The Honorable Jacky Rosen
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Rick Scott
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Senators Rosen and Scott:
On behalf of National Taxpayers Union (NTU), the nation’s oldest taxpayer advocacy organization, I write to express our strong support for your legislation, S. 693, the No Congressionally-Obligated Recurring Revenue Used as Pensions To Incarcerated Officials Now (No CORRUPTION) Act. This commonsense bipartisan legislation closes a loophole in federal law that permits former members of Congress convicted of a crime to still collect a taxpayer-funded pension. We are proud to endorse S. 693 and urge all Senators to cosponsor this important legislation.
As it stands, former members of Congress who are convicted of a crime are still entitled to collect a taxpayer-funded pension up until their day of sentencing. This means that even after a lawful conviction for corruption, members can go on to receive their pensions for years, even while in prison, by filing one appeal after another. According to our calculations, since 2017, two former members of Congress have used this loophole to collect almost $500,000 while awaiting their sentencing - despite a lawful conviction. Those who betray the public trust by furthering their own interests should not be rewarded precious taxpayer dollars that would be better spent elsewhere.
Thankfully, the NO CORRUPTION Act would finally close this loophole. It would update the law to immediately halt any federal pension payment to a member of Congress following a lawful conviction. If a member’s appeal is successful in overturning all of the conviction counts, pension payments would be restored and any forfeited amounts would be retroactively paid out. Absent reform, the appeals loophole encourages members to pursue legal filings from jail so that they can continue to collect generous public payments. The No CORRUPTION Act ensures that this does not happen going forward, while protecting legal rights of any member whose conviction is subsequently overturned.
Enacting this legislation will send a clear message that no individual, regardless of their position of power, is above the law and immune from the financial consequences of their actions. NTU strongly supports this proposal to ensure taxpayer dollars are used in a more responsible manner and looks forward to working with you to enact this important fix into law.
Sincerely,
Thomas Aiello
Director of Federal Affairs