Retirement Forfeiture for Members of Congress Turned Foreign Lobbyists Act
Bill: H.R.665 | Sponsor: Rep. Posey, Bill (R-FL)
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Retirement Forfeiture for Members of Congress Turned Foreign Lobbyists Act
This bill prohibits a former Member of Congress or former senior congressional employee who is a registered lobbyist representing a foreign principal from being eligible for

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.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Retirement Forfeiture for Members of 
Congress Turned Foreign Lobbyists Act''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION RELATING TO CERTAIN FEDERAL BENEFITS FOR A FORMER 
              MEMBER OF CONGRESS OR FORMER SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL 
              EMPLOYEE WHO RECEIVES COMPENSATION AS A LOBBYIST 
              REPRESENTING FOREIGN PRINCIPAL.

    (a) In General.--A covered individual who is a registered lobbyist 
shall not be eligible for any covered benefits for any month--
            (1) which begins after the date of the enactment of this 
        Act; and
            (2) in or for which such covered individual is--
                    (A) employed as a lobbyist who represents a foreign 
                principal; and
                    (B) entitled to compensation as a lobbyist who 
                represents a foreign principal.
    (b) Covered Individual.--For purposes of this section, the term 
``covered individual'' means an individual who becomes a former Member 
of Congress or a former senior Congressional employee after the date of 
the enactment of this Act.
    (c) Covered Benefits.--For purposes of this section, the term 
``covered benefits'', as used with respect to a covered individual, 
means any payment or other benefit which is payable, by virtue of 
service performed by such covered individual, under any of the 
following:
            (1) The Civil Service Retirement System, including the 
        Thrift Savings Plan.
            (2) The Federal Employees Retirement System, including the 
        Thrift Savings Plan.
            (3) The Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, 
        including enhanced dental benefits and enhanced vision benefits 
        under chapters 89A and 89B, respectively, of title 5, United 
        States Code.
            (4) The Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance Program.
    (d) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
            (1) the term ``Member of Congress'' means a Senator, Member 
        of the House of Representatives, or Delegate to the House of 
        Representatives, and the Resident Commissioner from Puerto 
        Rico;
            (2) the term ``senior Congressional employee'' means--
                    (A) each officer or employee of the legislative 
                branch (except any officer or employee of the 
                Government Accountability Office) who, for at least 60 
                days, occupies a position for which the rate of basic 
                pay is equal to or greater than 120 percent of the 
                minimum rate of basic pay payable for GS-15 of the 
                General Schedule;
                    (B) each officer or employee of the Government 
                Accountability Office who, for at least 60 consecutive 
                days, occupies a position for which the rate of basic 
                pay, minus the amount of locality pay that would have 
                been authorized under section 5304 of title 5, United 
                States Code (had the officer or employee been paid 
                under the General Schedule), for the locality within 
                which the position of such officer or employee is 
                located (as determined by the Comptroller General), is 
                equal to or greater than 120 percent of the minimum 
                rate of basic pay payable for GS-15 of the General 
                Schedule; and
                    (C) at least one principal assistant designated for 
                purposes of this paragraph by each Member who does not 
                have an employee who occupies a position for which the 
                rate of basic pay is equal to or greater than 120 
                percent of the minimum rate of basic pay payable for 
                GS-15 of the General Schedule;
            (3) the term ``registered lobbyist'' means--
                    (A) a lobbyist registered or required to register, 
                or on whose behalf a registration is filed or required 
                to be filed, under section 4 of the Lobbying Disclosure 
                Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1603); and
                    (B) an individual registered or required to 
                register as the agent of a foreign principal under the 
                Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended (22 
                U.S.C. 611 et seq.);
            (4) the term ``lobbyist'' has the meaning given such term 
        by section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 
        1602); and
            (5) the term ``foreign principal'' has the meaning given 
        such term by section 1(b) of the Foreign Agents Registration 
        Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 611(b)).
    (e) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
considered to prevent the payment of--
            (1) any lump-sum credit, as defined by section 8331(8) or 
        8401(19) of title 5, United States Code, to which an individual 
        is entitled; or
            (2) any amount in the account of an individual in the 
        Thrift Savings Fund which, as of the date on which paragraphs 
        (1) and (2) of subsection (a) are first met with respect to 
        such individual, is nonforfeitable.
    (f) Regulations.--Any regulations necessary to carry out this 
section may be prescribed--
            (1) except as provided in paragraph (2), by the Director of 
        the Office of Personnel Management; and
            (2) to the extent that this Act relates to the Thrift 
        Savings Plan, by the Executive Director (as defined by section 
        8401(13) of title 5, United States Code).
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