Members of Congress Tax Liability and Garnishment Accountability Act of 2020
This bill requires Members of Congress to disclose any delinquent tax liability or garnishment of their wages, and it establishes mechanisms for a Member to pay what is owed on a delinquent tax liability.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6177 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6177
To require Members of Congress to disclose delinquent tax liabilities
and wage garnishments, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 10, 2020
Mr. McCarthy introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on House Administration
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require Members of Congress to disclose delinquent tax liabilities
and wage garnishments, 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 ``Members of Congress Tax Liability
and Garnishment Accountability Act of 2020''.
SEC. 2. REQUIRING MEMBERS OF CONGRESS TO DISCLOSE TAX LIABILITY AND
WAGE GARNISHMENT IN ANNUAL FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE REPORTS.
(a) In General.--Section 102(a) of the Ethics in Government Act of
1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(9)(A) For individuals described in section 101(f)(9)--
``(i) the amount of any delinquent tax liability owed to
the United States or any State or unit of local government; and
``(ii) the amount of any garnishment against the
individual's salary.
``(B) In this paragraph--
``(i) the term `delinquent tax liability' means any unpaid
tax liability which has been assessed and with respect to which
all judicial and administrative remedies have been exhausted,
or have lapsed; and
``(ii) any delinquent tax liability of an entity more than
50 percent of the stock of which in the case of a corporation
(by vote or value), or 50 percent of the capital and profits
interest of which in the case of an entity other than a
corporation, is owned directly or indirectly by an individual
shall be treated as a delinquent tax liability of such
individual in proportion to such individual's ownership
interest in such entity.''.
(b) Inclusion in Report.--Section 102(b)(1)(A) of the Ethics in
Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by striking
``paragraph (1)'' and inserting ``paragraphs (1) and (9)''.
(c) Federal Tax Liability.--
(1) Requiring garnishment of compensation.--A Member of
Congress who discloses a delinquent tax liability under section
102(a)(9) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (as added by
subsection (a)) shall, not later than 30 calendar days after
filing the form, make an arrangement with the Secretary of the
Senate or the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of
Representatives, as the case may be, and the Internal Revenue
Service or the State or unit of local government involved, as
the case may be, to have an appropriate amount of the Member's
salary designated to pay the taxes owed to the United States or
the State or unit of local government involved within a
reasonable time period.
(2) Member of congress defined.--In this subsection, the
term ``Member of Congress'' means a Senator or a Representative
in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress.
SEC. 3. HOLDING SALARIES OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS IN ESCROW UNTIL
REPAYMENT OF DELINQUENT TAX LIABILITY.
(a) Holding Salaries in Escrow.--
(1) In general.--If a Member of Congress who has disclosed
a delinquent tax liability under section 102(a)(9) of the
Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (as added by section 2(a)) has
not met the deadline under section 2(c)(1) to make the
arrangement required under such section to pay the taxes owed,
during the period described in paragraph (2) the payroll
administrator of that House of Congress shall--
(A) withhold from the Member's compensation such
amount as may be directed by the Secretary of the
Treasury (in the case of a delinquent tax liability
owed to the United States) or the State or unit of
local government involved (in the case of a delinquent
tax liability owed to a State or unit of local
government) to pay the taxes owed within a reasonable
period of time; and
(B) deposit in an escrow account the remaining
portion of the payments otherwise required to be made
during such period for the compensation of the Member
and release such payments to the Member only upon the
expiration of such period.
(2) Period described.--With respect to a Member of
Congress, the period described in this paragraph is the period
which begins on the date on which the Secretary of the Treasury
(in the case of a delinquent tax liability owed to the United
States) or the State or unit of local government involved (in
the case of a delinquent tax liability owed to a State or unit
of local government) provides the notification described in
paragraph (3) to the payroll administrator and ends on the
earlier of--
(A) the day on which the Secretary of the Treasury
or the State or unit of local government involved (as
the case may be) notifies the payroll administrator
that the Member's delinquent tax liability has been
repaid; or
(B) the last day of the Congress during which
amounts are withheld under this section.
(3) Notification described.--With respect to a Member of
Congress, a notification described in this paragraph is a
notification from the Secretary of the Treasury or the State or
unit of local government involved (as the case may be)
containing--
(A) a statement that the Member has not met the
deadline under section 2(c)(1) to make the arrangement
required under such section to pay the taxes owed; and
(B) a statement of the amount to be withheld from
the Member's compensation under paragraph (1)(A).
(4) Withholding and remittance of amounts from payments
held in escrow.--The payroll administrator shall provide for
the same withholding and remittance with respect to a payment
deposited in an escrow account under paragraph (1) that would
apply to the payment if the payment were not subject to
paragraph (1).
(5) Release of amounts at end of the congress.--In order to
ensure that this section is carried out in a manner that shall
not vary the compensation of Senators or Representatives in
violation of the twenty-seventh article of amendment to the
Constitution of the United States, the payroll administrator of
a House of Congress shall release for payment to a Member of
that House of Congress any amounts remaining in an escrow
account for the Member under this section on the last day of
the Congress during which amounts are withheld under this
section.
(6) Role of secretary of the treasury.--The Secretary of
the Treasury shall provide the payroll administrators of the
Houses of Congress with such assistance as may be necessary to
enable the payroll administrators to carry out this section.
(b) Payroll Administrator Defined.--In this section, the ``payroll
administrator'' of a House of Congress means--
(1) in the case of the House of Representatives, the Chief
Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives, or an
employee of the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer who
is designated by the Chief Administrative Officer to carry out
this section; and
(2) in the case of the Senate, the Secretary of the Senate,
or an employee of the Office of the Secretary of the Senate who
is designated by the Secretary to carry out this section.
SEC. 4. REPORTING OF INFORMATION ON GARNISHMENT OF COMPENSATION.
(a) Compensation of Members of the House.--Section 106(b) of the
House of Representatives Administrative Reform Technical Corrections
Act (2 U.S.C. 5535(b)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (5);
(2) by redesignating paragraph (6) as paragraph (7); and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (5) the following new
paragraph:
``(6) if during the period covered by the report, the Chief
Administrative Officer withheld amounts from a Member's
compensation under section 3(a) of the Members of Congress Tax
Liability and Garnishment Accountability Act of 2020 or under
an order of garnishment which required the Chief Administrative
Officer to withhold a certain amount from the Member's
compensation to satisfy a debt owed by the Member to another
person (other than amounts withheld under an agreement entered
into by the Secretary of the Treasury under section 6159 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or amounts withheld pursuant to a
compromise of a case under section 7122 of such Code), the
identification of the Member and the amount withheld; and''.
(b) Compensation of Senators.--Section 105(a) of the Legislative
Branch Appropriations Act, 1965 (2 U.S.C. 4108) is amended by adding at
the end the following new paragraph:
``(7) If during the period covered by a report under paragraph (1),
the Secretary of the Senate withheld amounts from a Senator's
compensation under section 3(a) of the Members of Congress Tax
Liability and Garnishment Accountability Act of 2020 or under an order
of garnishment which required the Secretary to withhold a certain
amount from the Senator's compensation to satisfy a debt owed by the
Senator to another person, the Secretary shall include in the report
the identification of the Senator and the amount withheld. The previous
sentence does not apply in the case of amounts withheld under an
agreement entered into by the Secretary of the Treasury under section
6159 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or amounts withheld pursuant
to a compromise of a case under section 7122 of such Code.''.
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Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.
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