US senators introduce a bipartisan bill to bar pensions for convicted congress members News
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US senators introduce a bipartisan bill to bar pensions for convicted congress members

US Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Rick Scott (R-FL) Wednesday introduced new legislation that would bar Congress members from collecting pensions funded through taxes if they receive a felony conviction tied to their position as a congressperson.

Rosen and Scott introduced the bipartisan No Congressionally-Obligated Recurring Revenue Used As Pensions To Incarcerated Officials Now (NO CORRUPTION) Act. Under the proposed legislation, if a member of Congress is convicted of a felony related to their position, that member or former member of Congress will lose their pension immediately after the conviction. The bill would also ensure that members of Congress whose convictions are pardoned by the US President will not receive their pension absent a court order that overturns the conviction.

Scott stated that the bill is to prevent members of Congress who are convicted of felonies involving corruption from benefiting “off the taxpayer dollars of hardworking families” by preventing them from getting their taxpayer-funded retirement benefits.

In response to the bill’s introduction, Rosen stated:

No member of Congress who’s convicted of a felony related to their time in office should receive a pension from American taxpayers. Our bipartisan bill will safeguard taxpayer dollars by closing a loophole that allows corrupt officials to continue collecting government pensions. It’s past time that corrupt members of Congress are held accountable.

The bill’s introduction comes after an investigation into New York Representative George Santos after “embellishing” his resume and his alleged role in a fundraising scheme for the dying service dog of a disabled Navy veteran.