I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 562 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to permit Members of Congress 

to use facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs for the purposes 

of meeting with constituents, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 26, 2023 

Mr. MAST (for himself, Mr. PANETTA, Ms. SALAZAR, Mr. TONY GONZALES

of Texas, Mr. BAIRD, Mrs. KIM of California, Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, Mr. C. SCOTT FRANKLIN of Florida, Mrs. MILLER-MEEKS, Mr. 

DUNN of Florida, Ms. VAN DUYNE, Mr. DAVIDSON, Mr. FINSTAD, Mr. 

FLOOD, Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana, Mr. CRENSHAW, Mr. GALLAGHER, 

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana, and Mr. JOYCE of Ohio) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to permit Members of Congress to use facilities of the Department 

of Veterans Affairs for the purposes of meeting with 

constituents, 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 ‘‘Improving Veterans 

5 Access to Congressional Services Act of 2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. USE OF FACILITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VET2 ERANS AFFAIRS BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Upon request of a Member of 

4 Congress and subject to regulations prescribed under sub5 section (b), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall permit 

6 the Member to use a facility of the Department of Vet7 erans Affairs for the purposes of meeting with constitu8 ents of the Member. The Secretary and the Administrator 

9 of General Services shall jointly identify available spaces 

10 in facilities of the Department for such purposes. 

11 (b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 90 days after the 

12 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans 

13 Affairs shall prescribe regulations regarding such use of 

14 a facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs by Mem15 bers of Congress. Regulations prescribed under this sub16 section— 

17 (1) shall require that a space within a facility 

18 of the Department provided to a Member under sub19 section (a) is— 

20 (A) available during normal business 

21 hours; 

22 (B) located in an area that is visible and 

23 accessible to constituents of the Member; and 

24 (C) subject to a rate of rent (payable from 

25 the Member’s Representational Allowance or 

26 the Senator’s Official Personnel and Office ExVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:34 Feb 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H562.IH H562

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1 pense Account, as the case may be) that is 

2 similar to the rate charged by the Adminis3 trator of General Services for office space in the 

4 area of the facility; 

5 (2) may not prohibit a Member from adver6 tising the use by the Member of a space within a fa7 cility of the Department under subsection (a); 

8 (3) shall comply with sections 7321 through 

9 7326 of title 5, United States Code (commonly re10 ferred to as the ‘‘Hatch Act’’) and section 

11 1.218(a)(14) of title 38, Code of Federal Regula12 tions (or successor regulation), by prohibiting activi13 ties including— 

14 (A) campaigning in support of or opposi15 tion to any political office; 

16 (B) statements or actions that solicit, sup17 port, or oppose any change to Federal law or 

18 policy; 

19 (C) any activity that interferes with secu20 rity or normal operation of the facility; 

21 (D) photographing or recording a veteran 

22 patient at such facility; 

23 (E) photographing or recording a patient, 

24 visitor to the facility, or employee of the DeVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:34 Feb 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H562.IH H562

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1 partment without the consent of such indi2 vidual; and 

3 (F) photography or recording for the pur4 pose of political campaign materials; 

5 (4) may not permit a Member of Congress to 

6 use such a facility during the 60-day period pre7 ceding an election for Federal office in the jurisdic8 tion in which such facility is located; and 

9 (5) may not unreasonably restrict use of a facil10 ity of the Department by a Member under sub11 section (a) if— 

12 (A) there is space in such facility not in 

13 regular use by personnel of the Department; 

14 and 

15 (B) use of such space shall not impede op16 erations of the Department in such facility. 

Æ 


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