PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on 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.
Congressional Research Service
No official summary is available in the imported record yet.
People & committees
Rep. Nunn, Zachary [R-IA-3] · R–IA
Legislative record
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Referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on 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.
Referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on 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.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Sep 5, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2026-09-03 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
This proposal would stop counting congressional service toward pension eligibility for people expelled from Congress or who resign after a specified formal ethics allegation. Under the FERS retirement system, affected people would also lose government retirement-savings contributions and their earnings tied to congressional service. The supplied text is an introduced proposal, not evidence of enacted law.
If an individual is expelled from Congress, all Member service previously performed by such individual shall be noncreditable for purposes of determining eligibility for an annuity which would otherwise be payable under this subchapter based on the service of such individual.
If an individual resigns from Congress and prior to such resignation an investigative subcommittee of the Committee on Ethics of the House of Representatives or the Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate adopts, by a majority vote of its members, a Statement of Alleged Violation upon a determination that there is substantial reason to believe that a violation of the Code of Official Conduct, or of a law, rule, regulation, or other standard of conduct applicable to the performance of official duties or the discharge of official responsibilities by a Member, officer, or employee of the House of Representatives has occurred with respect to the individual, all Member service previously performed by such individual shall be noncreditable for purposes of determining eligibility for an annuity which would otherwise be payable under this subchapter based on the service of such individual.
If an individual’s Member service becomes noncreditable by reason of subsection (a), all contributions made by the Government for the benefit of that individual under section 8432(c) while that individual was performing Member service, and all earnings attributable to such contributions, shall be forfeited.
2026-09-03: Introduced in House
Section 1 names the proposal the Congressional Pension Accountability Act.
This Act may be cited as the Congressional Pension Accountability Act.
For expulsions, section 2 would remove credit for all previously performed congressional service. The CSRS provision expressly applies this rule to eligibility for a pension, meaning regular retirement payments. The FERS provision expressly applies it to both pension eligibility and the payment amount.
(a) CSRS (1) In general Subchapter III of chapter 83 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 8333 the following:
If an individual is expelled from Congress, all Member service previously performed by such individual shall be noncreditable for purposes of determining eligibility for an annuity which would otherwise be payable under this subchapter based on the service of such individual.
(b) FERS (1) In general Chapter 84 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 8410 the following:
If an individual is expelled from Congress, all Member service previously performed by such individual shall be noncreditable for purposes of determining eligibility for or the amount of any annuity which might otherwise be payable out of the Fund based on the service of such individual under this chapter.
Under both systems, resignation would trigger loss of congressional service credit for pension eligibility only if the specified ethics investigative subcommittee had first adopted a Statement of Alleged Violation by majority vote. That statement requires substantial reason to believe a covered violation occurred; the stated trigger is a formal allegation, rather than a requirement for a criminal conviction.
If an individual resigns from Congress and prior to such resignation an investigative subcommittee of the Committee on Ethics of the House of Representatives or the Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate adopts, by a majority vote of its members, a Statement of Alleged Violation upon a determination that there is substantial reason to believe that a violation of the Code of Official Conduct, or of a law, rule, regulation, or other standard of conduct applicable to the performance of official duties or the discharge of official responsibilities by a Member, officer, or employee of the House of Representatives has occurred with respect to the individual, all Member service previously performed by such individual shall be noncreditable for purposes of determining eligibility for an annuity which would otherwise be payable under this subchapter based on the service of such individual.
Both systems would allow an affected person to apply for payment of the portion of their pension contribution balance attributable to congressional service, reduced by amounts already refunded or paid as pension benefits. If the person had died, payment would go to the person determined under the applicable existing statute.
If an individual’s Member service becomes noncreditable by operation of subsection (a), that portion of such individual’s lump-sum credit which is attributable to such Member service (less any amount previously refunded or paid as annuity benefits) shall, on proper application, be payable to such individual or, if deceased, to the appropriate person determined under section 8342.
If an individual’s Member service becomes noncreditable by reason of subsection (a), that portion of such individual’s lump-sum credit which is attributable to such Member service (less any amount previously refunded or paid as annuity benefits) shall, on proper application, be payable to such individual or, if deceased, to the appropriate person determined under section 8424.
Both systems would protect pension payments properly made before the date of expulsion from repayment demands under these provisions. The text qualifies that date with “if any,” without specifying a corresponding resignation date.
An individual whose Member service is made noncreditable by reason of subsection (a) is not thereafter required to repay any part of an annuity under this subchapter otherwise properly paid to such individual before the date of the expulsion, if any.
An individual whose Member service is made noncreditable by reason of subsection (a) is not thereafter required to repay any part of an annuity under this chapter otherwise properly paid to such individual before the date of the expulsion, if any.
The FERS provision would also require forfeiture of all government contributions made under section 8432(c) during the affected person's congressional service, plus earnings on those contributions. This concerns the Thrift Savings Plan, a retirement-savings account, and would apply when either covered expulsion or resignation makes that service ineligible for pension credit.
(d) Forfeiture of government contributions to thrift savings plan If an individual’s Member service becomes noncreditable by reason of subsection (a), all contributions made by the Government for the benefit of that individual under section 8432(c) while that individual was performing Member service, and all earnings attributable to such contributions, shall be forfeited.
The relevant House or Senate ethics committee would have to preserve all documents and investigative materials concerning the violations or alleged violations covered by the resignation provisions.
The Committee on Ethics of the House of Representatives or the Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate, as the case may be, shall preserve all documents and investigative materials related to any violations or alleged violations described in subsection (a)(2).
A presidential pardon or reduction of a criminal sentence would not restore a pension forfeited under either proposed provision.
The issuance of a pardon or the commutation of any criminal sentence by the President with respect to an individual whose annuity was forfeited under this section shall not restore or otherwise provide such annuity to such individual.
The Office of Personnel Management would have to issue necessary implementing regulations. For FERS, those regulations would also address reducing or eliminating payments under section 8421 and similar payments supplementing an affected pension or survivor pension.
The Office of Personnel Management shall prescribe any regulations necessary to carry out the purposes of this section.
The Office of Personnel Management shall prescribe any regulations necessary to carry out the purposes of this section, including provisions for the reduction or elimination of any payment under section 8421 and any other similar payment under this chapter supplemental to any annuity or survivor annuity reduced or eliminated under subsection (a).
For the new FERS provision, congressional service would include the period between the beginning of the term for which a person was elected or appointed and the date that person takes office. The definition of who qualifies as a Member would come from existing statutory definitions.
For the purpose of this section, the term Member service means, in the case of an individual subject to this chapter, service performed by such individual as a Member (as defined by section 8331 or 8401), including the period from the date of the beginning of the term for which elected or appointed to the date on which he takes office as such a Member.
Section 3 would add references to the new government-contribution forfeiture provision in two existing statutory provisions, sections 8433(a) and 8437(d). Their surrounding text is not supplied, so the amendment's full operation cannot be explained from this bundle.
Sections 8433(a) and 8437(d) of title 5, United States Code, are amended by inserting or 8410a(d) after 8432(g).
Section 4 would apply the changes to an expulsion or specified ethics statement based at least partly on conduct occurring after enactment. This permits a qualifying action to involve both earlier and later conduct; the supplied text provides no calendar enactment date.
The amendments made by this Act shall apply with respect to any expulsion or any Statement of Alleged Violation adopted by the Committee on Ethics of the House of Representatives or the Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate which is based, in whole or in part, on any act committed or conduct engaged in after the date of the enactment of this Act.
The source snapshot updated September 5, 2026, records introduction in the House on September 3, 2026, and referral that day to the House Administration and Oversight and Government Reform committees for provisions within their respective jurisdictions.
Source snapshot updated 2026-09-05T12:58:28Z.
2026-09-03: Introduced in House
2026-09-03: Referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on 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 closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2026-09-03. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version; accompanying materials needed to assess formal earmark status are not supplied.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow preferential benefit or special exemption warranting a finding was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Sep 5, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI