Constitution

Article I, Section 6: Pay, Privileges and the Speech or Debate Clause

Section 6 sets members' pay by law, protects their speech in Congress and travel to sessions, and bars them from holding other federal offices at the same time.

4Conservative Editors · Published November 8, 2026

The text

The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.

No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.

In plain English

Clause 1, part one: pay. Members of Congress are paid from the federal Treasury in amounts set by law. Under the Articles of Confederation, delegates were paid by their states; the Constitution made members independent of state governments. The 27th Amendment, ratified in 1992, adds that a pay change cannot take effect until after the next House election.

Clause 1, part two: the arrest privilege. Members cannot be arrested while attending Congress or traveling to and from it, except for "Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace." Because those exceptions cover all crimes, the privilege applies today only to civil arrests, which have largely disappeared.

Clause 1, part three: the Speech or Debate Clause. For "any Speech or Debate in either House," a member "shall not be questioned in any other Place." Members cannot be sued or prosecuted for their legislative acts: speeches, votes, committee reports and the like.

Clause 2, part one: the Ineligibility (Emoluments) Clause. A member may not be appointed to a federal civil office that was created, or whose pay was increased, during the member's current term.

Clause 2, part two: the Incompatibility Clause. No one holding a federal office may serve in Congress at the same time. A member appointed to the Cabinet must resign the seat. This rule is why the United States never developed a parliamentary system in which ministers sit in the legislature.

What the Founders said

The Speech or Debate Clause descends from the English Bill of Rights of 1689, which declared that freedom of speech and debates in Parliament ought not to be impeached or questioned in any court or place out of Parliament. Stuart kings had prosecuted members for what they said in the Commons, and the clause was written against that memory.

The Ineligibility Clause was aimed at a different danger: the corruption of the legislature by the executive. The Framers knew that British ministers controlled Parliament in part by handing out offices and pensions to its members. At the Convention, delegates debated how strict the rule should be; the final version bars appointment to offices created or made more lucrative during the member's term. Hamilton discussed the clause in Federalist No. 76 as a guard against executive influence over the legislature.

How the courts have read it

  • Williamson v. United States (1908): "Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace" covers all criminal offenses, so the arrest privilege applies only in civil cases.
  • United States v. Johnson (1966): prosecutors could not use a congressman's floor speech, or his motives for making it, as evidence of a conspiracy.
  • Gravel v. United States (1972): the privilege extends to aides performing legislative work, but not to private republication of materials, here the Pentagon Papers.
  • United States v. Brewster (1972): taking a bribe is not a legislative act; a member may be prosecuted for accepting money in exchange for a vote, so long as the vote itself is not put in evidence.
  • Hutchinson v. Proxmire (1979): newsletters and press releases are not protected; Senator Proxmire could be sued for defamation over his "Golden Fleece" award announcements.

Why it matters now

The Speech or Debate Clause protects the legislative process, not the legislator. It ensures that the executive, which controls prosecutions, cannot punish members for how they vote or what they say on the floor. That protection matters most when the prosecutor and the member belong to opposing parties. It does not cover bribery, campaign work, or what a member says on cable news.

The Incompatibility Clause is a quiet pillar of the separation of powers. Members of Congress cannot simultaneously serve in the executive branch, which keeps the branches from merging through personnel. Congress has, however, found other ways to blur the lines, including delegating lawmaking to agencies whose officials it cannot remove.

Finally, the pay clause is a reminder that members answer to the voters who elect them and the laws they pass, not to their own convenience. The 27th Amendment completed the thought two centuries later.

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