II

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 138

To eliminate certain benefits for Members of Congress, and for other

purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JANUARY 21, 1997

Mr. FAIRCLOTH introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs

A BILL

To eliminate certain benefits for Members of Congress, 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 ‘‘Government Reform

5 Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON RETIREMENT COVERAGE FOR

7 MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi9 sion of law, effective at the beginning of the Congress next

10 beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act, a
2

•S 138 IS

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, at anytime during

9 the 12-year period beginning on the date the Member be10 gins his or her first term.

11 (c) REFUNDS OF CONTRIBUTIONS.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in subsection (a)

13 shall prevent refunds from being made, in accord14 ance with otherwise applicable provisions of law (in15 cluding those relating to the Thrift Savings Plan),

16 on account of an individual’s becoming ineligible to

17 participate in the Civil Service Retirement System or

18 the Federal Employees’ Retirement System (as the

19 case may be) as a result of the enactment of this

20 section.

21 (2) TREATMENT OF REFUND.—For purposes of

22 any refund referred to in paragraph (1), a Member

23 who so becomes ineligible to participate in either of

24 the retirement systems referred to in paragraph (1)
3

•S 138 IS

1 shall be treated in the same way as if separated

2 from service.

3 (d) ANNUITIES NOT AFFECTED TO THE EXTENT

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

5 considered to affect—

6 (1) any annuity (or other benefit) entitlement

7 to which is based on a separation from service occur8 ring before the date of the enactment of this Act (in9 cluding any survivor annuity based on the death of

10 the individual who so separated); or

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

12 provided under subsection (e).

13 (e) PRESERVATIONS OF RIGHTS BASED ON PRIOR

14 SERVICE.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of determining

16 eligibility for, or the amount of, any annuity (or

17 other benefit) referred to in subsection (d)(2) based

18 on service as a Member of Congress—

19 (A) all service as a Member of Congress

20 shall be disregarded except for any such service

21 performed before the date of the enactment of

22 this Act; and

23 (B) all pay for service performed as a

24 Member of Congress shall be disregarded other
4

•S 138 IS

1 than pay for service which may be taken into

2 account under subparagraph (A).

3 (2) PRESERVATION OF RIGHTS.—To the extent

4 practicable, eligibility for, and the amount of, any

5 annuity (or other benefit) to which an individual is

6 entitled based on a separation of a Member of Con7 gress occurring after such Member becomes ineli8 gible to participate in the Civil Service Retirement

9 System or the Federal Employees’ Retirement Sys10 tem (as the case may be) by reason of subsection (a)

11 shall be determined in a manner that preserves any

12 rights to which the Member would have been enti13 tled, as of the date of the enactment of this Act, had

14 separation occurred on such date.

15 (f) REGULATIONS.—Any regulations necessary to

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

17 Personnel Management and the Executive Director (re18 ferred to in section 8401(13) of title 5, United States

19 Code) with respect to matters within their respective areas

20 of responsibility.

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

22 ‘‘Member of Congress’’ and ‘‘Member’’ mean any individ23 ual under section 8331(2) or 8401(20) of title 5, United

24 States Code.
5

•S 138 IS

1 (h) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec2 tion shall be considered to apply with respect to any sav3 ings plan or other matter outside of subchapter III of

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

5 SEC. 3. DISCLOSURE OF ESTIMATES OF FEDERAL RETIRE6 MENT BENEFITS OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.

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

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

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

10 end thereof the following new paragraph:

11 ‘‘(4) The Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of

12 the House of Representatives shall include in each report

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

14 of Congress, as applicable—

15 ‘‘(A) the total amount of individual contribu16 tions made by each Member to the Civil Service Re17 tirement and Disability Fund and the Thrift Savings

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

19 States Code, for all Federal service performed by the

20 Member as a Member of Congress and as a Federal

21 employee;

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

23 would be entitled to receive under chapters 83 and

24 84 of such title based on the earliest possible date

25 to receive annuity payments by reason of retirement
6

•S 138 IS

1 (other than disability retirement) which begins after

2 the date of expiration of the term of office such

3 Member is serving; and

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

5 the public to accurately compute the Federal retire6 ment benefits of each Member based on various as7 sumptions of years of service and age of separation

8 from service by reason of retirement.’’.

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

10 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act.

11 SEC. 4. ELIMINATION OF AUTOMATIC ANNUITY ADJUST12 MENTS FOR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.

13 The portion of the annuity of a Member of Congress

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

15 shall not be subject to a cost-of-living adjustment under

16 section 8340 or 8462 of title 5, United States Code.

17 SEC. 5. ELIMINATION OF AUTOMATIC PAY ADJUSTMENTS

18 FOR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.

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

20 601(a) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (2

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

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

23 of such Act is amended—

24 (1) by striking ‘‘(a)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘(a)’’;
7

•S 138 IS

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

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

3 and

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

5 of this subsection’’.

6 SEC. 6. ROLLCALL VOTE FOR ANY CONGRESSIONAL PAY

7 RAISE.

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

9 of Representatives to dispose of any amendment, bill, reso10 lution, motion, or other matter relating to the pay of Mem11 bers of Congress unless the matter is decided by a rollcall

12 vote.

13 SEC. 7. BAN ON MASS MAILINGS.

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

15 3210(a) of title 39, United States Code, is amended to

16 read as follows:

17 ‘‘(6)(A) It is the intent of Congress that a Member

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

19 mailing as franked mail.’’.

20 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

21 (1) The second sentence of section 3210(c) of

22 title 39, United States Code, is amended by striking

23 ‘‘subsection (a) (4) and (5)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub24 section (a) (4), (5), and (6)’’.
8

•S 138 IS

1 (2) Section 3210 of title 39, United States

2 Code, is amended—

3 (A) in subsection (a)(3)—

4 (i) in subparagraph (G) by striking ‘‘,

5 including general mass mailings,’’; and

6 (ii) in subparagraphs (I) and (J) by

7 striking ‘‘or other general mass mailing’’;

8 (B) in subsection (a)(6) by repealing sub9 paragraphs (B), (C), and (F), and the second

10 sentence of subparagraph (D);

11 (C) by repealing paragraph (7) of sub12 section (a); and

13 (D) by repealing subsection (f).

14 (3) Section 316(a) of the Legislative Branch

15 Appropriations Act, 1990 (39 U.S.C. 3210 note) is

16 repealed.

17 (4) Subsection (f) of section 311 of the Legisla18 tive Branch Appropriations Act, 1991 (2 U.S.C.

19 59e(f)) is repealed.

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

21 this section shall take effect at the beginning of the Con22 gress next beginning after the date of the enactment of

23 this Act.
9

•S 138 IS

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

2 BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.

3 (a) RESTRICTIONS.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 157 of title 10,

5 United States Code, is amended by adding at the

6 end the following:

7 ‘‘§ 2646. Restrictions on provision of air transpor8 tation to Members of Congress

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

10 not receive transportation in an aircraft of the Military

11 Air Command unless—

12 ‘‘(1) the transportation is provided on a space13 available basis as part of the scheduled operations of

14 the military aircraft unrelated to the provision of

15 transportation to Members of Congress;

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

17 because the destination of the Member of Congress,

18 or an airfield located within reasonable distance of

19 the destination, is not accessible by regularly sched20 uled flights of commercial aircraft; or

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

22 expensive method for the Member of Congress to

23 reach the destination by aircraft, as demonstrated

24 by information released before the trip by the mem25 ber or committee of Congress sponsoring the trip.
10

•S 138 IS

1 ‘‘(b) DESTINATION.—In connection with transpor2 tation provided under subsection (a)(1), the destination of

3 the military aircraft may not be selected to accommodate

4 the travel plans of the Member of Congress requesting

5 such transportation.

6 ‘‘(c) AIRCRAFT DEFINED.—For purposes of this sec7 tion, the term ‘aircraft’ includes both fixed-wing airplanes

8 and helicopters.’’.

9 (2) AMENDMENT TO TABLE OF SECTIONS.—

10 The table of sections at the beginning of such chap11 ter is amended by adding at the end the following:

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

12 (b) EFFECT ON MEMBERS CURRENTLY RECEIVING

13 TRANSPORTATION.—Section 2646 of title 10, United

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

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

16 of the enactment of this Act, is receiving air transpor17 tation or is scheduled to receive transportation in an air18 craft of the Military Air Command until the Member com19 pletes the travel plans for which the transportation is

20 being provided or scheduled.

21 SEC. 9. PROHIBITION ON USE OF MILITARY MEDICAL

22 TREATMENT FACILITIES BY MEMBERS OF

23 CONGRESS.

24 (a) PROHIBITION.—
11

•S 138 IS

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 55 of title 10,

2 United States Code, is amended by adding at the

3 end the following:

4 ‘‘§ 1107. Prohibition on provision of medical and den5 tal care to Members of Congress

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

7 dental care in any facility of any uniformed service

8 unless—

9 ‘‘(1) the Member of Congress is eligible or enti10 tled to such care as a member or former member of

11 a uniformed service or as a covered beneficiary; or

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

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

14 of Congress.’’.

15 (2) AMENDMENT TO TABLE OF SECTIONS.—

16 The table of sections at the beginning of such chap17 ter is amended by adding at the end the following:

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

Congress.’’.

18 (b) EFFECT ON MEMBERS CURRENTLY RECEIVING

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

20 added by subsection (a), shall not apply with respect to

21 a Member of Congress who is receiving medical or dental

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

23 of the enactment of this Act until the Member is dis24 charged from that facility.
12

•S 138 IS

1 SEC. 10. ELIMINATION OF CERTAIN RESERVED PARKING

2 AREAS AT WASHINGTON NATIONAL AIRPORT

3 AND WASHINGTON DULLES INTERNATIONAL

4 AIRPORT.

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

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

7 (1) shall not provide any reserved parking areas

8 free of charge to Members of Congress, other Gov9 ernment officials, or diplomats at Washington Na10 tional Airport or Washington Dulles International

11 Airport; and

12 (2) shall establish a parking policy for such air13 ports that provides equal access to the public, and

14 does not provide preferential parking privileges to

15 Members of Congress, other Government officials, or

16 diplomats.

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

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

19 and ‘‘Washington Dulles International Airport’’ have the

20 same meanings as in section 6004 of the Metropolitan

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

22 SEC. 11. PHYSICAL FITNESS FACILITIES.

23 (a) COSTS AND FEES.—Subject to the provisions of

24 subsection (c), all costs to equip, operate, and maintain

25 physical fitness facilities for use by Federal employees

26 shall be fully paid by the users of such facilities and no
13

•S 138 IS

1 appropriated funds made available to any executive agency

2 shall be expended for the costs of membership or other

3 fees for the use of physical fitness facilities, including exer4 cise equipment and classes.

5 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE.—No executive agency

6 may grant administrative leave to Federal employees for

7 the purpose of physical fitness activities, except with re8 gard to a Federal employee described under subsection (c).

9 (c) EXCEPTION.—The provisions of subsections (a)

10 and (b) shall not apply to any executive agency with re11 gard to employees in positions which require such employ12 ees to meet physical fitness standards as a condition of

13 employment. Funds for purposes described under sub14 section (a), may be expended only for the costs of main15 taining the physical fitness of such employees.

16 (d) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section the

17 term ‘‘physical fitness facility’’ means any facility used for

18 physical exercise that provides equipment and services for

19 such use in addition to lockers and showers.

20 SEC. 12. GOLF COURSES.

21 (a) LIMITATION.—No funds appropriated or other22 wise made available to any agency may be expended to

23 equip, operate, or maintain any golf course owned or oper24 ated by an agency. Any such golf course shall be operated
14

•S 138 IS

1 by concessionaire contract and open to use by the general

2 public.

3 (b) EXCEPTION.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to—

4 (1) any golf course located in a remote or iso5 lated area or those for the use of patients or resi6 dents at Veterans’ Administration Hospitals, United

7 States Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Home, or the National

8 Institutes of Health; or

9 (2) funds made available from gift funds or rep10 resentation funds for activities authorized under law.

11 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—No more than 10 percent of

12 the gross revenues generated from the operations of any

13 golf course to which subsection (a) applies may be retained

14 by the contracting military base to support morale, welfare

15 or recreational purposes of the personnel at such base.

16 The Secretary of Defense shall submit annual reports to

17 the Congress which identify in detail how the funds re18 tained have been expended. The Secretary of Defense is

19 authorized to subsidize the golf fees for active and retired

20 enlisted personnel utilizing such contracted courses and

21 give priority access for military personnel.

22 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The provisions of this sec23 tion shall take effect no later than June 1, 1993.
15

•S 138 IS

1 SEC. 13. EXECUTIVE DINING FACILITIES.

2 No funds appropriated or otherwise made available

3 to any executive agency may be expended to subsidize the

4 costs to equip, operate, or maintain dining rooms or kitch5 en facilities for the exclusive use of senior Government of6 ficers or to purchase or prepare food for consumption by

7 such officers. This section shall not apply to dining rooms,

8 facilities, or food for—

9 (1) the exclusive use or consumption of the

10 President of the United States or his immediate

11 family; or

12 (2) use to carry out the official representational

13 functions of the President or for those official activi14 ties conducted by executive branch departments or

15 agencies for which representation funds have been

16 authorized and appropriated.

17 SEC. 14. LUXURY VEHICLES FOR TRANSPORTING GOVERN18 MENT OFFICERS.

19 (a) LUXURY VEHICLES.—No funds appropriated or

20 otherwise made available to any agency or the Congress

21 may be expended to acquire, through lease or purchase,

22 luxury vehicles for the purpose of transporting senior Gov23 ernment officers, except for—

24 (1) a Government officer as authorized under

25 section 1344 of title 31, United States Code;
16

•S 138 IS

1 (2) a Government officer who holds the office of

2 Assistant Secretary or higher;

3 (3) the head of any executive agency and the

4 second highest ranking officer in such agency;

5 (4) officials commissioned by the President or

6 paid at a rate of pay equal to or greater than the

7 rate payable for level IV of the Executive Schedule

8 in the Executive Office of the President; or

9 (5) Members of Congress serving in leadership

10 positions (including any former President pro tem11 pore of the Senate) or elected or appointed officers

12 of the Congress.

13 (b) DRIVERS.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), no

14 funds appropriated or otherwise made available to any

15 agency may be expended to employ drivers for the exclu16 sive use of transporting senior Government officers, except

17 the officers described under subsection (a)(1) through (5).

18 (2) The provisions of this subsection shall not be con19 strued to prohibit the expenditure of funds to employ driv20 ers of multipassenger vehicles, such as vans or buses,

21 which are not luxury vehicles.

22 (c) PURCHASE OR LEASE OF LUXURY VEHICLES.—

23 The General Services Administration, in consultation with

24 the Office of Management and Budget shall prescribe reg25 ulations and uniform guidelines for all executive agencies
17

•S 138 IS

1 for the purchase or lease of luxury vehicles for or by the

2 United States Government, that shall ensure the least cost

3 to the United States Government. On October 1, 1993,

4 and on October 1 of each year thereafter, the General

5 Services Administration shall submit a report to the Con6 gress on—

7 (1) executive agency compliance with such regu8 lations;

9 (2) the number of all vehicles purchased or

10 leased by each executive agency;

11 (3) the costs of executive agency vehicle pur12 chases or leases;

13 (4) the type of each such executive agency vehi14 cle and the purpose for which it is used; and

15 (5) the identification of executive agency Fed16 eral officers and employees who used such vehicles.

17 (d) LEGISLATIVE AGENCIES.—Each agency in the

18 legislative branch of the Government (including each office

19 and committee of the Congress) shall submit reports com20 parable to reports submitted under subsection (c) with the

21 appropriate administrative offices of such agency.

22 (e) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section the

23 term ‘‘luxury vehicle’’ means a vehicle that is—
18

•S 138 IS

1 (1) a class IV or V sedan (as classified under

2 section 101–38.101–1 of title 41 of the Code of Fed3 eral Regulations as in effect on the date of the en4 actment of this Act) or other large sedan-type vehi5 cle with above standard features; and

6 (2) owned or leased by the United States Gov7 ernment.

8 (f) EXCEPTION.—The provisions of this section shall

9 not apply with regard to emergency vehicles or vehicles

10 equipped for law enforcement purposes.

11 (g) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator of General

12 Services shall issue regulations subject to the approval of

13 the Office of Management and Budget, to implement the

14 provisions of this section for executive agencies.

Æ