H.R. 9418 – 27th Amendment Enforcement Act

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Updated February 8, 2026 at 6:34 PM UTC

The 27th Amendment Enforcement Act changes the law so that members of Congress receive the cost‑of‑living adjustments to their salaries that were previously blocked. It argues those blocks violated the 27th Amendment, which says pay changes can’t take effect until after the next election. The bill tells the House and Senate officials to calculate and publish the corrected pay rates within 60 days of the law’s passage.

Key Provisions

Amends the Legislative Reorganization Act to add a new rule that the annual pay rate for members of Congress should be the amount it would have been if no prior laws had prohibited cost‑of‑living adjustments.
Requires the House Chief Administrative Officer and the Senate Secretary to determine and publish the updated annual pay rates, and the date they take effect, within 60 days after the act is enacted.

Legislative Activity

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HouseIntro Referral Latest Action

Referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and 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.

Committee on House Administration

December 2, 2022

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HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

December 2, 2022

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and 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.

Committee on House Administration

December 2, 2022

Bill Text

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Introduced in HouseIssued December 2, 2022

I

117th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. R. 9418

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

December 2, 2022

Mr. Perlmutter introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and 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 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.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the 27th Amendment Enforcement Act.

2.

Findings; sense of Congress

(a)

Findings

Congress finds the following:

(1)

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.

(2)

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.

(3)

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.

(4)

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.

(b)

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.

3.

Restoring cost-of-living adjustments in rates of pay of Members of Congress

(a)

Restoration

Section 601(a) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (2 U.S.C. 4501) is amended—

(1)

in paragraph (1), by striking as adjusted by paragraph (2) and inserting as adjusted by paragraphs (2) and (3); and

(2)

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).

.

(b)

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).