The Honorable Lamar Smith, ChairmanThe Honorable John Conyers, Ranking MemberCommittee on the JudiciaryUnited States House of RepresentativesWashington, DC 20515
Dear Chairman Smith, Ranking Member Conyers,and Members of the Committee:
Onbehalf of the 362,000-member National Taxpayers Union (NTU), I write to offerpraise for the many pro-taxpayer aspects of H.R. 2572, the “Clean Up GovernmentAct of 2011,” which has been scheduled for full Committee markup on December 1.This legislation, introduced by Representative Sensenbrenner (R-WI) andRepresentative Quigley (D-IL), would help to reinforce laws that protecttaxpayers from suffering due to the criminal behavior of public officials. NTUurges you and your colleagues to give the Committee’s strong support for thebill.
AlthoughNTU proudly takes its place among many citizen groups on various points of theideological spectrum in support of honest, accountable government, H.R. 2572also has important connections to fiscal policy. Whether they involve hugegifts in consideration of contracts, padding payrolls with political allies, orconsuming public property for personal purposes, most corruption scandals aretied in some manner to tax dollars. Amid the massive expansion of government’spowers and resources over the past century, the opportunities to commitbreaches of the public trust (and the public purse) have increased dramaticallyas well.
While the best defense against such breachesbegins with the integrity of those serving, government (like any otherinstitution) must have systemic safeguards to encourage oversight and protectagainst bad actors. Toward such ends, H.R. 2572 would provide a welcome boostto federal anti-corruption statutes, by strengthening the definition of“official acts” covered by the law, increasing applicable prison terms, andclarifying and lengthening the statute of limitations on bribery, extortion,and “honest services fraud” cases.
Aside from the obvious effect of policing anddeterring acts from public officials that could harm taxpayers, the Clean UpGovernment Act carries with it another, more direct fiscal advantage. Owing tocitizens’ outrage over convicted former officeholders receiving largeretirement packages, elected leaders (including Members of Congress) have beenforced to enact reforms ensuring that taxpayers do not underwrite suchill-deserved compensation. Unfortunately, many of these laws (especially theone governing Congress) tend to be narrowly written, requiring a convictionfrom a strictly limited list of offenses to be applicable. Since public corruption cases are often “pleddown” in order to ensure at least some punishment is obtained, disgracedofficials are able to skate around pension-deprivation laws.
According to a recent NTU analysis, federallawmakers convicted of various crimes are currently drawing a combined pensionbenefit of more than $800,000 per year. H.R. 2572 would improve the future chancesthat Members of Congress and those serving in other elected posts are convictedof an offense that is commensurate to the full measure of their illegal act,thereby increasing the likelihood that taxpayers can be shielded fromsubsidizing their retirements. Its enactment would be an excellent complementto another piece of legislation NTU supports, the Congressional Integrity andPension Forfeiture Act (S. 1261/H.R. 2162).
For these reasons, passage of the Clean UpGovernment Act would be a helpful step not only for the overall cause of “goodgovernment” but also for the well-being of taxpayers. Accordingly, roll callvotes on H.R. 2572 will be significantly weighted in NTU’s annual Rating ofCongress. We look forward to the legislation’s swift passage.
Sincerely,
Pete SeppExecutive Vice President