I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 459 
To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit former Members and 
elected officers of Congress from lobbying Congress at any time after 
leaving office, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 25, 2021 
Ms. CRAIG introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on House Administration, and in addition to the Committees on Rules, 
Ethics, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by 
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with-
in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit former 
Members and elected officers of Congress from lobbying 
Congress at any time after leaving office, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Halt Unchecked Mem-
ber Benefits with Lobbying Elimination Act’’ or the 
‘‘HUMBLE Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. PROHIBITING FORMER MEMBERS AND OFFICERS 
OF CONGRESS FROM LOBBYING CONGRESS. 
(a) PROHIBITION.—Section 207(e)(1) of title 18, 
United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(1) MEMBERS
AND
ELECTED
OFFICERS
OF 
CONGRESS.—Any person who is a Senator, a Mem-
ber of the House of Representatives, or an elected 
officer of the Senate or the House of Representa-
tives and who, after that person leaves office, know-
ingly makes, with the intent to influence, any com-
munication to or appearance before any Member, of-
ficer, or employee of either House of Congress or 
any employee of any other legislative office of the 
Congress, on behalf of any other person (except the 
United States) in connection with any matter on 
which such former Senator, Member, or elected offi-
cial seeks action by a Member, officer, or employee 
of either House of Congress, in his or her official ca-
pacity, shall be punished as provided in section 216 
of this title.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 207(e)(2) 
of such title is amended— 
(1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘OFFICERS AND 
STAFF’’ and inserting ‘‘STAFF’’; 
(2) by striking ‘‘an elected officer of the Senate, 
or’’; 
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(3) by striking ‘‘leaves office or employment’’ 
and inserting ‘‘leaves employment’’; and 
(4) by striking ‘‘former elected officer or’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply with respect to an individual who 
leaves office on or after the date of the enactment of this 
Act. 
SEC. 3. PROHIBITING USE OF FUNDS FOR OFFICIAL TRAV-
EL EXPENSES OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS 
AND LEGISLATIVE BRANCH EMPLOYEES FOR 
AIRLINE ACCOMMODATIONS OTHER THAN 
COACH CLASS. 
(a) PROHIBITION.—Except as provided in subsection 
(b), no funds appropriated or otherwise made available for 
the official travel expenses of a Member of Congress or 
other officer or employee of any office in the legislative 
branch may be used for airline accommodations which are 
not coach-class accommodations. 
(b) EXCEPTIONS.—Funds described in subsection (a) 
may be used for airline accommodations which are not 
coach-class accommodations for an individual described in 
subsection (a) if the use of the funds for such accommoda-
tions would be permitted under sections 301–10.121 
through 301–10.125 of title 41 of the Code of Federal 
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Regulations if the individual were an employee of an agen-
cy which is subject to chapter 301 of such title. 
(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 
may be construed to affect any officer or employee of an 
office of the legislative branch which, as of the date of 
the enactment of this Act, is subject to chapter 301 of 
title 41 of the Code of Federal Regulations. 
(d) DEFINITIONS.— 
(1) COACH-CLASS ACCOMMODATIONS.—In this 
Act, the term ‘‘coach-class accommodations’’ means 
the basic class of accommodation by airlines that is 
normally the lowest fare offered regardless of airline 
terminology used, and (as referred to by airlines) 
may include tourist class or economy class, as well 
as single class when the airline offers only one class 
of accommodations to all travelers. 
(2) MEMBER OF CONGRESS.—In this Act, the 
term ‘‘Member of Congress’’ means a Senator or a 
Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commis-
sioner to, the Congress. 
(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply with 
respect to fiscal year 2022 and each succeeding fiscal year. 
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SEC. 4. BENEFITS AND SERVICES PROVIDED TO FORMER 
MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTA-
TIVES. 
(a) BENEFITS
AND SERVICES DESCRIBED.—The 
House of Representatives may not make any of the fol-
lowing benefits and services available to an individual who 
becomes a former Member of the House (except to the 
extent such benefits and services are made available to 
members of the public): 
(1) Access to the Hall of the House. 
(2) Access to athletic facilities and other facili-
ties available for the use of Members of the House. 
(3) Access to the Members’ Dining Room lo-
cated in the House of Representatives wing of the 
United States Capitol. 
(4) Access to parking spaces. 
(5) Access to material from the House docu-
ment room. 
(6) Use of the collections in the House Legisla-
tive Resource Center without borrowing privileges. 
(b) WAIVER AUTHORITY.— 
(1) AUTHORITY
TO
WAIVE
ELIMINATION
OF 
BENEFIT OR SERVICE.—The Speaker and the Minor-
ity Leader of the House of Representatives may 
jointly, on a case-by-case basis, grant a waiver of 
subsection (a) with respect to a former Member of 
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the House and a benefit or service described in such 
subsection. 
(2) 
PUBLICATION
IN
CONGRESSIONAL 
RECORD.—If the Speaker and the Minority Leader 
jointly grant a waiver under paragraph (1) to make 
a benefit or service available to a former Member, 
the Speaker and Minority Leader shall, not later 
than 24 hours after the waiver is granted, caused to 
have published in the Congressional Record a state-
ment identifying the former Member and the benefit 
or service involved. 
SEC. 5. PROHIBITING MEMBERS OF HOUSE OF REPRESENT-
ATIVES FROM OWNING INDIVIDUAL STOCKS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Rule XXIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives (known as the ‘‘Code of Official 
Conduct’’) is amended by redesignating clause 22 as 
clause 23 and inserting after clause 21 the following: 
‘‘22. A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner 
may not own the common stock of any individual corpora-
tion.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
subsection (a) shall take effect immediately before noon 
on January 3, 2023. 
Æ 
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