The Honorable Claudia Tenney
U.S. House of Representatives
512 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Congresswoman Tenney,
On behalf of National Taxpayers Union (NTU) and our members across the country, I am pleased to offer our endorsement of your legislation, H.R. 4314, the “No Pensions for Corrupt Politicians Act of 2017.” This commonsense bipartisan legislation ends a loophole which permits former members of Congress to collect a taxpayer-funded pension despite being convicted of corruption.
Current law requires former members to be stripped of their pension only after all their appeals have been exhausted. Through this interpretation of the law, convicted Members of Congress could continue to receive their pension for years, even while in prison, as long as they are able to issue appeals of their cases. In effect, the current law is toothless.
Specifically, this legislation would change existing law to clarify that a pension is forfeited as soon as a sentence is imposed after conviction. Officials who have abused the public’s trust should not be rewarded precious taxpayer dollars that would be better spent elsewhere. Enacting this legislation will send a clear message to the country that no individual, regardless of their position of power, is above the law and immune from consequences.
NTU strongly supports this proposal to ensure taxpayer dollars are used in a more responsible manner. I urge all of your colleagues to cosponsor your legislation.
Sincerely,
Thomas Aiello
Policy and Government Affairs Associate