Prohibiting Perks and Privileges Act
Bill: H.R.1078 | Sponsor: Rep. Schneider, Bradley Scott (D-IL)
Policy area: Congress

Summary:
Prohibiting Perks and Privileges Act
This bill makes former Members of Congress who are lobbyists ineligible to receive certain federal retirement and health benefits or to use certain congressional benefits and services.
The bill also prohibits federal funds from being used to pay the travel expenses of spouses accompanying Members of Congress on official travel, restricts the use of travel promotional awards received by Members in connection with official air travel, and requires a Member's official website to include a link to the Member's financial disclosure reports.

To provide that a former Member of Congress receiving compensation as a 
  lobbyist shall be ineligible to receive certain Federal retirement 
  benefits or to use certain congressional benefits and services, to 
require each Member of Congress to post on the Member's official public 
  website a hyperlink to the most recent annual financial disclosure 
report filed by the Member under the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, 
   to prohibit the use of appropriated funds to pay for the costs of 
travel by the spouse of a Member of Congress who accompanies the Member 
on official travel, to restrict the use of travel promotional awards by 
Members of Congress who receive such awards in connection with official 
                  air travel, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Prohibiting Perks and Privileges 
Act''.

SEC. 2. INELIGIBILITY OF FORMER MEMBERS RECEIVING COMPENSATION AS 
              LOBBYISTS FOR CERTAIN BENEFITS AND SERVICES.

    (a) Forfeiture of Benefits.--
            (1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
        law, a former Member of Congress may not be paid any covered 
        benefit if such former Member is--
                    (A) a registered lobbyist; or
                    (B) receives compensation as a direct result of 
                lobbying activities.
            (2) Covered benefits.--For purposes of this subsection, the 
        term ``covered benefits'', as used with respect to a former 
        Member of Congress, means any payment or other benefit which is 
        payable, by virtue of service performed by such former Member, 
        under any of the following:
                    (A) The Civil Service Retirement System, including 
                the Thrift Savings Plan.
                    (B) The Federal Employees Retirement System, 
                including the Thrift Savings Plan.
                    (C) 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.
            (3) Rules of construction.--Nothing in this subsection 
        shall be considered to prevent the payment of--
                    (A) any lump-sum credit, as defined by section 
                8331(8) or 8401(19) of title 5, United States Code, to 
                which a former Member of Congress subject to paragraph 
                (1) is entitled;
                    (B) any contributions in the account of a former 
                Member of Congress subject to paragraph (1) in the 
                Thrift Savings Fund which, as of the date on which 
                paragraph (1) applies to a former Member, are 
                nonforfeitable; or
                    (C) any annuity payments with respect to an annuity 
                of a former Member of Congress subject to paragraph (1) 
                to a former spouse or survivor who is entitled to such 
                payments.
            (4) Regulations.--Any regulations necessary to carry out 
        this subsection may be prescribed by--
                    (A) except as provided in subparagraph (B), the 
                Director of the Office of Personnel Management; and
                    (B) to the extent that this subsection relates to 
                the Thrift Savings Plan, by the Executive Director (as 
                defined by section 8401(13) of title 5, United States 
                Code).
    (b) Prohibition on Access to Certain Congressional Benefits and 
Services.--
            (1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
        law, a former Member of Congress may not use any of the 
        congressional benefits and services described in paragraph (2) 
        (except to the extent such benefits and services are made 
        available to members of the public) at any time during which 
        such former Member is--
                    (A) a registered lobbyist; or
                    (B) receives compensation as a direct result of 
                lobbying activities.
            (2) Benefits and services described.--The congressional 
        benefits and services described in this paragraph are as 
        follows:
                    (A) Access to the Hall of the House or the Hall of 
                the Senate.
                    (B) Access to athletic facilities and other 
                facilities available for the use of Members of 
                Congress.
                    (C) Access to the Members' Dining Room located in 
                the House of Representatives wing of the United States 
                Capitol or the Senators' Dining Room located in the 
                Senate wing of the United States Capitol.
                    (D) Access to material from the House document room 
                or the Senate document room.
                    (E) Use of the collections in the House Legislative 
                Resource Center or the Senate Library without borrowing 
                privileges.
    (c) Definitions.--For purposes of this subsection--
            (1) the terms ``agency'', ``client'', ``covered executive 
        branch official'', ``covered legislative branch official'', 
        ``lobbyist'', ``lobbying activities'', and ``lobbying 
        contact'', have the meaning given such terms in section 3 of 
        the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602);
            (2) the term ``former Member of Congress'' means any Member 
        of Congress who becomes a former Member of Congress after the 
        date of enactment of this Act;
            (3) the term ``Member of Congress'' has the meaning given 
        such term in section 2106 of title 5, United States Code; and
            (4) the term ``registered lobbyist'' means 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).

SEC. 3. POSTING LINKS TO FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE REPORTS OF MEMBERS OF 
              CONGRESS ON MEMBER WEBSITES.

    (a) Requirement To Post Links to Reports.--Upon filing the report 
required under section 101(d) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 
(5 U.S.C. App. 101(d)), each Member of Congress shall, in consultation 
with the Clerk of the House of Representatives (in the case of a 
Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the 
Congress) or the Secretary of the Senate (in the case of a Senator), 
post a hyperlink to the report on the official public website of the 
office of the Member.
    (b) Effective Date.--This section shall apply with respect to 
reports filed on or after the expiration of the 60-day period which 
begins on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. PROHIBITING USE OF APPROPRIATED FUNDS FOR TRAVEL OF SPOUSES 
              ACCOMPANYING MEMBERS OF CONGRESS ON OFFICIAL TRAVEL.

    (a) Prohibition.--No appropriated funds, including official funds 
of the House of Representatives, official funds of the Senate, or funds 
available under any Federal law, rule, or regulation, may be used to 
pay for the costs of travel by the spouse of a Member of Congress in 
accompanying the Member on official travel.
    (b) Certification.--If the spouse of a Member of Congress 
accompanies the Member on official travel, the head of the office whose 
funds are to be used to pay for the costs of such travel shall certify 
prior to the travel that no additional costs will be incurred by the 
Government as the result of the spouse accompanying the Member on such 
travel.
    (c) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be construed 
to prohibit the spouse of a Member of Congress who accompanies the 
Member on official travel from paying for the costs of the spouse's 
travel.
    (d) Official Travel Defined.--In this section, the term ``official 
travel'' means any travel for which the costs (including the costs of 
transportation, lodging, meals, and related expenses) may be covered by 
appropriated funds, including official funds of the House of 
Representatives, official funds of the Senate, or funds available under 
any Federal law, rule, or regulation.
    (e) Effective Date.--This section shall apply with respect to 
travel undertaken on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 5. RESTRICTING USE BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS OF TRAVEL PROMOTIONAL 
              AWARDS RECEIVED IN CONNECTION WITH OFFICIAL AIR TRAVEL.

    (a) Restrictions on Use by Members of the House of 
Representatives.--Clause 5 of rule XXV of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives is amended by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph:
    ``(j)(1) Except as provided in subparagraph (2), if a Member, 
Delegate, or Resident Commissioner receives a travel promotional award 
in connection with any official air travel undertaken by the Member, 
Delegate, or Resident Commissioner, the Member, Delegate, or Resident 
Commissioner may use the award only in connection with other official 
air travel undertaken by such Member, Delegate, or Resident 
Commissioner.
    ``(2) Notwithstanding subparagraph (1), a Member, Delegate, or 
Resident Commissioner may donate a travel promotional award described 
in such subparagraph to an organization described in section 501(c) of 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under 
section 501(a) of such Code.
    ``(3) In this paragraph--
            ``(A) the term `official air travel' means travel by 
        commercial aircraft for which the costs are paid with Federal 
        funds, including the Members' Representational Allowance; and
            ``(B) the term `travel promotional award' includes free 
        travel, travel discounts, upgrade certificates, coupons, 
        frequent flyer miles, access to carrier club facilities, and 
        other similar travel promotional items, as determined in 
        accordance with regulations of the Committee on House 
        Administration.''.
    (b) Restrictions on Use by Senators.--Rule XXXV of the Standing 
Rules of the Senate is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs 5 and 6 as paragraphs 6 and 
        7; and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph 4 the following new 
        paragraph:
    ``5. (a) Except as provided in subparagraph (b), if a Member 
receives a travel promotional award in connection with any official air 
travel undertaken by the Member, the Member may use the award only in 
connection with other official air travel undertaken by such Member.
    ``(b) Notwithstanding subparagraph (a), a Member may donate a 
travel promotional award described in such subparagraph to an 
organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such 
Code.
    ``(c) In this subparagraph--
            ``(A) the term `official air travel' means travel by 
        commercial aircraft for which the costs are paid with Federal 
        funds, including the Senators' Official Personnel and Office 
        Expense Account; and
            ``(B) the term `travel promotional award' includes free 
        travel, travel discounts, upgrade certificates, coupons, 
        frequent flyer miles, access to carrier club facilities, and 
        other similar travel promotional items, as determined in 
        accordance with regulations of the Committee on Rules and 
        Administration.''.
    (c) Sense of Congress Regarding Transferability of Travel 
Promotional Awards.--It is the sense of Congress that commercial 
airlines should permit individuals who receive travel promotional 
awards, including frequent flyer miles, in connection with travel on 
the airlines to transfer such awards to nonprofit organizations under 
section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
    (d) Exercise of Rulemaking Authority.--This section is enacted by 
Congress--
            (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the Senate 
        and House of Representatives, respectively, and as such it is 
        deemed a part of the rules of each House, respectively, and it 
        supersedes other rules only to the extent that it is 
        inconsistent with such rules; and
            (2) with full recognition of the constitutional right of 
        either House to change the rules (so far as relating to that 
        House) at any time, in the same manner, and to the same extent 
        as in the case of any other rule of that House.

SEC. 6. MEMBER OF CONGRESS DEFINED.

    Except as otherwise provided, in this Act the term ``Member of 
Congress'' means a Senator or Representative in, or Delegate or 
Resident Commissioner to, the Congress.
                                 <all>