To: Members of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform
From: Thomas Aiello, Director of Federal Affairs, National Taxpayers Union
Andrew Lautz, Director of Federal Policy, National Taxpayers Union
Re: NTU’s Views on May 25, 2021 Committee Markup
On behalf of the National Taxpayers Union (NTU), the nation’s oldest taxpayer advocacy organization, I write to express our views on several measures slated for consideration before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform on May 25, 2021. NTU applauds the Committee for your continued efforts to advance legislation that improves government efficiency and spends taxpayer dollars more effectively. For these reasons, as well as reasons described below, NTU strongly urges Committee members to support H.R. 3327. We also urge Committee members to work in a bipartisan and bicameral manner to improve and enhance legal protections for Inspectors General (IG), who safeguard taxpayer dollars from waste, fraud, abuse, and misuse. For that reason we applaud the Committee’s work on H.R. 2662, the IG Independence and Empowerment Act.
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H.R. 3327, No Congressionally-Obligated Recurring Revenue Used as Pensions To Incarcerated Officials Now (No CORRUPTION) Act. This bipartisan legislation introduced by Reps. Ralph Norman (R-SC), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), and Ro Khanna (D-CA) would close a loophole that permits members of Congress convicted of a crime to still collect a taxpayer-funded pension. Currently under federal law, members of Congress who are convicted of a crime are entitled to collect a taxpayer-funded pension up until their day of sentencing. This means that after a lawful conviction for corruption, members can go on to receive their taxpayer-funded pensions for years, even while in prison, by filing one appeal after another.
Thankfully, H.R. 3327 would 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 the conviction is overturned on appeal, the member would continue to receive their pension as normal and would also be eligible to receive any retroactive payments for which they would have been eligible. Enacting this legislation will send a clear message that no individual, regardless of their position of power, is above the law and immune from consequences.
NTU strongly supports H.R. 3327.
H.R. 2662, the Inspector General Independence and Empowerment Act. This legislation, introduced by Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Committee Vice Chair Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), and Reps. Gerald Connolly (D-VA), Stephen Lynch (D-MA), Katie Porter (D-CA), and Ted Lieu (D-CA), includes several best-practice improvements to the legal protections in place for federal inspectors general (IGs). These non-partisan watchdogs play a critical role ensuring the nation’s public officials spend taxpayer dollars wisely and act with integrity. Unfortunately, their legal protections from political interference have not kept pace with the scale of challenges facing IGs -- and indeed, all of government -- in the 21st century. While some provisions of this legislation, such as for-cause removal protections for IGs, are the subject of considerable debate among lawmakers, several other provisions in this legislation can and should earn bipartisan, bicameral support in an expeditious manner. We applaud the sponsoring and cosponsoring lawmakers for introducing this legislation, and urge Democrats and Republicans to work together on IG legislation that Congress can send to President Biden’s desk this year.
NTU appreciates the Committee’s consideration of our views on these important issues and we stand ready to work with you on ways to improve government efficiency and protect precious taxpayer dollars.