Congressional Accountability Now Act

Bill: 114-hr-5993
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Ashford, Brad [D-NE-2]
Introduced: 2016-09-12
Policy area: Congress
Latest action: action_date: 2016-09-12
text: Referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 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.

Summaries:
action_date: 2016-09-12
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><b>Congressional Accountability Now Act or the CAN Act</b></p> <p>This bill prohibits the use of funds: (1) for the official travel expenses of a Member of Congress or legislative branch employee for airline accomodations that are not coach-class, (2) for the long-term leasing of a vehicle by a Member of Congress, and (3) for a Member's official mail other than a document transmitted under official letterhead. </p>    <p>The bill amends the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 to reduce the annual rate of pay for Members of Congress by 10%.</p> <p>This bill excludes Members of Congress from further coverage under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS). This exclusion does not apply to the Vice President. </p>  <p>Nothing in this bill shall: (1) be considered to nullify, modify, or otherwise affect any right, entitlement, or benefit under CSRS or FERS for any Member covering any period before its enactment; or (2) affect the eligibility of a Member to participate in the Thrift Savings Plan.</p> <p>Members currently covered by CSRS or FERS may elect to retain such coverage by giving written notice within 90 days after enactment of this bill. </p>

tv_txt: I 114th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 5993 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 12, 2016 Mr. Ashford introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration , and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform , 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 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 airline accommodations which are not coach-class accommodations, to prohibit the use of official funds for long-term vehicle leases for Members of Congress, to prohibit the use of the Members’ Representational Allowance for expenses of official mail of any material other than a document transmitted under the official letterhead of the Member involved, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Congressional Accountability Now Act or the CAN Act . 2. 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. 3. Prohibiting use of funds for long-term vehicle leases by Members of Congress (a) Prohibition No funds appropriated or otherwise made available during a fiscal year for the operations of a House of Congress, including the official and representational expenses of a Member of Congress or the expenses of a committee or leadership office of a House of Congress, may be used for the long-term leasing of a vehicle. (b) Member of Congress Defined In this section, the term Member of Congress means a Senator or a Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress. 4. Restricting use of frank by Members of the House of Representatives Section 311(e) of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1991 ( 2 U.S.C. 503(e) ) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph: (3) Funds of the House of Representatives may not be used for official mail of a Member of the House of Representatives for any material other than a document transmitted under the official letterhead used for the Member’s stationery. . 5. Reduction in pay and elimination of automatic pay increases for Members of Congress (a) In general Section 601(a) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 ( 2 U.S.C. 4501 ) is amended to read as follows: 601. (a) Effective as of the beginning of the first applicable pay period commencing after the date of the first regularly scheduled general election for Federal office which is held after the date of the enactment of the Congressional Accountability Now Act , the annual rate of pay for— (1) each Senator, Member of the House of Representatives, and Delegate to the House of Representatives, and the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico, (2) the President pro tempore of the Senate, the majority leader and the minority leader of the Senate, and the majority leader and the minority leader of the House of Representatives, and (3) the Speaker of the House of Representatives, shall be equal to the annual rate of pay for that position as of the date on which such general election is held, reduced by 10 percent. . (b) Effective date Subsection (a) shall take effect on the date of the first regularly scheduled general election for Federal office which is held after the date of the enactment of this Act. 6. Termination of certain retirement benefits for Members of Congress (a) Amendments relating to the Civil Service Retirement System (1) In general Subchapter III of chapter 83 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 8335 the following: 8335a. Termination of further retirement coverage of Members of Congress (a) In general Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter and subject to subsection (f), effective as of the date of enactment of this section— (1) a Member shall not be subject to this subchapter for any further period of time; and (2) no further Government contributions or deductions from basic pay may be made with respect to such Member for deposit in the Treasury of the United States to the credit of the Fund. (b) Prior rights not affected Nothing in subsection (a) shall be considered to nullify, modify, or otherwise affect any right, entitlement, or benefit under this subchapter with respect to any Member covering any period prior to the date of enactment of this section. (c) Right To participate in thrift savings plan not affected Nothing in subsection (a) shall affect the eligibility of a Member to participate in the Thrift Savings Plan in accordance with otherwise applicable provisions of law. (d) Regulations Any regulations necessary to carry out this section may— (1) except with respect to matters under paragraph (2), be prescribed by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management; and (2) with respect to matters relating to the Thrift Savings Plan, be prescribed by the Executive Director (as defined by section 8401(13)). (e) Exclusion For purposes of this section, the term Member does not include the Vice President. (f) Opt-In Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this section, a Member covered by this subchapter as of such date of enactment may elect, by giving notice in writing to the official by whom such Member is paid, to remain subject to this subchapter. . (2) Clerical amendment The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 83 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 8335 the following: 8335a. Termination of further retirement coverage of Members of Congress. . (b) Amendments relating to the Federal Employees’ Retirement System (1) In general Subchapter II of chapter 84 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 8425 the following: 8425a. Termination of further retirement coverage of Members of Congress (a) In general Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, effective as of the date of enactment of this section— (1) subject to subsection (f), in the case of an individual who first becomes a Member before such date of enactment— (A) such Member shall not be subject to this chapter for any further period of time after such date of enactment; and (B) no further Government contributions or deductions from basic pay may be made with respect to such Member for deposit in the Treasury of the United States to the credit of the Fund; and (2) in the case of an individual who first becomes a Member on or after such date of enactment— (A) such Member shall not be subject to this chapter; and (B) no Government contributions or deductions from basic pay may be made with respect to such Member for deposit in the Treasury of the United States to the credit of the Fund. (b) Prior rights not affected Nothing in subsection (a) shall be considered to nullify, modify, or otherwise affect any right, entitlement, or benefit under this chapter with respect to any Member covering any period prior to the date of enactment of this section. (c) Right To participate in thrift savings plan not affected Nothing in subsection (a) or (b) shall affect the eligibility of a Member to participate in the Thrift Savings Plan in accordance with otherwise applicable provisions of law. (d) Regulations (1) In general Any regulations necessary to carry out this section may— (A) except with respect to matters under subparagraph (B), be prescribed by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management; and (B) with respect to matters relating to the Thrift Savings Plan, be prescribed by the Executive Director (as defined by section 8401(13)). (2) Refunds Notwithstanding subsection (b), the regulations under paragraph (1)(A) shall, in the case of a Member who has not completed at least 5 years of civilian service as of the date of enactment of this section, provide that the lump-sum credit shall be payable to such Member to the same extent and in the same manner as if such Member satisfied paragraphs (1) through (4) of section 8424(a) as of such date of enactment. (e) Exclusions For purposes of this section, the term Member does not include the Vice President. (f) Opt-In for Members Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this section, a Member covered by this chapter as of such date may elect, by giving notice in writing to the official by whom such Member is paid, to remain subject to this chapter. . (2) Clerical amendment The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 84 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 8425 the following: 8425a. Termination of further retirement coverage of Members of Congress. . 7. Effective date This Act and the amendments made by this Act, other than sections 5 and 6, shall apply with respect to fiscal year 2017 and each succeeding fiscal year.