# Plain Language Summary: Public Service Integrity Act

This bill makes it harder for former members of Congress and their staff to become lobbyists immediately after leaving office. Right now, there are "cooling-off periods" that prevent people from lobbying Congress right after they work there, but those periods are pretty short and vary depending on the job. This bill extends and standardizes those waiting periods to create a more uniform rule across the board.

Here's what changes: Former senators and representatives would have to wait five years instead of two years before they can lobby Congress on behalf of clients. Former officers and staff members of Congress would have to wait two years instead of one year. The bill also lowers the income threshold that determines who these rules apply to—instead of only applying to higher-paid staff members, it would now apply to anyone making at least 50 percent of the basic pay rate for their position, rather than 75 percent. This means more congressional staff would be covered by these restrictions.

The practical effect is that people who leave Congress or work there would have a longer period where they can't immediately turn around and lobby their former colleagues on behalf of paying clients. The idea behind this is to reduce the appearance that Congress members and staff are making decisions based on the promise of lucrative lobbying jobs waiting for them after they leave office. Someone who spent years working on healthcare policy in Congress, for example, would have to wait five years (if they were a representative) before they could lobby Congress on behalf of a pharmaceutical company. During that waiting period, they could still work in other fields or do other types of work—they just couldn't be a registered lobbyist trying to influence Congress.

Public Service Integrity Act

Posey, Bill

Public Service Integrity Act This bill increases to five years the post-employment lobbying ban on a former Member of the Senate (currently, two years) or a former Member of the House of Representatives (currently, one year). Additionally, the bill increases from one year to two years the post-employment lobbying restrictions on officers and employees of the legislative branch. It also lowers the income threshold at which the restrictions become applicable for such officers and employees.