The Bill Would Safeguard Taxpayer Dollars By Stripping Pensions From Members Of Congress Convicted Of Felonies

WASHINGTON, DC – Senators Rick Scott and Jacky Rosen announced their bipartisan No Congressionally Obligated Recurring Revenue Used As Pensions To Incarcerated Officials Now (No CORRUPTION) Act unanimously passed the Senate, and will now head to the House of Representatives for consideration. The bipartisan legislation 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.

Senator Rick Scott said, “If you’re a Member of Congress and are convicted of a crime involving public corruption you should lose all pension benefits provided to you by taxpayers and hardworking families—period. Making Washington work for American families requires real reforms that end the current dysfunction. I’m proud to see our bipartisan, commonsense legislation pass the Senate and urge the House to take up and pass this bill quickly. We can never stop working to hold elected officials accountable and protect taxpayers’ hard-earned money.”

Senator Jacky Rosen said, “Nevadans sent me to the Senate to fight for them, stand up to business-as-usual politics, and protect their hard-earned dollars from abuse. For too long, loopholes have made it possible for corrupt Washington politicians convicted of felonies to continue collecting taxpayer-funded pensions – that’s unacceptable. It’s why I worked across the aisle to find a commonsense solution to prohibit these corrupt officials from receiving a pension, and I’m glad to see it’s one step closer to becoming law.”

Demian Brady, Vice President of Research at the National Taxpayers Union Foundation, said, "The reform in Senators Jacky Rosen's and Rick Scott's No CORRUPTION Act is a win for taxpayers. The commonsense bipartisan legislation closes a loophole in federal law that allows former members of Congress convicted of a crime to still collect a taxpayer-funded pension. We commend Senators Rosen and Scott for their leadership on this good government bill."

Current law requires former Members of Congress convicted of a felony to forfeit their pensions only after exhausting their appeals, which allows convicted former members to file one appeal after another for years while collecting their taxpayer-funded pensions. The No CORRUPTION Act would amend the law to close that loophole so former members of Congress lose their pensions immediately following a lawful conviction of certain felonies related to their official duties.

Additionally, earlier this year, Senators Scott and Rosen helped introduce the bipartisan No Budget, No Pay Act, which prohibits lawmakers from getting paid if Congress fails to pass government funding legislation in time for the new Fiscal Year. This legislation would also ensure that no Member of Congress continues to receive a paycheck while millions of Americans cannot during a government shutdown.

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