capitol Hill Act of 2023’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:01 Apr 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2523.IH H2523 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 2523 IH SEC. 2. PROHIBITING USE OF FUNDS FOR OFFICIAL TRAV- 1 EL EXPENSES OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS 2 AND LEGISLATIVE BRANCH EMPLOYEES FOR 3 AIRLINE ACCOMMODATIONS OTHER THAN 4 COACH CLASS. 5 (a) PROHIBITION.—Except as provided in subsection 6 (b), no funds appropriated or otherwise made available for 7 the official travel expenses of a Member of Congress or 8 other officer or employee of any office in the legislative 9 branch may be used for airline accommodations which are 10 not coach-class accommodations. 11 (b) EXCEPTIONS.—Funds described in subsection (a) 12 may be used for airline accommodations which are not 13 coach-class accommodations for an individual described in 14 subsection (a) if the use of the funds for such accommoda- 15 tions would be permitted under sections 301–10.121 16 through 301–10.125 of title 41 of the Code of Federal 17 Regulations if the individual were an employee of an agen- 18 cy which is subject to chapter 301 of such title. 19 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 20 may be construed to affect any officer or employee of an 21 office of the legislative branch which, as of the date of 22 the enactment of this Act, is subject to chapter 301 of 23 title 41 of the Code of Federal Regulations. 24 (d) DEFINITIONS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:01 Apr 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2523.IH H2523 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 2523 IH (1) COACH-CLASS ACCOMMODATIONS.—In this 1 Act, the term ‘‘coach-class accommodations’’ means 2 the basic class of accommodation by airlines that is 3 normally the lowest fare offered regardless of airline 4 terminology used, and (as referred to by airlines) 5 may include tourist class or economy class, as well 6 as single class when the airline offers only one class 7 of accommodations to all travelers. 8 (2) MEMBER OF CONGRESS.—In this Act, the 9 term ‘‘Member of Congress’’ means a Senator or a 10 Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commis- 11 sioner to, the Congress. 12 SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. 13 This Act shall apply with respect to fiscal year 2024 14 and each succeeding fiscal year. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:01 Apr 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2523.IH H2523 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB