I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2610

To eliminate certain benefits for Members of Congress.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

NOVEMBER 9, 1995

Mr. SANFORD (for himself, Mr. ALLARD, Ms. RIVERS, and Mr. INGLIS of

South Carolina) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on House Oversight, and in addition to the Committees on

Government Reform and Oversight, Rules, Transportation and Infrastructure, and National Security, 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 eliminate certain benefits for Members of Congress.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Citizen Congress Act’’.

5 SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON RETIREMENT COVERAGE FOR MEM6 BERS OF CONGRESS.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi8 sion of law, effective at the beginning of the Congress next

9 beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act, a
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1 Member of Congress shall be ineligible to participate in

2 the Civil Service Retirement System or the Federal Em3 ployees’ Retirement System, except as otherwise provided

4 under this section.

5 (b) PARTICIPATION IN THE THRIFT SAVINGS

6 PLAN.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), a Member may

7 participate in the Thrift Savings Plan subject to section

8 8351 of title 5, United States Code.

9 (c) REFUNDS OF CONTRIBUTIONS.—(1) Nothing in

10 subsection (a) shall prevent refunds from being made, in

11 accordance with otherwise applicable provisions of law (in12 cluding those relating to the Thrift Savings Plan), on ac13 count of an individual’s becoming ineligible to participate

14 in the Civil Service Retirement System or the Federal Em15 ployees’ Retirement System (as the case may be) as a re16 sult of the enactment of this section.

17 (2) For purposes of any refund referred to in para18 graph (1), a Member who so becomes ineligible to partici19 pate in either of the retirement systems referred to in

20 paragraph (1) shall be treated in the same way as if sepa21 rated from service.

22 (d) ANNUITIES NOT AFFECTED TO THE EXTENT

23 BASED ON PRIOR SERVICE.—Subsection (a) shall not be

24 considered to affect—
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1 (1) any annuity (or other benefit) entitlement

2 to which is based on a separation from service occur3 ring before the date of the enactment of this Act (in4 cluding any survivor annuity based on the death of

5 the individual who so separated); or

6 (2) any other annuity (or benefit), to the extent

7 provided under subsection (e).

8 (e) PRESERVATIONS OF RIGHTS BASED ON PRIOR

9 SERVICE.—(1) For purposes of determining eligibility for,

10 or the amount of, any annuity (or other benefit) referred

11 to in subsection (d)(2) based on service as a Member of

12 Congress—

13 (A) all service as a Member of Congress shall

14 be disregarded except for any such service performed

15 before the date of the enactment of this Act; and

16 (B) all pay for service performed as a Member

17 of Congress shall be disregarded other than pay for

18 service which may be taken into account under sub19 paragraph (A).

20 (2) To the extent practicable, eligibility for, and the

21 amount of, any annuity (or other benefit) to which an indi22 vidual is entitled based on a separation of a Member of

23 Congress occurring after such Member becomes ineligible

24 to participate in the Civil Service Retirement System or

25 the Federal Employees’ Retirement System (as the case
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1 may be) by reason of subsection (a) shall be determined

2 in a manner that preserves any rights to which the Mem3 ber would have been entitled, as of the date of the enact4 ment of this Act, had separation occurred on such date.

5 (f) REGULATIONS.—Any regulations necessary to

6 carry out this section may be prescribed by the Office of

7 Personnel Management and the Executive Director (re8 ferred to in section 8401(13) of title 5, United States

9 Code) with respect to matters within their respective areas

10 of responsibility.

11 (g) DEFINITION.—As used in this section, the terms

12 ‘‘Member of Congress’’ and ‘‘Member’’ mean any individ13 ual under section 8331(2) or 8401(20) of title 5, United

14 States Code.

15 (h) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec16 tion shall be considered to apply with respect to any sav17 ings plan or other matter outside of subchapter III of

18 chapter 83 or chapter 84 of title 5, United States Code.

19 SEC. 3. DISCLOSURE OF ESTIMATES OF FEDERAL RETIRE20 MENT BENEFITS OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 105(a) of the Legislative

22 Branch Appropriations Act, 1965 (2 U.S.C. 104a; Public

23 Law 88–454; 78 Stat. 550) is amended by adding at the

24 end thereof the following new paragraph:
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1 ‘‘(4) The Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of

2 the House of Representatives shall include in each report

3 submitted under paragraph (1), with respect to Members

4 of Congress, as applicable—

5 ‘‘(A) the total amount of individual contribu6 tions made by each Member to the Civil Service Re7 tirement and Disability Fund and the Thrift Savings

8 Fund under chapters 83 and 84 of title 5, United

9 States Code, for all Federal service performed by the

10 Member as a Member of Congress and as a Federal

11 employee;

12 ‘‘(B) an estimate of the annuity each Member

13 would be entitled to receive under chapters 83 and

14 84 of such title based on the earliest possible date

15 to receive annuity payments by reason of retirement

16 (other than disability retirement) which begins after

17 the date of expiration of the term of office such

18 Member is serving; and

19 ‘‘(C) any other information necessary to enable

20 the public to accurately compute the Federal retire21 ment benefits of each Member based on various as22 sumptions of years of service and age of separation

23 from service by reason of retirement.’’.

24 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect

25 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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1 SEC. 4. ELIMINATION OF AUTOMATIC ANNUITY ADJUST2 MENTS FOR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.

3 The portion of annuity of a Member of Congress

4 which is based solely on service as a Member of Congress

5 shall not be subject to a COLA adjustment under section

6 8340 or 8462 of title 5, United States Code.

7 SEC. 5. ELIMINATION OF AUTOMATIC PAY ADJUSTMENTS

8 FOR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.

9 (a) PAY ADJUSTMENTS.—Paragraph (2) of section

10 601(a) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (2

11 U.S.C. 31) is repealed.

12 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 601(a)(1)

13 of such Act is amended—

14 (1) by striking ‘‘(a)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘(a)’’;

15 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (A), (B),

16 and (C) as paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), respectively;

17 and

18 (3) by striking ‘‘, as adjusted by paragraph (2)

19 of this subsection’’.

20 SEC. 6. ROLLCALL VOTE FOR ANY CONGRESSIONAL PAY

21 RAISE.

22 It shall not be in order in the Senate or the House

23 of Representatives to dispose of any amendment, bill, reso24 lution, motion, or other matter relating to the pay of Mem25 bers of Congress unless the matter is decided by a rollcall

26 vote.
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1 SEC. 7. TRAVEL AWARDS FROM OFFICIAL TRAVEL OF A

2 MEMBER, OFFICER, OR EMPLOYEE OF THE

3 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO BE USED

4 ONLY WITH RESPECT TO OFFICIAL TRAVEL.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi6 sion of law, or any rule, regulation, or other authority,

7 any travel award that accrues by reason of official travel

8 of a Member, officer, or employee of the House of Rep9 resentatives may be used only with respect to official trav10 el.

11 (b) REGULATIONS.—The Committee on House Over12 sight of the House of Representatives shall have authority

13 to prescribe regulations to carry out this section.

14 (c) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section—

15 (1) the term ‘‘travel award’’ means any fre16 quent flier mileage, free travel, discounted travel, or

17 other travel benefit, whether awarded by coupon,

18 membership, or otherwise; and

19 (2) the term ‘‘official travel’’ means, with re20 spect to the House of Representatives, travel per21 formed for the conduct of official business of the

22 House of Representatives.

23 SEC. 8. BAN ON MASS MAILINGS.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Paragraph (6)(A) of section

25 3210(a) of title 39, United States Code, is amended to

26 read as follows:
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1 ‘‘(6)(A) It is the intent of Congress that a Member

2 of, or Member-elect to, Congress may not mail any mass

3 mailing as franked mail.’’.

4 (2) The second sentence of section 3210(c) of title

5 39, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘sub6 section (a) (4) and (5)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (a) (4),

7 (5), and (6)’’.

8 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

9 (1) Section 3210 of title 39, United States Code, is

10 amended—

11 (A) in subsection (a)(3)—

12 (i) in subparagraph (G) by striking ‘‘, in13 cluding general mass mailings,’’; and

14 (ii) in subparagraphs (I) and (J) by strik15 ing ‘‘or other general mass mailing’’;

16 (B) in subsection (a)(6) by repealing subpara17 graphs (B), (C), and (F), and the second sentence

18 of subparagraph (D);

19 (C) by repealing paragraph (7) of subsection

20 (a); and

21 (D) by repealing subsection (f).

22 (2) Section 316(a) of the Legislative Branch Appro23 priations Act, 1990 (39 U.S.C. 3210 note) is repealed.
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1 (3) Subsection (f) of section 311 of the Legislative

2 Branch Appropriations Act, 1991 (2 U.S.C. 59e(f)) is re3 pealed.

4 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

5 this section shall take effect at the beginning of the Con6 gress next beginning after the date of the enactment of

7 this Act.

8 SEC. 9. RESTRICTIONS ON USE OF MILITARY AIR COMMAND

9 BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.

10 (a) RESTRICTIONS.—(1) Chapter 157 of title 10,

11 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the

12 following:

13 ‘‘§ 2643. Restrictions on provision of air transpor14 tation to Members of Congress

15 ‘‘(a) RESTRICTIONS.—A Member of Congress may

16 not receive transportation in an aircraft of the Military

17 Air Command unless—

18 ‘‘(1) the transportation is provided on a space19 available basis as part of the scheduled operations of

20 the military aircraft unrelated to the provision of

21 transportation to Members of Congress;

22 ‘‘(2) the use of the military aircraft is necessary

23 because the destination of the Member of Congress,

24 or an airfield located within reasonable distance of
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1 the destination, is not accessible by regularly sched2 uled flights of commercial aircraft; or

3 ‘‘(3) the use of the military aircraft is the least

4 expensive method for the Member of Congress to

5 reach the destination by aircraft, as demonstrated

6 by information released before the trip by the mem7 ber or committee of Congress sponsoring the trip.

8 ‘‘(b) DESTINATION.—In connection with transpor9 tation provided under subsection (a)(1), the destination of

10 the military aircraft may not be selected to accommodate

11 the travel plans of the Member of Congress requesting

12 such transportation.

13 ‘‘(c) AIRCRAFT DEFINED.—For purposes of this sec14 tion, the term ‘aircraft’ includes both fixed-wing airplanes

15 and helicopters.

16 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such

17 chapter is amended by adding at the end the following:

‘‘2643. Restrictions on provision of air transportation to Members of Congress.’’.

18 (b) EFFECT ON MEMBERS CURRENTLY RECEIVING

19 TRANSPORTATION.—Section 2643 of title 10, United

20 States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall not apply

21 with respect to a Member of Congress who, as of the date

22 of the enactment of this Act, is receiving air transpor23 tation or is scheduled to receive transportation in an air24 craft of the Military Air Command until the Member com-
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1 pletes the travel plans for which the transportation is

2 being provided or scheduled.

3 SEC. 10. PROHIBITION ON USE OF MILITARY MEDICAL

4 TREATMENT FACILITIES BY MEMBERS OF

5 CONGRESS.

6 (a) PROHIBITION.—(1) Chapter 55 of title 10, Unit7 ed States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol8 lowing:

9 ‘‘§ 1107. Prohibition on provision of medical and den10 tal care to Members of Congress

11 ‘‘A Member of Congress may not receive medical or

12 dental care in any facility of any uniformed service un13 less—

14 ‘‘(1) the Member of Congress is eligible or enti15 tled to such care as a member or former member of

16 a uniformed service or as a covered beneficiary; or

17 ‘‘(2) such care is provided on an emergency

18 basis unrelated to the person’s status as a Member

19 of Congress.’’.

20 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such

21 chapter is amended by adding at the end the following:

‘‘1107. Prohibition on provision of medical and dental care to Members of Congress.’’.

22 (b) EFFECT ON MEMBERS CURRENTLY RECEIVING

23 CARE.—Section 1107 of title 10, United States Code, as

24 added by subsection (a), shall not apply with respect to
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1 a Member of Congress who is receiving medical or dental

2 care in a facility of the uniformed services on the date

3 of the enactment of this Act until the Member is dis4 charged from that facility.

5 SEC. 11. ELIMINATION OF CERTAIN RESERVED PARKING

6 AREAS AT WASHINGTON NATIONAL AIRPORT

7 AND WASHINGTON DULLES INTERNATIONAL

8 AIRPORT.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Effective 30 days after the date

10 of the enactment of this section, the Airports Authority—

11 (1) shall not provide any reserved parking areas

12 free of charge to Members of Congress, other Gov13 ernment officials, or diplomats at Washington Na14 tional Airport or Washington Dulles International

15 Airport; and

16 (2) shall establish a parking policy for such air17 ports that provides equal access to the public, and

18 does not provide preferential parking privileges to

19 Members of Congress, other Government officials, or

20 diplomats.

21 (b) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the terms

22 ‘‘Airports Authority’’, ‘‘Washington National Airport’’,

23 and ‘‘Washington Dulles International Airport’’ have the
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1 same meanings as in section 6004 of the Metropolitan

2 Washington Airports Act of 1986 (49 U.S.C. App. 2453).

Æ