H.R. 2624

119 HR 2624 IH: Halt Unchecked Member Benefits with Lobbying Elimination Act
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2025-04-03
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 I  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  H. R. 2624  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   April 3, 2025   Ms. Craig  (for herself and  Ms. McCollum ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the  Committee on House Administration , and in addition to the Committees on  the Judiciary ,  Ethics ,  Rules , and  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 amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit former Members and elected officers of Congress from lobbying Congress at any time after leaving office, to prohibit the use of funds for official travel expenses of Members of Congress and legislative branch employees for airline accommodations other than coach class, to eliminate automatic pay adjustments for Members of Congress, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Halt Unchecked Member Benefits with Lobbying Elimination Act   or the   HUMBLE Act  .
2.
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.
3.
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 Act 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 Act, 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 Act, 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 2026 and each succeeding fiscal year.
4.
Benefits and services provided to former Members of the House of Representatives
(a)
Benefits and services described
The House of Representatives may not make any of the following benefits and services available to an individual who becomes a former Member of the House (except to the extent such benefits and services are made available to members of the public):
(1)
Access to the Hall of the House.
(2)
Access to athletic facilities and other facilities available for the use of Members of the House.
(3)
Access to the Members’ Dining Room located in the House of Representatives wing of the United States Capitol.
(4)
Access to parking spaces.
(5)
Access to material from the House document room.
(6)
Use of the collections in the House Legislative Resource Center without borrowing privileges.
(b)
Waiver authority
(1)
Authority to waive elimination of benefit or service
The Speaker and the minority leader of the House of Representatives may jointly, on a case-by-case basis, grant a waiver of subsection (a) with respect to a former Member of the House and a benefit or service described in such subsection.
(2)
Publication in Congressional Record
If the Speaker and the minority leader jointly grant a waiver under paragraph (1) to make a benefit or service available to a former Member, the Speaker and minority leader shall, not later than 24 hours after the waiver is granted, cause to have published in the Congressional Record a statement identifying the former Member and the benefit or service involved.
5.
Prohibiting Members of House of Representatives from owning individual stocks
(a)
In general
Rule XXIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended—
(1)
by redesignating clause 22 as clause 23; and
(2)
by inserting after clause 21 the following:
22.
A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner may not own the common stock of any individual corporation.
  .
(b)
Effective date
The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take effect immediately before noon on January 3, 2027.
6.
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
The amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to pay periods beginning after the first general election for Federal office occurring after the date of the enactment of this Act.
7.
Prohibiting Members of the House of Representatives from serving on boards of for-profit entities
Rule XXIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, as amended by section 5(a), is amended—
(1)
by redesignating clauses 19 through 23 as clauses 20 through 24, respectively; and
(2)
by inserting after clause 18 the following new clause:
19.
A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner may not serve on the board of directors of any for-profit entity.
  .