WASHINGTON, D.C. – In case you missed it, Senator Rick Scott and Demian Brady, Vice President of Research at the National Taxpayers Union Foundation, wrote an op-ed for the Sun Sentinel reiterating the senator’s call for Congress to pass his No Congressionally Obligated Recurring Revenue Used As Pensions To Incarcerated Officials Now (No CORRUPTION) Act. Earlier this year, the bipartisan legislation unanimously passed the Senate and headed to the House of Representatives for consideration. The NO CORRUPTION Act would bar Members of Congress from collecting taxpayer-funded pensions if they are convicted of felonies related to their official duties and prevent them from continuing to receive these taxpayer dollars post-conviction by dragging out the appeals process.

In the op-ed, Senator Rick Scott and Demian Brady, Vice President of Research at the National Taxpayers Union Foundation, wrote, “Those who serve in Congress should be held to the highest standards, reflecting the immense responsibility entrusted to our public servants. But while Americans would rightly hope that the consequences of violating this trust would be severe, thanks to a loophole in the law, some former members of Congress convicted of corruption and fraud continue to benefit from taxpayer-funded pensions.

This is why the No Congressionally Obligated Recurring Revenue Used As Pensions To Incarcerated Officials Now (No CORRUPTION) Act is a vital ethical reform. The bipartisan No CORRUPTION Act would close a major loophole in federal law that allows convicted politicians to continue collecting federal pensions.

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In 2007, Congress passed the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA) after controversy involving more than a dozen former lawmakers convicted of serious criminal charges who were still eligible for taxpayer-funded pensions worth a combined total of nearly $800,000.

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Under those laws, however, former members of Congress convicted of a felony forfeit their pensions only upon final conviction, which means only after exhausting their appeals.

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Since passage of HLOGA and the STOCK Act, no members of Congress have been confirmed to have forfeited their pensions.

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The most recent member to find himself in legal trouble is Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), who was indicted for corruption in September. A follow-up indictment in October for operating as a foreign agent adds to the charges that could strip his estimated $70,100 congressional pension.

Laws cannot make retroactive changes to congressional perks, but going forward, the No CORRUPTION Act would cut off pension-eligibility upon initial conviction. This could finally end taxpayer payments to corrupt politicians. The bill would also ensure that convicted former members of Congress who receive a presidential pardon would not get their pensions unless a court overturns their convictions.

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Making Washington work for American families requires real reforms that end the current dysfunction, which is why it is an encouraging achievement that every member of the Senate joined together unanimously to pass this commonsense legislation…”

Read the op-ed in the Sun Sentinel HERE.

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