II

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 205

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

purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JANUARY 28, 1997

Mr. FRIST (for himself and Mr. ALLARD) 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 ‘‘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

10 Member of Congress shall be ineligible to participate in
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1 the Civil Service Retirement System or the Federal Em2 ployees’ Retirement System, except as otherwise provided

3 under this section.

4 (b) PARTICIPATION IN THE THRIFT SAVINGS

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

6 participate in the Thrift Savings Plan subject to section

7 8351 of title 5, United States Code, at anytime during

8 the 12-year period beginning on the date the Member be9 gins his or her first term.

10 (c) REFUNDS OF CONTRIBUTIONS.—

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

12 shall prevent refunds from being made, in accord13 ance with otherwise applicable provisions of law (in14 cluding those relating to the Thrift Savings Plan),

15 on account of an individual’s becoming ineligible to

16 participate in the Civil Service Retirement System or

17 the Federal Employees’ Retirement System (as the

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

19 section.

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

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

22 who so becomes ineligible to participate in either of

23 the retirement systems referred to in paragraph (1)

24 shall be treated in the same way as if separated

25 from service.
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1 (d) ANNUITIES NOT AFFECTED TO THE EXTENT

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

3 considered to affect—

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

5 to which is based on a separation from service occur6 ring before the date of the enactment of this Act (in7 cluding any survivor annuity based on the death of

8 the individual who so separated); or

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

10 provided under subsection (e).

11 (e) PRESERVATIONS OF RIGHTS BASED ON PRIOR

12 SERVICE.—

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

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

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

16 on service as a Member of Congress—

17 (A) all service as a Member of Congress

18 shall be disregarded except for any such service

19 performed before the date of the enactment of

20 this Act; and

21 (B) all pay for service performed as a

22 Member of Congress shall be disregarded other

23 than pay for service which may be taken into

24 account under subparagraph (A).
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1 (2) PRESERVATION OF RIGHTS.—To the extent

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

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

4 entitled based on a separation of a Member of Con5 gress occurring after such Member becomes ineli6 gible to participate in the Civil Service Retirement

7 System or the Federal Employees’ Retirement Sys8 tem (as the case may be) by reason of subsection (a)

9 shall be determined in a manner that preserves any

10 rights to which the Member would have been enti11 tled, as of the date of the enactment of this Act, had

12 separation occurred on such date.

13 (f) REGULATIONS.—Any regulations necessary to

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

15 Personnel Management and the Executive Director (re16 ferred to in section 8401(13) of title 5, United States

17 Code) with respect to matters within their respective areas

18 of responsibility.

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

20 ‘‘Member of Congress’’ and ‘‘Member’’ mean any individ21 ual under section 8331(2) or 8401(20) of title 5, United

22 States Code.
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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 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
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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 COLA adjustment under section

16 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)’’;
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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. TRAVEL AWARDS FROM OFFICIAL TRAVEL OF A

14 MEMBER, OFFICER, OR EMPLOYEE OF THE

15 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO BE USED

16 ONLY WITH RESPECT TO OFFICIAL TRAVEL.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi18 sion of law, or any rule, regulation, or other authority,

19 any travel award that accrues by reason of official travel

20 of a Member, officer, or employee of the House of Rep21 resentatives may be used only with respect to official

22 travel.

23 (b) REGULATIONS.—The Committee on House Over24 sight of the House of Representatives shall have authority

25 to prescribe regulations to carry out this section.
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1 (c) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section—

2 (1) the term ‘‘travel award’’ means any fre3 quent flier mileage, free travel, discounted travel, or

4 other travel benefit, whether awarded by coupon,

5 membership, or otherwise; and

6 (2) the term ‘‘official travel’’ means, with re7 spect to the House of Representatives, travel per8 formed for the conduct of official business of the

9 House of Representatives.

10 SEC. 8. BAN ON MASS MAILINGS.

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

12 3210(a) of title 39, United States Code, is amended to

13 read as follows:

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

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

16 mailing as franked mail.’’.

17 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

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

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

20 ‘‘subsection (a) (4) and (5)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub21 section (a) (4), (5), and (6)’’.

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

23 Code, is amended—

24 (A) in subsection (a)(3)—
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1 (i) in subparagraph (G) by striking ‘‘,

2 including general mass mailings,’’; and

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

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

5 (B) in subsection (a)(6) by repealing sub6 paragraphs (B), (C), and (F), and the second

7 sentence of subparagraph (D);

8 (C) by repealing paragraph (7) of sub9 section (a); and

10 (D) by repealing subsection (f).

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

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

13 repealed.

14 (4) Subsection (f) of section 311 of the Legisla15 tive Branch Appropriations Act, 1991 (2 U.S.C.

16 59e(f)) is repealed.

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

18 this section shall take effect at the beginning of the Con19 gress next beginning after the date of the enactment of

20 this Act.

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

22 BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.

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

2 United States Code, is amended by adding at the

3 end the following:

4 ‘‘§ 2646. Restrictions on provision of air transpor5 tation to Members of Congress

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

7 not receive transportation in an aircraft of the Military

8 Air Command unless—

9 ‘‘(1) the transportation is provided on a space10 available basis as part of the scheduled operations of

11 the military aircraft unrelated to the provision of

12 transportation to Members of Congress;

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

14 because the destination of the Member of Congress,

15 or an airfield located within reasonable distance of

16 the destination, is not accessible by regularly sched17 uled flights of commercial aircraft; or

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

19 expensive method for the Member of Congress to

20 reach the destination by aircraft, as demonstrated

21 by information released before the trip by the mem22 ber or committee of Congress sponsoring the trip.

23 ‘‘(b) DESTINATION.—In connection with transpor24 tation provided under subsection (a)(1), the destination of

25 the military aircraft may not be selected to accommodate
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1 the travel plans of the Member of Congress requesting

2 such transportation.

3 ‘‘(c) AIRCRAFT DEFINED.—For purposes of this sec4 tion, the term ‘aircraft’ includes both fixed-wing airplanes

5 and helicopters.’’.

6 (2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND7 MENT.—The table of sections at the beginning of

8 such chapter is amended by adding at the end the

9 following:

‘‘2646. Restrictions on provision of air transportation to Members of Congress.’’.

10 (b) EFFECT ON MEMBERS CURRENTLY RECEIVING

11 TRANSPORTATION.—Section 2643 of title 10, United

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

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

14 of the enactment of this Act, is receiving air transpor15 tation or is scheduled to receive transportation in an air16 craft of the Military Air Command until the Member com17 pletes the travel plans for which the transportation is

18 being provided or scheduled.

19 SEC. 10. PROHIBITION ON USE OF MILITARY MEDICAL

20 TREATMENT FACILITIES BY MEMBERS OF

21 CONGRESS.

22 (a) PROHIBITION.—

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

24 United States Code, is amended by adding at the

25 end the following:
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1 ‘‘§ 1107. Prohibition on provision of medical and den2 tal care to Members of Congress

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

4 dental care in any facility of any uniformed service un5 less—

6 ‘‘(1) the Member of Congress is eligible or enti7 tled to such care as a member or former member of

8 a uniformed service or as a covered beneficiary; or

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

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

11 of Congress.’’.

12 (2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND13 MENT.—The table of sections at the beginning of

14 such chapter is amended by adding at the end the

15 following:

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

16 (b) EFFECT ON MEMBERS CURRENTLY RECEIVING

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

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

19 a Member of Congress who is receiving medical or dental

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

21 of the enactment of this Act until the Member is dis22 charged from that facility.
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1 SEC. 11. 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).

Æ