I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2517 

To provide that a former Member of Congress or former senior Congressional 

employee who receives compensation as a lobbyist representing a foreign 

principal shall not be eligible for retirement benefits or certain other 

Federal benefits. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 6, 2023 

Mr. POSEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight 

and Accountability, 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 that a former Member of Congress or former 

senior Congressional employee who receives compensation 

as a lobbyist representing a foreign principal shall not 

be eligible for retirement benefits or certain other Federal benefits. 

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 ‘‘Retirement Forfeiture 

5 for Members of Congress Turned Foreign Lobbyists Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION RELATING TO CERTAIN FEDERAL 

2 BENEFITS FOR A FORMER MEMBER OF CON3 GRESS OR FORMER SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL 

4 EMPLOYEE WHO RECEIVES COMPENSATION 

5 AS A LOBBYIST REPRESENTING FOREIGN 

6 PRINCIPAL. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—A covered individual who is a reg8 istered lobbyist shall not be eligible for any covered bene9 fits for any month— 

10 (1) which begins after the date of the enact11 ment of this Act; and 

12 (2) in or for which such covered individual is— 

13 (A) employed as a lobbyist who represents 

14 a foreign principal; and 

15 (B) entitled to compensation as a lobbyist 

16 who represents a foreign principal. 

17 (b) COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—For purposes of this 

18 section, the term ‘‘covered individual’’ means an individual 

19 who becomes a former Member of Congress or a former 

20 senior Congressional employee after the date of the enact21 ment of this Act. 

22 (c) COVERED BENEFITS.—For purposes of this sec23 tion, the term ‘‘covered benefits’’, as used with respect to 

24 a covered individual, means any payment or other benefit 

25 which is payable, by virtue of service performed by such 

26 covered individual, under any of the following: 


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1 (1) The Civil Service Retirement System, in2 cluding the Thrift Savings Plan. 

3 (2) The Federal Employees Retirement System, 

4 including the Thrift Savings Plan. 

5 (3) The Federal Employees Health Benefits 

6 Program, including enhanced dental benefits and en7 hanced vision benefits under chapters 89A and 89B, 

8 respectively, of title 5, United States Code. 

9 (4) The Federal Employees’ Group Life Insur10 ance Program. 

11 (d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 

12 (1) the term ‘‘Member of Congress’’ means a 

13 Senator, Member of the House of Representatives, 

14 or Delegate to the House of Representatives, and 

15 the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico; 

16 (2) the term ‘‘senior Congressional employee’’ 

17 means— 

18 (A) each officer or employee of the legisla19 tive branch (except any officer or employee of 

20 the Government Accountability Office) who, for 

21 at least 60 days, occupies a position for which 

22 the rate of basic pay is equal to or greater than 

23 120 percent of the minimum rate of basic pay 

24 payable for GS–15 of the General Schedule; 


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1 (B) each officer or employee of the Govern2 ment Accountability Office who, for at least 60 

3 consecutive days, occupies a position for which 

4 the rate of basic pay, minus the amount of lo5 cality pay that would have been authorized 

6 under section 5304 of title 5, United States 

7 Code (had the officer or employee been paid 

8 under the General Schedule), for the locality 

9 within which the position of such officer or em10 ployee is located (as determined by the Comp11 troller General), is equal to or greater than 120 

12 percent of the minimum rate of basic pay pay13 able for GS–15 of the General Schedule; and 

14 (C) at least one principal assistant des15 ignated for purposes of this paragraph by each 

16 Member who does not have an employee who 

17 occupies a position for which the rate of basic 

18 pay is equal to or greater than 120 percent of 

19 the minimum rate of basic pay payable for GS– 

20 15 of the General Schedule; 

21 (3) the term ‘‘registered lobbyist’’ means— 

22 (A) a lobbyist registered or required to 

23 register, or on whose behalf a registration is 

24 filed or required to be filed, under section 4 of 


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1 the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 

2 1603); and 

3 (B) an individual registered or required to 

4 register as the agent of a foreign principal 

5 under the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 

6 1938, as amended (22 U.S.C. 611 et seq.); 

7 (4) the term ‘‘lobbyist’’ has the meaning given 

8 such term by section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure 

9 Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602); and 

10 (5) the term ‘‘foreign principal’’ has the mean11 ing given such term by section 1(b) of the Foreign 

12 Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 611(b)). 

13 (e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec14 tion shall be considered to prevent the payment of— 

15 (1) any lump-sum credit, as defined by section 

16 8331(8) or 8401(19) of title 5, United States Code, 

17 to which an individual is entitled; or 

18 (2) any amount in the account of an individual 

19 in the Thrift Savings Fund which, as of the date on 

20 which paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a) are 

21 first met with respect to such individual, is non22 forfeitable. 

23 (f) REGULATIONS.—Any regulations necessary to 

24 carry out this section may be prescribed— 


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1 (1) except as provided in paragraph (2), by the 

2 Director of the Office of Personnel Management; 

3 and 

4 (2) to the extent that this Act relates to the 

5 Thrift Savings Plan, by the Executive Director (as 

6 defined by section 8401(13) of title 5, United States 

7 Code). 

Æ 


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