Chief Deputy Whip
Rep. Diana DeGette
DeGette is a fourth generation Coloradoan, educated at Denver's South High School and Colorado College. Read More...

The Daily WhipLine

Monday, January 22, 2007 : PRINT

Floor Schedule and Procedure

• Suspension bills: Today, the House will consider several bills on the Suspension calendar.  Bills considered on the Suspension calendar are debatable for 40 minutes; may not be amended; and require a two-thirds vote for passage.  If a recorded vote is requested, it will be postponed.

1) H.Res. 29 – Supporting the goals and ideals of National Mentoring Month 2007 (Rep. Susan Davis - Education and Labor)

2) H.Res. 51 – Honoring the Contributions of Catholic Schools (Rep. Lipinski – Education and Labor)

3) H.Res. 57 – Congratulating Illinois State University as it celebrates its sesquicentennial (Rep. Weller – Education and Labor)

4) H.Res. 52 – Paying tribute to Reverend Waitstill Sharp and Martha Sharp for their recognition by the Yad Vashem Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority as Righteous Among the Nations for their heroic efforts to save Jews during the Holocaust (Rep. McGovern – Foreign Affairs)

5) H.R. 390 – To require the establishment of a national database in the National Archives to preserve records of servitude, emancipation, and post-Civil War reconstruction and to provide grants to State and local entities to establish similar local databases (Rep. Lantos - Oversight and Government Reform)

6) H.R. 476 – Congressional Pension Accountability - To amend title 5, US Code, to make non-creditable for Federal retirement purposes any Member service performed by an individual who is convicted of any of certain offenses committed by that individual while serving as a Member of Congress, and for other purposes (Rep. Boyda – House Administration)

Bill Summary and Key Issues

• H.R. 476 – Congressional Pension Accountability: The bill being considered today is almost identical to H.R. 476, introduced by Rep. Boyda on January 17, 2007, and includes two minor changes in response to Senate concerns.  Similar provisions passed the House on May 3, 2006 and were included in the Democratic motion to recommit that was offered during consideration of the bill.  Specifically, the bill:

• Requires that Members convicted of certain federal felonies related to the performance of their official duties forfeit their Congressional pension rights under the Civil Service Retirement System or the Federal Employees Retirement System if the conduct constituting the felony takes place after enactment and while the Member is in Congress and a conviction occurs after January 2, 2009;

• Applies to bribery of public officials and witnesses; wrongfully acting as agents of foreign principals; conspiracy to commit one of the offenses listed above; conspiracy to violate the post-employment prohibitions; and perjury and subornation of perjury in falsely denying committing one of these crimes;

• Exempts from forfeiture the Member’s own contributions to the retirement fund;

• Permits the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), if it is determined to be necessary under the totality of the circumstances, to provide benefits to the Member’s spouse and children, in which case the lump sum payment due the Member based on his or her own contributions would be reduced by an appropriate amount.

The new subornation of perjury provision and the effective date provision are the only differences between this bill and the bill introduced by Rep. Boyda. Both were added at the request of the Senate in order to expedite enactment of the measure. The other compromise to be considered as part of the bill today is that forfeiture applies to any conduct that occurs after enactment and to convictions that occur after January 2, 2009.

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