What This Bill Does
This bill says that former Members of Congress and former senior Congressional employees who work as registered lobbyists for foreign principals (outside governments or entities) cannot receive certain federal retirement and health benefits. The ban applies for any month in which they are employed as a foreign lobbyist and receiving compensation for that work.
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Who It Affects
- Former Senators and House Representatives who left office after this bill becomes law
- Former senior Congressional employees (high-level staff) who left their jobs after this bill becomes law
- The Office of Personnel Management (federal agency that oversees retirement benefits)
- The Executive Director of the Thrift Savings Plan (a federal retirement savings account)
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Key Provisions
- Former members of Congress and senior Congressional employees who work as registered foreign lobbyists lose eligibility for covered benefits starting the month after the bill becomes law, as long as they remain employed and compensated as a foreign lobbyist (Sec. 2(a))
- Covered benefits include payments from the Civil Service Retirement System, Federal Employees Retirement System, Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, and Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance Program (Sec. 2(c))
- The ban does not prevent payment of lump-sum credits (one-time payments based on prior service) or non-forfeitable amounts already in a person's Thrift Savings Fund account as of when they become a foreign lobbyist (Sec. 2(e))
- The Office of Personnel Management must write rules to carry out this law, with the Thrift Savings Plan Executive Director handling rules specific to that program (Sec. 2(f))
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What Changes
If this bill becomes law, former Congressional members and senior staff who register as lobbyists for foreign governments or entities will lose access to their federal retirement benefits and federal employee health insurance benefits for as long as they work in that capacity. They keep only lump-sum payments they earned before becoming foreign lobbyists and any non-forfeitable savings already in their Thrift Savings accounts.
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Important Definitions
- **Member of Congress:** Senators, House Representatives, House Delegates, and the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico
- **Senior Congressional employee:** Legislative branch workers (except Government Accountability Office staff) earning at least 120 percent of the minimum pay for a GS-15 position on the federal pay scale for at least 60 days, plus one principal assistant per Member without such an employee
- **Registered lobbyist:** Someone required to register under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 or registered as an agent of a foreign principal under the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938
- **Foreign principal:** As defined in the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938
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Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 2517
To provide that a former Member of Congress or former senior Congressional
employee who receives compensation as a lobbyist representing a foreign
principal shall not be eligible for retirement benefits or certain other
Federal benefits.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 6, 2023
Mr. POSEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight
and Accountability, 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 committee concerned
A BILL
To provide that a former Member of Congress or former
senior Congressional employee who receives compensation
as a lobbyist representing a foreign principal shall not
be eligible for retirement benefits or certain other Fed-
eral benefits.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Retirement Forfeiture
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for Members of Congress Turned Foreign Lobbyists Act’’.
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•HR 2517 IH
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION RELATING TO CERTAIN FEDERAL
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BENEFITS FOR A FORMER MEMBER OF CON-
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GRESS OR FORMER SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL
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EMPLOYEE WHO RECEIVES COMPENSATION
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AS A LOBBYIST REPRESENTING FOREIGN
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PRINCIPAL.
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(a) IN GENERAL.—A covered individual who is a reg-
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istered lobbyist shall not be eligible for any covered bene-
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fits for any month—
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(1) which begins after the date of the enact-
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ment of this Act; and
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(2) in or for which such covered individual is—
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(A) employed as a lobbyist who represents
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a foreign principal; and
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(B) entitled to compensation as a lobbyist
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who represents a foreign principal.
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(b) COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—For purposes of this
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section, the term ‘‘covered individual’’ means an individual
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who becomes a former Member of Congress or a former
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senior Congressional employee after the date of the enact-
20
ment of this Act.
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(c) COVERED BENEFITS.—For purposes of this sec-
22
tion, the term ‘‘covered benefits’’, as used with respect to
23
a covered individual, means any payment or other benefit
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which is payable, by virtue of service performed by such
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covered individual, under any of the following:
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•HR 2517 IH
(1) The Civil Service Retirement System, in-
1
cluding the Thrift Savings Plan.
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(2) The Federal Employees Retirement System,
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including the Thrift Savings Plan.
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(3) The Federal Employees Health Benefits
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Program, including enhanced dental benefits and en-
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hanced vision benefits under chapters 89A and 89B,
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respectively, of title 5, United States Code.
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(4) The Federal Employees’ Group Life Insur-
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ance Program.
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(d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—
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(1) the term ‘‘Member of Congress’’ means a
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Senator, Member of the House of Representatives,
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or Delegate to the House of Representatives, and
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the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico;
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(2) the term ‘‘senior Congressional employee’’
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means—
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(A) each officer or employee of the legisla-
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tive branch (except any officer or employee of
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the Government Accountability Office) who, for
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at least 60 days, occupies a position for which
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the rate of basic pay is equal to or greater than
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120 percent of the minimum rate of basic pay
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payable for GS–15 of the General Schedule;
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•HR 2517 IH
(B) each officer or employee of the Govern-
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ment Accountability Office who, for at least 60
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consecutive days, occupies a position for which
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the rate of basic pay, minus the amount of lo-
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cality pay that would have been authorized
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under section 5304 of title 5, United States
6
Code (had the officer or employee been paid
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under the General Schedule), for the locality
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within which the position of such officer or em-
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ployee is located (as determined by the Comp-
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troller General), is equal to or greater than 120
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percent of the minimum rate of basic pay pay-
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able for GS–15 of the General Schedule; and
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(C) at least one principal assistant des-
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ignated for purposes of this paragraph by each
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Member who does not have an employee who
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occupies a position for which the rate of basic
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pay is equal to or greater than 120 percent of
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the minimum rate of basic pay payable for GS–
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15 of the General Schedule;
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(3) the term ‘‘registered lobbyist’’ means—
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(A) a lobbyist registered or required to
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register, or on whose behalf a registration is
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filed or required to be filed, under section 4 of
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•HR 2517 IH
the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C.
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1603); and
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(B) an individual registered or required to
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register as the agent of a foreign principal
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under the Foreign Agents Registration Act of
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1938, as amended (22 U.S.C. 611 et seq.);
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(4) the term ‘‘lobbyist’’ has the meaning given
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such term by section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure
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Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602); and
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(5) the term ‘‘foreign principal’’ has the mean-
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ing given such term by section 1(b) of the Foreign
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Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 611(b)).
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(e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
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tion shall be considered to prevent the payment of—
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(1) any lump-sum credit, as defined by section
15
8331(8) or 8401(19) of title 5, United States Code,
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to which an individual is entitled; or
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(2) any amount in the account of an individual
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in the Thrift Savings Fund which, as of the date on
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which paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a) are
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first met with respect to such individual, is non-
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forfeitable.
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(f) REGULATIONS.—Any regulations necessary to
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carry out this section may be prescribed—
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•HR 2517 IH
(1) except as provided in paragraph (2), by the
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Director of the Office of Personnel Management;
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and
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(2) to the extent that this Act relates to the
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Thrift Savings Plan, by the Executive Director (as
5
defined by section 8401(13) of title 5, United States
6
Code).
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Æ
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