§6311 — Title 2 The Congress | U.S. Code

Summary

A Senator-elect who is not already a Senator and who was not elected to fill a vacancy may ask the Secretary of the Senate to hire two staff members to help before the Senator-elect begins service. Those employees work until the day before the Senator’s service starts, unless the Senator-elect asks to end their jobs sooner. Their pay comes from the "Administrative, Clerical, and Legislative Assistance to Senators" appropriation and is charged against the new Senator’s clerk-hire allowance for the fiscal year his service begins. Each month, beginning with the month the Senator starts, the amount charged is whichever is larger: one-ninth of the salaries paid, or the extra clerk-hire money available as of the end of that month over what has already been paid. Each Senator-elect and each of those employees may take one round trip between the Senator-elect’s home State and Washington, D.C., for official meetings and business, and each may get per diem for up to seven days while traveling and in Washington. Travel and per diem are paid from the Senate’s contingent fund after the Senator-elect certifies the bills and the Secretary approves them, and the payment levels match those for Senators and their staff. A Senator-elect may also be reimbursed for telegrams, phone service, and stationery up to one-twelfth of the total amount normally allowed for a Senator under section 6314; those payments come from the contingent fund on approved vouchers and are charged back against the Senator’s future allowances over twelve months. This took effect on October 1, 1978.

Title 2, §6311

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(a)Upon the recommendation of a Senator-elect (other than an incumbent Senator or a Senator elected to fill a vacancy), the Secretary of the Senate shall appoint two employees to assist such Senator-elect. Any employee so appointed shall serve through the day before the date on which the Senator-elect recommending his appointment commences his service as a Senator, except that his employment may be terminated before such day upon recommendation of such Senator-elect.

(b)(1)Salaries of employees appointed under subsection (a) shall be paid from the appropriation for “Administrative, Clerical, and Legislative Assistance to Senators”.

(2)Salaries paid to employees appointed upon recommendation of a Senator-elect under subsection (a) shall be charged against the amount of compensation which may be paid to employees in his office under section 4575(d) of this title (hereinafter referred to as the “clerk-hire allowance”), for the fiscal year in which his service as a Senator commences. The total amount of salaries paid to employees so appointed upon recommendation of a Senator-elect shall be charged against his clerk-hire allowance for each month in such fiscal year beginning with the month in which his service as a Senator commences (until the total amount has been charged) by whichever of the following amounts is greater: (1) one-ninth of the amount of salaries so paid, or (2) the amount by which the aggregate amount of his clerk-hire allowance which may be paid as of the close of such month under section 4575(d)(1)(B) of this title exceeds the aggregate amount of his clerk-hire allowance actually paid as of the close of such month.

(c)Each Senator-elect and each employee appointed under subsection (a) is authorized one round trip from the home State of the Senator-elect to Washington, D.C., and return, for the purposes of attending conferences, caucuses, or organizational meetings, or for any other official business connected with the impending Congress. In addition, each Senator-elect and each such employee is authorized per diem for not more than seven days while en route to and from Washington, D.C., and while in Washington, D.C. Such transportation and per diem expenses shall be in the same amounts as are payable to Senators and employees in the office of a Senator under section 6314(e) of this title, and shall be paid from the contingent fund of the Senate upon itemized vouchers certified by the Senator-elect concerned and approved by the Secretary of the Senate.

(d)(1)Each Senator-elect is authorized to be reimbursed for expenses incurred for telegrams, telephone services, and stationery related to his position as a Senator-elect in an amount not exceeding one-twelfth of the total amount of expenses authorized to be paid to or on behalf of a Senator from the State which he will represent under section 6314 of this title. Reimbursement to a Senator-elect under this subsection shall be paid from the contingent fund of the Senate upon itemized vouchers certified by such Senator-elect and approved by the Secretary of the Senate.

(2)Amounts reimbursed to a Senator-elect under this subsection shall be charged against the amount of expenses which are authorized to be paid to him or on his behalf under section 6314 of this title, for each of the twelve months beginning with the month in which his service as a Senator commences (until all of such amounts have been charged) by whichever of the following amounts is greater: (1) one-twelfth of the amounts so reimbursed, or (2) the amount by which the aggregate amount authorized to be so paid under section 6314(c) of this title as of the close of such month exceeds the aggregate amount actually paid under such section 6314 as of the close of such month.

(e)This section shall take effect on October 1, 1978.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Section was formerly classified to section 43d of this title prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.

Amendments

1996—Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 104–197 substituted “, telephone services, and stationery” for “and telephone services”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Senators’ Official Personnel and Office Expense AccountReferences in any law, rule, regulation, or order to Senate appropriation account for Administrative, Clerical, and Legislative Assistance Allowance to Senators deemed references to the “Senators’ Official Personnel and Office Expense Account”, see section 6313(2) of this title.

§6311 Organizational Expenses of Senator-elect