Reading Room Document

Qualification of Members of Congress for Certain Appointments Under the Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973

In this memo, the OLC examined the applicability of Article I, section 6, clause 2 of the Constitution––the Ineligibility Clause––to potential appointments of members of Congress to various positions in the United States Railway Association and the Consolidated Railway Corporation, each created under the Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973. The OLC concluded that Ineligibility Clause prohibitions on members of Congress holding “offices” of the United States precluded appointments to the association’s chairman and president positions, but not board member positions. The OLC determined that although the association is an agency or instrumentality of the United States, only the chairman or president positions would constitute “offices.” The corporation, in contrast, was not an agency or instrumentality, and the Ineligibility Clause would not apply.

January 22, 1974