§46g . Telephone, telegraph, and radiotelegraph allowances for House Members

Until otherwise provided by law, there shall be paid out of the contingent fund of the House of Representatives, in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Committee on House Administration, such amounts as may be necessary to pay-

(1) toll charges on strictly official long-distance telephone calls, and

(2) charges on strictly official telegrams, cablegrams, and radiograms,

made or sent by or on behalf of each Member of the House of Representatives (including the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico), other than the Speaker, the majority leader, the minority leader, the majority whip, and the minority whip, aggregating not to exceed seventy thousand units for each session of the House of Representatives, except that, if a Member or Resident Commissioner is elected for a portion of a term, the aggregate number of units to which he is entitled under this section for each portion of a session served by him which is less than a full session shall be a number which is the same percentage of seventy thousand as the number of days of his service in such session less than a full session is of the total number of days of the full session. Such units (including any units less than one hundred and forty thousand to the credit of a Member or Resident Commissioner at the close of the Eighty-ninth Congress) shall accumulate and be available for use by each such Member and Resident Commissioner, from session to session and from term to term (if sessions and terms are consecutive), until the aggregate number of such units to the credit of each such Member or Resident Commissioner at the close of each session is not more than one hundred and forty thousand units; but all units in excess of one hundred and forty thousand at such time shall be forfeited and unavailable for use by such Member or Resident Commissioner. For the purposes of this section-

(A) one minute of a long-distance telephone call shall be four units,

(B) one word of a telegram, cablegram, or radiogram shall be one unit, except that one word of a night letter shall be one-half unit,

(C) the word "session" means the period beginning at noon on January 3 of each calendar year and ending at noon on January 3 of the immediately following calendar year, and

(D) the word "term" means the period beginning at noon on January 3 of each odd-numbered calendar year and ending at noon on January 3 of the next succeeding odd-number calendar year.

(June 23, 1949, ch. 238, §2, 63 Stat. 265 ; May 29, 1951, ch. 117, §1, 65 Stat. 47 ; July 8, 1952, ch. 590, §1, 66 Stat. 443 ; Mar. 10, 1953, ch. 6, §1, 67 Stat. 5 ; Feb. 27, 1956, ch. 74, §2(a), (c), 70 Stat. 32 ; Sept. 4, 1957, Pub. L. 85–289, §1, 71 Stat. 614 ; Sept. 21, 1959, Pub. L. 86–340, §2, 73 Stat. 605 ; Dec. 30, 1963, Pub. L. 88–248, §103, 77 Stat. 817 ; Aug. 20, 1964, Pub. L. 88–454, §103, 78 Stat. 550 ; Aug. 21, 1965, Pub. L. 89–131, §1, 79 Stat. 544 ; Oct. 27, 1966, Pub. L. 89–697, ch. VI, 80 Stat. 1064 .)

Amendments

1966-The number of units authorized was increased to 70,000 for each session from prior authorization of 100,000 for each term, accumulation of units was permitted, and provisions were added to count one word of a night letter as one-half unit and to define "session" by House Resolution No. 901, June 29, 1966, which was enacted into permanent law by Pub. L. 89–697.

1965-Pub. L. 89–131 substituted "four units" for "five units" in cl. (1).

1964-Payment of charges for telephone calls, telegrams, cablegrams, and radiograms for an additional ten thousand units during a term was authorized by House Resolution No. 531, Oct. 2, 1963, which was enacted into permanent law by Pub. L. 88–454.

1963-Payment of charges for telephone calls, telegrams, cablegrams, and radiograms for an additional ten thousand units during a term was authorized by House Resolution No. 735, July 25, 1962, which was enacted into permanent law by Pub. L. 88–244.

1959-Pub. L. 86–340 designated first par. of existing provisions as subsec. (a) and changed six thousand minute telephone allowance and forty thousand word telegraph allowance for each Congress to an aggregate eighty thousand units telephone and telegraph allowance, added subsec. (b) and designated second par. of existing provisions as subsec. (c).

1957-Pub. L. 85–289 authorized payment for 6,000 minutes of long-distance telephone calls, 40,000 words in official telegrams, cablegrams, and radiograms, and 4,000 words in telegrams, cablegrams, and radiograms sent to or from a point outside the United States, and substituted definition of "term" for definition of "year".

1956-Act Feb. 27, 1956, authorized payment of 3,000 minutes of long-distance telephone calls made by Members each year, and charges on official telegrams, cablegrams and radiograms aggregating not more than 20,000 words per year, and limited the amount of telegrams, cablegrams and radiograms that may be sent to or from a point outside the United States, or its Territories or possessions.

1953-Act Mar. 10, 1953, removed monthly limitations on official telephone calls and telegrams of Members without affecting annual limitations, and defined "year".

1952-Act July 8, 1952, allowed Members to use accumulated minutes and words at any subsequent time during the Congress in which they accumulate.

1951-Act May 29, 1951, changed limitation from $500 per year to 150 minutes per month for telephone calls and 1000 words per month for telegrams.

Change of Name

Committee on House Administration of House of Representatives changed to Committee on House Oversight of House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 6, One Hundred Fourth Congress, Jan. 4, 1995.

Effective Date of 1965 Amendment

Section 2 of Pub. L. 89–131 provided that: "The amendment made by the first section of this Act [amending this section] shall take effect as of noon, January 3, 1965."

Effective Date of 1959 Amendment

Section 3 of Pub. L. 86–340 provided that: "The amendments made by the first two sections of this Act [amending this section and section 46f of this title] shall take effect as of noon, January 3, 1959."

Effective Date of 1957 Amendment

Section 2 of Pub. L. 85–289 provided that: "The amendment made by the first section of this Act [amending this section] shall take effect as of noon, January 3, 1957."

Effective Date of 1956 Amendment

Section 3 of act Feb. 27, 1956, provided that: "The amendments made by this Act [amending this section and section 46f of this title and repealing section 46f–1 of this title] shall take effect as of noon on January 3, 1956."

Effective Date of 1953 Amendment

Section 2 of act Mar. 10, 1953, provided that: "The amendment made by this Act to such Act of June 23, 1949, as amended [amending this section and section 46f of this title], shall take effect as of noon on January 3, 1953."

Effective Date of 1952 Amendment

Section 2 of act July 8, 1952, provided that: "The amendments made by this Act [amending this section] shall take effect as of July 1, 1951."

Effective Date of 1951 Amendment

Section 4 of act May 29, 1951, provided that: "The amendments made by this Act [amending this section and sections 46f and 46i of this title] shall take effect on July 1, 1951."

Cross References

Adjustment of allowances by Committee on House Administration, see section 57 of this title.

Member as used in this section includes a Representative in Congress, a Delegate, and the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico, see section 46i of this title.

Section Referred to in Other Sections

This section is referred to in sections 25b, 46i of this title.