I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 284 

To provide for rates of pay for Members of Congress to be adjusted as 

a function of changes in Government spending. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 15, 2013 

Mr. FORBES introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on 

Oversight and Government Reform, 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 for rates of pay for Members of Congress to 

be adjusted as a function of changes in Government 

spending. 

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 Ac5 countability Pay Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. CHANGE IN METHOD FOR ADJUSTING PAY. 

7 Section 601(a) of the Legislative Reorganization Act 

8 of 1946 (2 U.S.C. 31) is amended to read as follows: 

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1 ‘‘SEC. 601. (a)(1) This subsection applies with re2 spect to— 

3 ‘‘(A) each Senator, Member of the House of 

4 Representatives, and Delegate to the House of Rep5 resentatives, and the Resident Commissioner from 

6 Puerto Rico, 

7 ‘‘(B) the President pro tempore of the Senate, 

8 the majority leader and the minority leader of the 

9 Senate, and the majority leader and the minority 

10 leader of the House of Representatives, and 

11 ‘‘(C) the Speaker of the House of Representa12 tives. 

13 ‘‘(2) Whenever outlays for any fiscal year are greater 

14 than outlays for the preceding fiscal year, then, effective 

15 as of the first day of the first applicable pay period begin16 ning on or after January 1 of the calendar year next be17 ginning after the close of the second of those 2 fiscal 

18 years, the rate of pay for each position under paragraph 

19 (1) shall be decreased by the percentage (rounded to the 

nearest 1 20 ⁄10 of 1 percent) equal to the percentage by which 

21 outlays for the second of those 2 fiscal years are greater 

22 than outlays for the first of those 2 fiscal years, but in 

23 no event below $1. 

24 ‘‘(3) The Congressional Budget Office shall prescribe 

25 any regulations necessary to carry out this subsection, inmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with 

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1 cluding regulations governing the determination of total 

2 outlays for a fiscal year. 

3 ‘‘(4) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘out4 lays’ means budget outlays, as defined by section 3 of the 

5 Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 

6 1974 (2 U.S.C. 622). 

7 ‘‘(5) This subsection shall apply for purposes of de8 termining rates of pay for pay periods beginning on or 

9 after January 1, 2015.’’. 

10 SEC. 3. COORDINATION RULE. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 225(l)(3) of the Federal 

12 Salary Act of 1967 (2 U.S.C. 362(3)) is amended by add13 ing at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(C) Notwithstanding any other provision of this sub15 section, in the case of a position referred to in section 

16 601(a) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (2 

17 U.S.C. 31), no recommendation referred to in this sub18 section (in the matter before paragraph (1)) may be made 

19 which, if enacted, would cause the rate of pay for any such 

20 position to differ from the rate of pay which would, as 

21 of any given time, then be payable with respect to such 

22 position under such section 601(a).’’. 

23 (b) EXCLUSION OF JUDGES.—Section 225(l)(3)(A) of 

24 such Act (2 U.S.C. 362(3)(A)) is further amended— 

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1 (1) in clause (i), by striking all that follows 

2 ‘‘recommended for’’ and inserting ‘‘the Speaker of 

3 the House of Representatives and the Vice President 

4 of the United States, respectively, shall be equal.’’; 

5 and 

6 (2) in clause (iii), by striking all that follows ‘‘a 

7 Delegate to the House of Representatives,’’ and that 

8 precedes ‘‘and each office or position under section 

9 5313 of title 5’’. 

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