H.R. 2624

119th CONGRESS 1st Session

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.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES · April 3, 2025 · Sponsor: Ms. Craig

H.R. 2624

SEC. 1. Short title

This Act may be cited as the or the .

SEC. 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—
  - in the heading, by striking and inserting ;
  - by striking ;
  - by striking leaves office or employmentand inserting leaves employment; and
  - by striking .
(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.

SEC. 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 of title 41 of the Code of Federal Regulations. chapter 301
(d) Definitions
- 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.
- 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.

SEC. 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):
  - Access to the Hall of the House.
  - Access to athletic facilities and other facilities available for the use of Members of the House.
  - Access to the Members’ Dining Room located in the House of Representatives wing of the United States Capitol.
  - Access to parking spaces.
  - Access to material from the House document room.
  - 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.

SEC. 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—
  - by redesignating clause 22 as clause 23; and
    - A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner may not own the common stock of any individual corporation.
  - by inserting after clause 21 the following:
(b) Effective date
- The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take effect immediately before noon on January 3, 2027.

SEC. 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 () is repealed. 2 U.S.C. 4501(2)
(b) Conforming amendments
- Section 601(a)(1) of such Act () is amended— 2 U.S.C. 4501
  - by striking (a)(1)and inserting (a);
  - by redesignating subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) as paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), respectively; and
  - by striking .
(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.

SEC. 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—
- by redesignating clauses 19 through 23 as clauses 20 through 24, respectively; and
  - A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner may not serve on the board of directors of any for-profit entity.
- by inserting after clause 18 the following new clause: