Title: FAITH in Congress Act
Policy area: Congress

Summary:
Foster Accountability, Integrity, Trust, and Honor in Congress Act or the FAITH in Congress Act
This bill establishes prohibitions related to the compensation of Members of Congress, lobbying activities, and consideration of legislation.
Specifically, the bill prohibits Members of Congress from being paid if both chambers of Congress have not (1) agreed to a budget resolution for the next fiscal year by April 15, or (2) passed each of the regular appropriations bills for the next fiscal year by September 30. In addition, the bill eliminates automatic pay adjustments for Members of Congress, and it prohibits generally the use of funds provided for official travel expenses of Members of Congress and legislative branch employees from being used for airline accommodations that are not coach class.
Further, the bill prohibits former Members of Congress and elected officers of Congress from lobbying Congress, and it prohibits the House of Representatives from considering legislation that does not have demonstrable bipartisan support.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8305 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8305

 To provide that Members of Congress shall not be paid if Congress has 
   not approved a concurrent resolution on the budget and passed the 
regular appropriations bills on a timely basis, to eliminate automatic 
 pay adjustments for Members of Congress, to prohibit the use of funds 
 provided for the official travel expenses of Members of Congress and 
other officers and employees of the legislative branch for first-class 
  airline accommodations, to establish a lifetime ban on lobbying by 
former Members of Congress, to prohibit the consideration in the House 
of Representatives of measures lacking demonstrable bipartisan support, 
 to prohibit the consideration in the House of Representatives of any 
       legislation containing an earmark, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 17, 2020

Mrs. Murphy of Florida (for herself, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Ms. Torres Small 
of New Mexico, Mr. McAdams, Mr. O'Halleran, Mr. Cunningham, Mr. Rose of 
 New York, and Mr. Brindisi) introduced the following bill; which was 
 referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to 
the Committees on Oversight and Reform, the Judiciary, and Rules, 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 Members of Congress shall not be paid if Congress has 
   not approved a concurrent resolution on the budget and passed the 
regular appropriations bills on a timely basis, to eliminate automatic 
 pay adjustments for Members of Congress, to prohibit the use of funds 
 provided for the official travel expenses of Members of Congress and 
other officers and employees of the legislative branch for first-class 
  airline accommodations, to establish a lifetime ban on lobbying by 
former Members of Congress, to prohibit the consideration in the House 
of Representatives of measures lacking demonstrable bipartisan support, 
 to prohibit the consideration in the House of Representatives of any 
       legislation containing an earmark, 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 ``Foster Accountability, Integrity, 
Trust, and Honor in Congress Act'' or the ``FAITH in Congress Act''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITING COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS FOR FAILURE TO 
              AGREE TO BUDGET RESOLUTION OR PASS REGULAR APPROPRIATIONS 
              BILLS ON TIMELY BASIS.

    (a) Failure To Agree to Budget Resolution.--
            (1) Prohibiting compensation.--If by April 15 of any 
        calendar year occurring during a Congress (beginning with the 
        One Hundred Seventeenth Congress), both Houses of Congress have 
        not agreed to a concurrent resolution on the budget pursuant to 
        section 301 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 for the 
        fiscal year which begins on October 1 of that year, no Member 
        of Congress may receive compensation with respect to the period 
        described in paragraph (2).
            (2) Period described.--The period described in this 
        paragraph is the period which begins on April 16 of the 
        calendar year and ends on the day on which both Houses of 
        Congress agree to a concurrent resolution on the budget for the 
        fiscal year which begins on October 1 of that year.
    (b) Failure To Pass Regular Appropriation Bills.--
            (1) Prohibiting compensation.--If by September 30 of any 
        calendar year occurring during a Congress (beginning with the 
        One Hundred Seventeenth Congress), both Houses of Congress have 
        not passed each of the regular appropriation bills for the 
        fiscal year which begins on October 1 of that year, no Member 
        of Congress may receive compensation with respect to the period 
        described in paragraph (2).
            (2) Period described.--The period described in this 
        paragraph is the period which begins on October 1 of the 
        calendar year and ends on the first day by which both Houses of 
        Congress have passed each of the regular appropriation bills 
        for the fiscal year which begins on October 1 of that year.
            (3) Regular appropriation bill defined.--The term ``regular 
        appropriation bill'' means any annual appropriation bill which, 
        with respect to the Congress involved, is under the 
        jurisdiction of a single subcommittee of the Committee on 
        Appropriations of the House of Representatives (pursuant to the 
        Rules of the House of Representatives for that Congress) and a 
        single subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations of the 
        Senate (pursuant to the Standing Rules of the Senate).
    (c) Treatment of Delegates as Members; Exclusion of Vice 
President.--In this section, the term ``Member of Congress'' includes a 
Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress but does not include 
the Vice President.

SEC. 3. ELIMINATION OF AUTOMATIC PAY ADJUSTMENTS FOR MEMBERS OF 
              CONGRESS.

    (a) In General.--Paragraph (2) of section 601(a) of the Legislative 
Reorganization Act of 1946 (2 U.S.C. 4501(2)) is repealed.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 601(a)(1) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 
4501) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``(a)(1)'' and inserting ``(a)'';
            (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) as 
        paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), respectively; and
            (3) by striking ``, as adjusted by paragraph (2) of this 
        subsection''.
    (c) Effective Date.--This section and the amendments made by this 
section shall take effect December 31, 2020.

SEC. 4. PROHIBITING USE OF FUNDS FOR OFFICIAL TRAVEL 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 
accommodations would be permitted under sections 301-10.121 through 
301-10.125 of title 41 of the Code of Federal Regulations if the 
individual were an employee of an agency which is subject to chapter 
301 of such title.
    (c) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section 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 section, 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 section, the term ``Member 
        of Congress'' means a Senator or a Representative in, or 
        Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress.
    (e) Effective Date.--This section shall apply with respect to 
fiscal year 2021 and each succeeding fiscal year.

SEC. 5. 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 Member of the House of Representatives, or 
        an elected officer of the Senate or the House of 
        Representatives and who, after that person leaves office, 
        knowingly makes, with the intent to influence, any 
        communication to or appearance before any Member, officer, 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 
        official seeks action by a Member, officer, or employee of 
        either House of Congress, in his or her official capacity, 
        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'';
            (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. 6. PROHIBITING CONSIDERATION IN HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF 
              MEASURES LACKING DEMONSTRABLE BIPARTISAN SUPPORT.

    (a) Amendment to Rules of House of Representatives.--Rule XIV of 
the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended by adding at the 
end the following new clause:
            ``(7) It shall not be in order in the House of 
        Representatives or in the Committee on the Whole House on the 
        State of the Union to consider a bill, joint resolution, 
        resolution, or conference report unless the measure involved 
        has demonstrable bipartisan support in the form in which it is 
        to be considered.''.
    (b) Sense of the House Regarding Majority Party Protocols and 
Procedures.--It is the sense of the House of Representatives that the 
majority party of the House should ensure that its protocols and 
procedures applicable to the consideration of measures by the House are 
consistent with the requirements of clause 7 of rule XIV of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives (as added by subsection (a)).
    (c) Exercise of Rulemaking Powers.--The provisions of this section 
are enacted--
            (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the House of 
        Representatives, and as such they shall be considered as part 
        of the rules of the House, and such rules shall supersede other 
        rules only to the extent that they are inconsistent therewith; 
        and
            (2) with full recognition of the constitutional right of 
        the House of Representatives to change such rules (so far as 
        relating to the House) at any time, in the same manner, and to 
        the same extent as in the case of any other rule of the House.
                                 <all>