Citizen Congress Act - Makes Members of Congress (Members) ineligible to participate in the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS) except as otherwise provided under this Act.
Allows Members to participate in the Thrift Savings Plan. Permits refunds to be made in accordance with otherwise applicable law on account of an individual becoming ineligible to participate in CSRS or FERS as a result of this Act's enactment (provides that, for purposes of any such refund, a Member who becomes ineligible to participate in either of the retirement systems shall be treated as if separated from service).
Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) annuities; and (2) preservation of rights based on prior service.
(Sec. 3) Amends the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1965 to provide for the disclosure of information necessary to enable the public to accurately compute the Federal retirement benefits of each Member based on various assumptions of years of service and age of separation from service by reason of retirement.
(Sec. 4) Eliminates for Members automatic: (1) annuity cost-of-living adjustments; and (2) pay adjustments under the legislative Reorganization Act of 1946.
(Sec. 6) Requires a roll call vote for any matter relating to congressional pay.
(Sec. 7) Permits any travel award that accrues by reason of official travel of a House Member, officer, or employee to be used only for official travel.
(Sec. 8) Expresses the intent of the Congress that a Member or Member-elect may not mail any mass mailing as franked mail.
(Sec. 9) Prohibits a Member from receiving transportation in an aircraft of the Military Air Command unless: (1) the transportation is provided on a space-available basis as part of the aircraft's scheduled operations; (2) the use of the aircraft is necessary because the Member's destination or an airfield located within reasonable distance thereof is inaccessible by regularly scheduled flights of commercial aircraft; or (3) such use is the least expensive method for the Member to reach the destination by aircraft.
(Sec. 10) Bars a Member from receiving medical or dental care in a facility of any uniformed service unless: (1) such Member is eligible or entitled to such care as a member or former member of a uniformed service or as a covered beneficiary; or (2) such care is provided on an emergency basis unrelated to the person's status as a Member.
(Sec. 11) Prohibits the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority from providing reserved parking areas free of charge to Members, other Government officials, or diplomats at Washington National Airport or Washington Dulles International Airport. Directs such Authority to establish a parking policy for such airports that provides equal access to the public and does not provide preferential parking privileges to such individuals.
[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[H.R. 436 Introduced in House (IH)]
105th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 436
To eliminate certain benefits for Members of Congress.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 9, 1997
Mr. Sanford introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on House Oversight, and in addition to the Committees on
Government Reform and Oversight, Rules, Transportation and
Infrastructure, and National Security, 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 eliminate certain benefits for Members of Congress.
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 ``Citizen Congress Act''.
SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON RETIREMENT COVERAGE FOR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.
(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
effective at the beginning of the Congress next beginning after the
date of the enactment of this Act, a Member of Congress shall be
ineligible to participate in the Civil Service Retirement System or the
Federal Employees' Retirement System, except as otherwise provided
under this section.
(b) Participation in the Thrift Savings Plan.--Notwithstanding
subsection (a), a Member may participate in the Thrift Savings Plan
subject to section 8351 of title 5, United States Code.
(c) Refunds of Contributions.--(1) Nothing in subsection (a) shall
prevent refunds from being made, in accordance with otherwise
applicable provisions of law (including those relating to the Thrift
Savings Plan), on account of an individual's becoming ineligible to
participate in the Civil Service Retirement System or the Federal
Employees' Retirement System (as the case may be) as a result of the
enactment of this section.
(2) For purposes of any refund referred to in paragraph (1), a
Member who so becomes ineligible to participate in either of the
retirement systems referred to in paragraph (1) shall be treated in the
same way as if separated from service.
(d) Annuities Not Affected to the Extent Based on Prior Service.--
Subsection (a) shall not be considered to affect--
(1) any annuity (or other benefit) entitlement to which is
based on a separation from service occurring before the date of
the enactment of this Act (including any survivor annuity based
on the death of the individual who so separated); or
(2) any other annuity (or benefit), to the extent provided
under subsection (e).
(e) Preservations of Rights Based on Prior Service.--(1) For
purposes of determining eligibility for, or the amount of, any annuity
(or other benefit) referred to in subsection (d)(2) based on service as
a Member of Congress--
(A) all service as a Member of Congress shall be
disregarded except for any such service performed before the
date of the enactment of this Act; and
(B) all pay for service performed as a Member of Congress
shall be disregarded other than pay for service which may
be taken into account under subparagraph (A).
(2) To the extent practicable, eligibility for, and the amount of,
any annuity (or other benefit) to which an individual is entitled based
on a separation of a Member of Congress occurring after such Member
becomes ineligible to participate in the Civil Service Retirement
System or the Federal Employees' Retirement System (as the case may be)
by reason of subsection (a) shall be determined in a manner that
preserves any rights to which the Member would have been entitled, as
of the date of the enactment of this Act, had separation occurred on
such date.
(f) Regulations.--Any regulations necessary to carry out this
section may be prescribed by the Office of Personnel Management and the
Executive Director (referred to in section 8401(13) of title 5, United
States Code) with respect to matters within their respective areas of
responsibility.
(g) Definition.--As used in this section, the terms ``Member of
Congress'' and ``Member'' mean any individual under section 8331(2) or
8401(20) of title 5, United States Code.
(h) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be
considered to apply with respect to any savings plan or other matter
outside of subchapter III of chapter 83 or chapter 84 of title 5,
United States Code.
SEC. 3. DISCLOSURE OF ESTIMATES OF FEDERAL RETIREMENT BENEFITS OF
MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.
(a) In General.--Section 105(a) of the Legislative Branch
Appropriations Act, 1965 (2 U.S.C. 104a; Public Law 88-454; 78 Stat.
550) is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new
paragraph:
``(4) The Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of
Representatives shall include in each report submitted under paragraph
(1), with respect to Members of Congress, as applicable--
``(A) the total amount of individual contributions made by
each Member to the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund
and the Thrift Savings Fund under chapters 83 and 84 of title
5, United States Code, for all Federal service performed by the
Member as a Member of Congress and as a Federal employee;
``(B) an estimate of the annuity each Member would be
entitled to receive under chapters 83 and 84 of such title
based on the earliest possible date to receive annuity payments
by reason of retirement (other than disability retirement)
which begins after the date of expiration of the term of office
such Member is serving; and
``(C) any other information necessary to enable the public
to accurately compute the Federal retirement benefits of each
Member based on various assumptions of years of service and age
of separation from service by reason of retirement.''.
(b) Effective Date.--This section shall take effect 1 year after
the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 4. ELIMINATION OF AUTOMATIC ANNUITY ADJUSTMENTS FOR MEMBERS OF
CONGRESS.
The portion of annuity of a Member of Congress which is based
solely on service as a Member of Congress shall not be subject to a
COLA adjustment under section 8340 or 8462 of title 5, United States
Code.
SEC. 5. ELIMINATION OF AUTOMATIC PAY ADJUSTMENTS FOR MEMBERS OF
CONGRESS.
(a) Pay Adjustments.--Paragraph (2) of section 601(a) of the
Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (2 U.S.C. 31) is repealed.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 601(a)(1) of such Act 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''.
SEC. 6. ROLLCALL VOTE FOR ANY CONGRESSIONAL PAY RAISE.
It shall not be in order in the Senate or the House of
Representatives to dispose of any amendment, bill, resolution, motion,
or other matter relating to the pay of Members of Congress unless the
matter is decided by a rollcall vote.
SEC. 7. TRAVEL AWARDS FROM OFFICIAL TRAVEL OF A MEMBER, OFFICER, OR
EMPLOYEE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO BE USED ONLY
WITH RESPECT TO OFFICIAL TRAVEL.
(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, or any
rule, regulation, or other authority, any travel award that accrues by
reason of official travel of a Member, officer, or employee of the
House of Representatives may be used only with respect to official
travel.
(b) Regulations.--The Committee on House Oversight of the House of
Representatives shall have authority to prescribe regulations to carry
out this section.
(c) Definitions.--As used in this section--
(1) the term ``travel award'' means any frequent flier
mileage, free travel, discounted travel, or other travel
benefit, whether awarded by coupon, membership, or otherwise;
and
(2) the term ``official travel'' means, with respect to the
House of Representatives, travel performed for the conduct of
official business of the House of Representatives.
SEC. 8. BAN ON MASS MAILINGS.
(a) In General.--(1) Paragraph (6)(A) of section 3210(a) of title
39, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
``(6)(A) It is the intent of Congress that a Member of, or Member-
elect to, Congress may not mail any mass mailing as franked mail.''.
(2) The second sentence of section 3210(c) of title 39, United
States Code, is amended by striking ``subsection (a)(4) and (5)'' and
inserting ``subsection (a)(4), (5), and (6)''.
(b) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--(1) Section 3210 of title
39, United States Code, is amended--
(A) in subsection (a)(3)--
(i) in subparagraph (G) by striking ``, including
general mass mailings,''; and
(ii) in subparagraphs (I) and (J) by striking ``or
other general mass mailing'';
(B) in subsection (a)(6) by repealing subparagraphs (B),
(C), and (F), and the second sentence of subparagraph (D);
(C) by repealing paragraph (7) of subsection (a); and
(D) by repealing subsection (f).
(2) Section 316(a) of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act,
1990 (39 U.S.C. 3210 note) is repealed.
(3) Subsection (f) of section 311 of the Legislative Branch
Appropriations Act, 1991 (2 U.S.C. 59e(f)) is repealed.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take
effect at the beginning of the Congress next beginning after the date
of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 9. RESTRICTIONS ON USE OF MILITARY AIR COMMAND BY MEMBERS OF
CONGRESS.
(a) Restrictions.--(1) Chapter 157 of title 10, United States Code,
is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 2643. Restrictions on provision of air transportation to Members
of Congress
``(a) Restrictions.--A Member of Congress may not
receive transportation in an aircraft of the Military Air Command
unless--
``(1) the transportation is provided on a space-available
basis as part of the scheduled operations of the military
aircraft unrelated to the provision of transportation to
Members of Congress;
``(2) the use of the military aircraft is necessary because
the destination of the Member of Congress, or an airfield
located within reasonable distance of the destination, is not
accessible by regularly scheduled flights of commercial
aircraft; or
``(3) the use of the military aircraft is the least
expensive method for the Member of Congress to reach the
destination by aircraft, as demonstrated by information
released before the trip by the member or committee of Congress
sponsoring the trip.
``(b) Destination.--In connection with transportation provided
under subsection (a)(1), the destination of the military aircraft may
not be selected to accommodate the travel plans of the Member of
Congress requesting such transportation.
``(c) Aircraft Defined.--For purposes of this section, the term
`aircraft' includes both fixed-wing airplanes and helicopters.
(2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``2643. Restrictions on provision of air transportation to Members of
Congress.''.
(b) Effect on Members Currently Receiving Transportation.--Section
2643 of title 10, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall
not apply with respect to a Member of Congress who, as of the date of
the enactment of this Act, is receiving air transportation or is
scheduled to receive transportation in an aircraft of the Military Air
Command until the Member completes the travel plans for which the
transportation is being provided or scheduled.
SEC. 10. PROHIBITION ON USE OF MILITARY MEDICAL TREATMENT FACILITIES BY
MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.
(a) Prohibition.--(1) Chapter 55 of title 10, United States Code,
is amended by adding at the end of the following:
``Sec. 1107. Prohibition on provision of medical and dental care to
Member of Congress
``A Member of Congress may not receive medical or dental care in
any facility of any uniformed service unless--
``(1) the Member of Congress is eligible or entitled to
such care as a member or former member of a uniformed service
or as a covered beneficiary; or
``(2) such care is provided on an emergency basis unrelated
to the person's status as a Member of Congress.''.
(2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is
amended by adding at the end of the following:
``1107. Prohibition on provision of medical and dental care to Members
of Congress.''.
(b) Effect on Members Currently Receiving Care.--Section 1107 of
title 10, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall not
apply with respect to a Member of Congress who is receiving medical or
dental care in a facility of the uniformed services on the date of the
enactment of this Act until the Member is discharged from that
facility.
SEC. 11. ELIMINATION OF CERTAIN RESERVED PARKING AREAS AT WASHINGTON
NATIONAL AIRPORT AND WASHINGTON DULLES INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT.
(a) In General.--Effective 30 days after the date of the enactment
of this section, the Airports Authority--
(1) shall not provide any reserved parking areas free of
charge to Members of Congress, other Government officials, or
diplomats at Washington National Airport or Washington Dulles
International Airport; and
(2) shall establish a parking policy for such airports that
provides equal access to the public, and does not provide
preferential parking privileges to Members of Congress, other
Government officials, or diplomats.
(b) Definitions.--As used in the section, the terms ``Airports
Authority'', ``Washington National Airport'', and ``Washington Dulles
International Airport'' have the same meanings as in section 6004 of
the Metropolitan Washington Airports Act of 1986 (49 U.S.C. App. 2453).
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to House Oversight
Referred to the Committee on House Oversight, and in addition to the Committees on Government Reform and Oversight, Rules, Transportation and Infrastructure, and National Security, 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.
Referred to House Government Reform
Referred to House Rules
Referred to House Transportation and Infrastructure
Referred to House National Security
Referred to the Subcommittee on Civil Service.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Readiness.
Executive Comment Requested from DOD.
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Referred to the Subcommittee on Aviation.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Rules and Organization of the House.