Congress moves to penalize former lawmakers who lobby
H.R. 9563 — No Cashing In Act · Filed by Chris Pappas (D-NH) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Jun 30, 2026 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
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What it does
This bill requires former Members of Congress to file annual financial disclosure reports for ten years after leaving office (or longer if they receive a congressional pension). It also reduces their federal pension by any income they earned in the prior year from lobbying for companies that employ more than three lobbyists or spend over $10,000 annually on lobbying.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is disclosure and financial disincentive for post-congressional lobbying. It is a straightforward ethics/accountability measure with no hidden riders or misdirection.
What the text implies
- Pension reduction may incentivize former Members to lobby through intermediaries or consulting firms not classified as 'substantial lobbying entities' to avoid the penalty.
- The ten-year disclosure window creates a long tail of public financial scrutiny that may deter some qualified candidates from seeking office if concerned about post-service privacy.
- Disclosure reports may reveal patterns of industry-specific post-congressional employment that could inform future campaign finance or lobbying reform efforts.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill strengthens democratic accountability by making former Members' financial activities transparent and creates a financial penalty for post-congressional lobbying, reducing the revolving-door incentive that can undermine legislative independence. Citizens benefit from clearer visibility into potential conflicts of interest and financial motivations of former lawmakers.
Named in the bill
Members of Congress, Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, Title 5 United States Code (federal employee pension chapters 83 and 84), House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Republicans.
- Jun 30, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jun 30, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and House Committee on House Administration · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and…”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,248 characters) on Aug 12, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
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