I

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3276

To provide that, to receive their pay, Members of Congress are required

to certify that they have performed their congressional duties, and for

other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 18, 1996

Mr. RIGGS (for himself, Mrs. KELLY, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. POSHARD, and Mr.

NORWOOD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Oversight

A BILL

To provide that, to receive their pay, Members of Congress

are required to certify that they have performed their

congressional duties, and for other purposes.

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 ‘‘Congressional Attend5 ance Reform Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. CERTIFICATION BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS RE2 QUIRED FOR RECEIPT OF PAY.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 40 of the Revised Stat4 utes of the United States (2 U.S.C. 39) is amended to

5 read as follows:

6 ‘‘SEC. 40. CERTIFICATION BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS RE7 QUIRED FOR RECEIPT OF PAY.

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of payment of

9 pay, each Member of Congress shall certify in writing,

10 with respect to each month, that the Member has per11 formed official congressional duties commensurate with

12 the pay of the Member for that month. The certification—

13 ‘‘(1) shall be made to the Secretary of the Sen14 ate or the Chief Administrative Officer of the House

15 of Representatives, as applicable; and

16 ‘‘(2) shall include a specification of any absence

17 of the Member on a day during which any vote is

18 taken in the House involved, together with the rea19 son for such absence.

20 ‘‘(b) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary of the Senate

21 and the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Rep22 resentatives—

23 ‘‘(1) shall make the certifications referred to in

24 subsection (a) available for public inspection; and

25 ‘‘(2) include summaries of such certifications in

26 the periodic reports of expenditures published for the
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1 Senate and the House of Representatives, respec2 tively.

3 ‘‘(c) PENALTY.—Any Member of Congress who

4 makes a false statement in a certification required by sub5 section (a) shall be imprisoned not more than 5 years or

6 fined in accordance with title 18, United States Code, or

7 both.

8 ‘‘(d) DEDUCTIONS FROM PAY OF MEMBERS OF CON9 GRESS FOR ABSENCE.—If a Member of Congress is absent

10 from the Senate or the House of Representatives on a day

11 during which any vote is taken in the House involved, the

12 Secretary of the Senate or the Chief Administrative Offi13 cer of the House of Representatives may not pay the Mem14 ber for that day, unless the absence is for personal illness,

15 family illness, or congressional business.

16 ‘‘(e) CIVIL ACTION.—Any citizen referred to in the

17 next sentence may bring a civil action in an appropriate

18 district court against the Secretary of the Senate or the

19 Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representa20 tives, as applicable, for injunctive relief in the case of any

21 payment in violation of this section. The citizens referred

22 to in the preceding sentence are—

23 ‘‘(1) in the case of a Senator, a citizen of the

24 State represented by the Senator; and
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1 ‘‘(2) in the case of a Representative in, or a

2 Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Con3 gress, a citizen of the State in which the congres4 sional district involved is located.

5 ‘‘(f) REQUIREMENTS OF THIS SECTION AS ADDI6 TIONAL TO OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—The requirements

7 of this section with respect to certification, deduction from

8 pay, publication of information, penalties, and civil actions

9 shall be in addition to any other requirement of law, regu10 lation, or other authority.

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

12 ‘Member of Congress’ means a Senator or Representative

13 in, or a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Con14 gress.’’.

15 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

16 for chapter 4 of title I of the Revised Statutes of the Unit17 ed States is amended by striking out the item relating to

18 section 40 and inserting in lieu thereof the following new

19 item:

‘‘40. Certification by Members of Congress required for receipt of pay.’’.

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