Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “27th Amendment Enforcement Act”.
27th Amendment Enforcement Act
A BILL
To revise the annual rate of pay of Members of Congress to restore cost-of-living increases which were waived under previous laws, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Findings; sense of Congress
Findings— Congress finds the following:
Under a longstanding law, the annual rates of pay for Members of Congress are subject to cost-of-living adjustments whenever the President adjusts the annual rates of pay applicable to Federal employees covered by the General Schedule.
The 27th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, ratified in 1992, prohibits any law “varying the compensation of Senators and Representatives” from taking effect until after the next regularly scheduled general election for Members of the House of Representatives.
Since the 27th Amendment was ratified, on over a dozen occasions Congress has enacted a law to prohibit these cost-of-living adjustments from taking effect, which means that each of these laws has varied the compensation of Members of Congress from what the compensation would have been if these laws had not been enacted.
In nearly every instance, each of these laws took effect prior to the next election for Members of the House, in violation of the 27th Amendment.
Sense of Congress— It is the sense of Congress that, in order to provide relief from the changes which were made to the annual rates of pay of Members of Congress by laws which were in violation of the 27th Amendment, the adjustments which were prohibited by these laws must be restored.
Sec. 3 Restoring cost-of-living adjustments in rates of pay of Members of Congress
Restoration— Section 601(a) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (2 U.S.C. 4501) is amended—
in paragraph (1), by striking “as adjusted by paragraph (2)” and inserting “as adjusted by paragraphs (2) and (3)”; and
by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
“(3) The annual rate of pay for the positions described in paragraph (1) shall be the rate which would have applied to such positions during the most recent pay period beginning before the date of the enactment of this paragraph if no laws had been enacted prior to such date to prohibit adjustments to such rate under paragraph (2).”
Determination and publication of rates— Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate shall determine and publish the annual rates of pay for the positions described in paragraph (1) of section 601(a) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (2 U.S.C. 4501) and the date on which such rates shall take effect, taking into account the amendments made by subsection (a).