The Public Service Integrity Act

THE PUBLIC SERVICE INTEGRITY ACT

A BILL

To index the compensation of Members of Congress to the median household income of the United States, to prohibit outside income and financial interests during and after congressional service, to restrict private financing of federal elections, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

Sec. 1SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.Copy link

(a) SHORT TITLE.-This Act may be cited as the "Public Service Integrity Act".

(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.-

• Title I - Congressional Compensation
• Title II - Prohibition on Outside Income and Financial Interests During Service
• Title III - Post-Service Transition Compensation and Income Prohibition
• Title IV - Private Financing of Federal Elections
• Title V - Enforcement and Penalties
• Title VI - Effective Dates; Severability

Sec. 2FINDINGS.Copy link

Congress finds the following:

1. The compensation of Members of Congress has remained fixed at $174,000 since January 2009, and has lost more than one-third of its purchasing power in the intervening period.

1. The financial conditions of congressional service systematically favor candidates of independent wealth and disadvantage citizens of ordinary means, narrowing the pool of Americans who can realistically serve.

1. The principal financial rewards of congressional service accrue not during service but after it, through lobbying, consulting, board service, speaking fees, and related employment, creating an incentive for Members to legislate with a view toward future private employers rather than present constituents.

1. Existing restrictions on post-employment lobbying, generally one to two years in duration, are of insufficient length to sever this incentive, and are widely circumvented through unregistered "strategic advising."

1. A Member of Congress who is compensated adequately during service, and whose compensation continues after service on the condition of complete financial disengagement from private interests, has no material incentive to serve any interest other than that of constituents.

1. Compensation indexed to the median household income of the United States aligns the material interests of Members of Congress with the material conditions of the households they represent.

1. The aggregate cost of the compensation structure established by this Act is less than one one-hundredth of one percent of annual Federal outlays, and is negligible relative to the cost of legislation enacted under the influence of private financial interests.

Title ICONGRESSIONAL COMPENSATIONCopy link

Sec. 101COMPENSATION INDEXED TO MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME.Copy link

(a) IN GENERAL.-Section 601(a) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (2 U.S.C. 4501) is amended to read as follows:

"(a) BASE COMPENSATION.-Effective with the commencement of the Congress described in section 601 of the Public Service Integrity Act, the annual rate of pay for each Senator, Member of the House of Representatives, Delegate to the House of Representatives, and the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico shall be an amount equal to ten times the median household income of the United States, as determined under subsection (b). "(b) DETERMINATION OF MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME.- "(1) SOURCE.-The median household income of the United States shall be the figure most recently published by the Bureau of the Census in its annual report on Income in the United States, derived from the Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey, expressed in current dollars for the calendar year to which the figure pertains. "(2) ANNUAL ADJUSTMENT.-The rate of pay under subsection (a) shall be adjusted effective the first day of the first pay period beginning on or after January 1 of each year, using the figure published under paragraph (1) as of the preceding October 1, rounded to the nearest $100. "(3) DOWNWARD ADJUSTMENT.-If the figure published under paragraph (1) is lower than the figure used for the preceding year, the rate of pay shall be reduced accordingly. No floor, minimum, or hold-harmless provision shall apply. "(4) DISCONTINUATION OR METHODOLOGICAL CHANGE.-If the Bureau of the Census discontinues the publication described in paragraph (1), or materially alters the methodology by which median household income is computed, the Director of the Congressional Budget Office shall, within 180 days, designate the successor measure most nearly equivalent in scope and methodology, and shall publish the basis for that designation in the Federal Register. Such designation shall take effect unless disapproved by joint resolution. "(5) NO DISCRETIONARY ADJUSTMENT.-No provision of any appropriations Act or continuing resolution shall have the effect of suspending, reducing, or otherwise modifying an adjustment required by this subsection. Any provision purporting to do so shall be of no force or effect."

(b) LEADERSHIP DIFFERENTIALS.-The annual rate of pay shall be multiplied by the following factors:

(c) REPEAL OF EXISTING ADJUSTMENT MECHANISM.-Section 601(a)(2) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, relating to adjustments under section 5303 of title 5, United States Code, is repealed.

[Illustrative: median household income of approximately $83,700 yields a base rate of $837,000; the Speaker, $1,071,400.]

Sec. 102RETIREMENT ANNUITY.Copy link

(a) ELIMINATION OF CONGRESSIONAL ACCRUAL PREMIUM.-Section 8415 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking each provision establishing an accrual rate of 1.7 percent for service as a Member of Congress or as a congressional employee. The annuity of a Member of Congress shall be computed at the rate of 1 percent of average pay for each year of creditable service, identical to the rate applicable to a Federal employee under section 8415(a).

(b) NO SEPARATE MEMBER ANNUITY CATEGORY.-Service as a Member of Congress shall be treated for all purposes of chapter 83 and chapter 84 of title 5, United States Code, in the same manner as service as a Federal employee. Subchapter provisions establishing distinct eligibility ages, service requirements, or computation methods for Members are repealed.

(c) TRANSITION PERIOD NOT CREDITABLE.-The transition period described in section 301 shall not constitute creditable service, and transition compensation shall not be included in the computation of average pay.

(d) VESTING.-No annuity shall be payable on account of congressional service unless the Member has completed at least five years of such service.

(e) PURPOSE.-The compensation established by this Act is consideration for service and for the restrictions imposed by Titles II and III. Members of Congress shall receive no retirement benefit more favorable in formula than that available to any other employee of the United States.

[Illustrative: 12 years of service at a base rate of $837,000 yields an annuity of approximately $100,400; 20 years, approximately $167,400. Under prior law, the same service at $174,000 yielded $35,500 and $59,200 respectively.]

Title IIPROHIBITION ON OUTSIDE INCOME AND FINANCIAL INTERESTS DURING SERVICECopy link

Sec. 201PROHIBITION ON OUTSIDE EARNED INCOME.Copy link

(a) IN GENERAL.-A Member of Congress shall not, during any period of service, receive any income other than-

1. compensation under Title I;
2. interest, dividends, and capital gains from assets held in compliance with section 202;
3. income from a qualified retirement account established prior to candidacy;
4. royalties from works created prior to candidacy, paid at rates established prior to candidacy;
5. compensation of a spouse or dependent from employment unrelated to any industry or entity subject to Federal regulation or Federal contracting; and
6. income from a passive interest in real property held prior to candidacy.

(b) REPEAL OF OUTSIDE EARNED INCOME LIMIT.-Section 501 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 is amended by striking the percentage limitation and substituting the prohibition established by subsection (a).

(c) HONORARIA, SPEAKING FEES, AND ADVANCES.-No Member shall accept any honorarium, speaking fee, appearance fee, book advance, or media compensation of any kind.

Sec. 202DIVESTITURE AND PROHIBITION ON INDIVIDUAL SECURITIES.Copy link

(a) PROHIBITION.-A Member of Congress, a spouse of a Member, and a dependent child of a Member shall not hold, purchase, sell, or exercise any beneficial interest in-

1. an individual security;
2. a commodity, future, option, or derivative instrument;
3. a digital asset; or
4. any privately held business interest.

(b) PERMITTED HOLDINGS.-Permitted holdings are limited to diversified index funds, diversified mutual funds, United States Treasury securities, certificates of deposit, cash equivalents, a primary and one secondary residence, and holdings in a qualified blind trust approved under section 102(f)(3) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978.

(c) DIVESTITURE PERIOD.-Divestiture shall be completed within 180 days of taking the oath of office. Capital gains realized on compelled divestiture shall be eligible for deferral under section 1043 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

Sec. 203GIFTS, TRAVEL, AND FAMILY EMPLOYMENT.Copy link

(a) GIFTS.-No Member, and no employee of a Member, shall accept any gift, meal, entertainment, lodging, or thing of value from any registered lobbyist, foreign agent, Federal contractor, or entity subject to Federal regulation, regardless of value and without exception.

(b) TRAVEL.-All travel undertaken in connection with official duties shall be financed exclusively by appropriated funds. Privately financed congressional travel is prohibited.

(c) FAMILY EMPLOYMENT.-No spouse, child, parent, or sibling of a Member shall be employed or retained by, or receive compensation from, an authorized campaign committee of that Member, a leadership political action committee, a registered lobbying firm, or an entity holding a Federal contract in excess of $1,000,000.

Title IIIPOST-SERVICE TRANSITION COMPENSATION AND INCOME PROHIBITIONCopy link

Sec. 301TRANSITION COMPENSATION.Copy link

(a) IN GENERAL.-A former Member of Congress who has completed at least one full term shall receive transition compensation, payable monthly, for a period of ten years beginning on the date service terminates.

(b) RATE.-Transition compensation shall be paid at the base annual rate established under section 101(a), as adjusted annually thereafter under section 101(b), without leadership differential.

(c) INELIGIBILITY.-Transition compensation shall not be payable to a former Member who-

1. was expelled from either House;
2. resigned while under investigation by the Committee on Ethics of either House, unless subsequently cleared;
3. has been convicted of a felony, or of any offense described in section 8332(o)(2) of title 5, United States Code; or
4. has violated section 302, in which case eligibility terminates permanently.

Sec. 302PROHIBITION ON INCOME DURING TRANSITION PERIOD.Copy link

(a) IN GENERAL.-During the transition period described in section 301, a former Member shall not receive any income, compensation, thing of value, equity interest, deferred compensation, or promise of future compensation from any source other than-

1. transition compensation under section 301;
2. an annuity under section 102;
3. investment income from holdings that would be permitted under section 202(b); and
4. income of a spouse from employment unrelated to any industry or entity subject to Federal regulation or Federal contracting.

(b) SPECIFICALLY PROHIBITED.-Prohibited compensation includes, without limitation, salary or fees from any employer; lobbying or government relations work, whether or not registration is required under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995; strategic consulting or advisory services; service on any corporate, nonprofit, or advisory board; speaking fees; media contracts; book advances or royalties on works concerning the former Member's public service; and any interest in a partnership, firm, or fund that derives revenue from advocacy before the Federal Government.

(c) PROSPECTIVE ARRANGEMENTS.-No former Member shall enter into, negotiate, or accept any agreement, understanding, or option concerning employment or compensation to commence after the transition period, until the transition period has expired.

(d) PERMITTED ACTIVITY.-Nothing in this section shall prohibit uncompensated activity of any kind, including uncompensated writing, speech, teaching, advocacy, testimony, political candidacy, or service in an elected or appointed public office. A former Member who assumes salaried public office shall have transition compensation suspended for the duration of that office and the transition period tolled accordingly.

(e) NEGOTIATION DURING SERVICE.-Section 207 of title 18, United States Code, is amended to prohibit a sitting Member from negotiating or discussing any post-service employment or compensation arrangement, without exception.

Sec. 303RELATIONSHIP TO EXISTING COOLING-OFF PERIODS.Copy link

The restrictions of this Title are in addition to, and not in lieu of, any restriction under section 207 of title 18, United States Code. Upon expiration of the transition period, a permanent prohibition shall apply to lobbying on behalf of any foreign government, foreign political party, or foreign-owned entity.

Title IVPRIVATE FINANCING OF FEDERAL ELECTIONSCopy link

Sec. 401PROHIBITION ON CORPORATE AND ORGANIZATIONAL EXPENDITURES.Copy link

(a) IN GENERAL.-Section 316 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30118) is amended to prohibit any corporation, labor organization, trade association, or entity organized under section 501(c)(4), 501(c)(5), or 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 from making any contribution or expenditure, independent or otherwise, in connection with any election for Federal office.

(b) INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES.-No person other than a natural person who is a citizen of the United States shall make an independent expenditure in connection with any election for Federal office.

(c) AGGREGATE LIMIT ON INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES.-No natural person shall make independent expenditures in connection with elections for Federal office aggregating more than $10,000 in any calendar year, indexed to median household income.

(d) POLITICAL COMMITTEES.-A political committee that makes only independent expenditures shall be subject to the contribution limits of section 315 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971. Section 315 shall be applied without regard to SpeechNow.org v. FEC, 599 F.3d 686 (D.C. Cir. 2010).

Sec. 402DISCLOSURE.Copy link

(a) Any person making an aggregate of more than $1,000 in expenditures in connection with any election for Federal office shall, within 24 hours, disclose to the Commission the identity of each natural person who is the true source of the funds so expended.

(b) Intermediary entities, including limited liability companies, shell corporations, and organizations described in section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, shall disclose their contributors on the same terms. Layered or nested entities shall be disregarded and disclosure required at the level of the natural person.

Sec. 403SMALL-DONOR MATCHING.Copy link

(a) ESTABLISHMENT.-There is established in the Treasury the Citizen Representation Fund. A participating candidate shall receive a matching payment of $6 for each $1 of a qualifying contribution.

(b) QUALIFYING CONTRIBUTION.-A qualifying contribution is a contribution of not more than $200 made by a natural person who is a resident of the State the candidate seeks to represent.

(c) CONDITIONS.-A participating candidate shall accept no contribution in excess of $1,000 from any source and shall accept no contribution from any political committee other than a committee funded exclusively by qualifying contributions.

(d) FUNDING.-The Fund shall be financed by a surcharge on civil and criminal penalties assessed against corporations for violations of Federal law, and shall not be subject to annual appropriation.

Sec. 404LEADERSHIP PACS.Copy link

Leadership political action committees are abolished. No Member or candidate shall establish, maintain, finance, or control any political committee other than a single authorized campaign committee.

Title VENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIESCopy link

Sec. 501CIVIL AND CRIMINAL PENALTIES.Copy link

(a) DISGORGEMENT.-Any Member or former Member who receives compensation in violation of Title II or Title III shall disgorge three times the amount received.

(b) FORFEITURE.-Violation of section 302 shall result in permanent forfeiture of all transition compensation and of any annuity attributable to congressional service.

(c) CRIMINAL PENALTY.-Knowing and willful violation of section 202 or section 302 shall be punishable by fine, imprisonment for not more than five years, or both.

Sec. 502INDEPENDENT ENFORCEMENT.Copy link

(a) OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL INTEGRITY.-There is established an Office of Congressional Integrity, independent of both Houses, headed by a Director appointed for a single ten-year term by the Chief Justice of the United States, removable only for cause.

(b) POWERS.-The Director may issue subpoenas, compel testimony, audit compliance, refer matters for prosecution, and initiate civil actions in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

(c) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.-Any citizen may bring a civil action to enforce Titles II and III. A prevailing plaintiff shall be awarded costs and reasonable attorney's fees, and shall receive twenty percent of any amount disgorged.

Sec. 503PUBLIC REPORTING.Copy link

The Director shall maintain a publicly searchable database, updated within 48 hours of any filing, of all holdings, transactions, transition compensation payments, and compliance certifications required by this Act.

Title VIEFFECTIVE DATES; SEVERABILITYCopy link

Sec. 601EFFECTIVE DATE OF COMPENSATION PROVISIONS.Copy link

(a) TWENTY-SEVENTH AMENDMENT COMPLIANCE.-Title I and Title III shall take effect on the first day of the Congress that convenes following the second regularly scheduled general election for the House of Representatives occurring after the date of enactment.

(b) APPLICATION.-Titles I and III shall apply only to Members serving in or after the Congress described in subsection (a). No Member of the Congress enacting this Act shall receive increased compensation or transition compensation on account of service prior to that date.

Sec. 602EFFECTIVE DATE OF OTHER PROVISIONS.Copy link

Titles II, IV, and V shall take effect 180 days after the date of enactment.

Sec. 603NON-SEVERABILITY OF COMPENSATION AND RESTRICTION.Copy link

Title I and Titles II and III constitute an integrated exchange of consideration and are non-severable from one another. If Title II or Title III is held invalid in substantial part, Title I shall be of no force or effect, and compensation shall revert to the rate in effect immediately prior to enactment.

Sec. 604SEVERABILITY OF REMAINING PROVISIONS.Copy link

Except as provided in section 603, if any provision of this Act is held invalid, the remainder shall not be affected.

Sec. 605EXPEDITED REVIEW.Copy link

Any action challenging the constitutionality of this Act shall be heard by a three-judge panel of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, with direct appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States.

DRAFTING NOTES

Not part of the bill text.

Cost estimate

Approximately 0.013% of Federal outlays. Roughly $2.65 per American per year. This is the strongest single argument in the bill's favor and should lead any messaging.

Pension figures are rough. Annuities are a long-tail liability and reach steady state only after several decades; CBO would score this on an accrual basis and the real number depends on turnover and mortality assumptions. The 1% multiplier keeps it from compounding the way a 1.7% rate on an $837,000 base would have - that version would have run roughly $285,000 per year for a 20-year member.

Known legal vulnerabilities

Title IV is the exposed flank. Sections 401(b), 401(c), and 401(d) conflict directly with Citizens United v. FEC (2010) and SpeechNow.org v. FEC (2010). They will be enjoined. This is intentional if the bill is meant to force the issue and build the record for a constitutional amendment; if the goal is enacted law, Title IV should be reduced to sections 402, 403, and 404, all of which are constitutional as written - Citizens United upheld disclosure 8–1, public financing adds rather than restricts speech, and leadership PACs are creatures of statute.

Section 302 is novel and untested. A ten-year prohibition on all private income raises substantive due process and unconstitutional-conditions questions. Its best defense is that it is voluntary and compensated: no one is required to seek office, and the restriction is bought and paid for. Analogies are garden leave in finance, and post-service restrictions on military and intelligence personnel. Section 302(d), permitting all uncompensated speech and activity, is essential to the First Amendment defense and should not be narrowed.

There is deliberately no option to shorten the transition period. An earlier draft let a former Member irrevocably elect a five-year period instead of ten. It was removed because the election would have been made after leaving office, with the offer already known - so the Members choosing it would be precisely those holding something lucrative enough to be worth waiting for, which is to say the ones section 302 exists to reach. Everyone with nothing waiting would take the full ten years at the Treasury's expense. The provision would have converted the Act's central claim into an ordinary five-year cooling-off period for anyone with a reason to want one.

If such an election is restored, it must be made before or at the oath of office and bind thereafter, so the choice is made without knowing what will be offered. Its value to the unconstitutional-conditions defense is marginal in any case: that defense rests on the restriction being voluntary, compensated, and leaving all uncompensated activity intact under section 302(d), and a choice between two restricted terms adds little to it.

Section 101(b)(5) attempts to bind future appropriations Acts. One Congress cannot bind another, so a later Congress can repeal it. Its value is procedural friction and political salience, not legal force.

Section 502(a) vests appointment in the Chief Justice. This is defensible under Morrison v. Olson but contested under more recent appointments-clause cases. An alternative is appointment by the Comptroller General.

Political notes

The non-severability clause in section 603 is the single most important provision for public credibility. It forecloses the outcome everyone will predict - that the raise survives and the restrictions get struck - and it should be the headline of any accompanying communications.

Section 601 defers all compensation benefits past two elections. This is required for Twenty-Seventh Amendment compliance and also removes the self-dealing objection: the Members voting on it are not the Members paid by it.

Section 102 is worth its own talking point. Members currently accrue pension at 1.7% per year against the 1.0% every other federal employee receives - a 70% premium written into law for themselves. This bill deletes it. "Members of Congress get the same retirement formula as a park ranger" is a clean line, and it is a genuine concession rather than a cosmetic one, which makes the salary increase easier to defend.

The provisions most likely to move independently, if the package stalls: section 202 (stock trading ban, which already has bipartisan cosponsorship in most recent Congresses), section 402 (disclosure), and section 404 (leadership PACs).