WASHINGTON DC – Today, U.S. Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Rick Scott (R-FL) announced that their bipartisan bill to punish corrupt politicians and protect taxpayer dollars has passed the House of Representatives and now heads to the President to be signed into law. The No Congressionally Obligated Recurring Revenue Used As Pensions to Incarcerated Officials Now (No CORRUPTION) Act, which Senators Rosen and Scott introduced, and the Senate passed last year, will prevent Members of Congress from collecting taxpayer-funded pensions if they are convicted of a felony related to public corruption, even if they continue to drag out the appeals process.
Current law requires former members of Congress convicted of a felony to forfeit their pensions only after exhausting their appeals, which allows convicted former members to drag the appeals process on for years while continuing to collect their taxpayer-funded pensions. The No CORRUPTION Act amends the law to close that loophole so former members of Congress lose their pensions immediately following a conviction of certain felonies related to their official duties.
“For too long, corrupt Washington politicians have been exploiting a loophole in the system to continue to collect taxpayer-funded pensions even after they have been convicted of felonies,” dijo el Senador Rosen. “I’m proud to see that my bipartisan legislation with Senator Scott to protect taxpayers’ money by closing this loophole has passed the House of Representatives, and it’s on its way to be signed into law. I’ll keep working across party lines to find commonsense solutions to protect Nevadans’ hard-earned dollars.”
“If you are a Member of Congress and convicted of a crime involving public corruption you should lose all pension benefits provided to you by taxpayers and hardworking families—period,” said Senator Scott. “Making Washington work for American families requires real reforms that end the current dysfunction. I’m proud to see our bipartisan, commonsense legislation pass the Senate and the House and head to the president’s desk to become law. We must never stop working to hold elected officials accountable and protect taxpayers’ hard-earned money.”
Senator Rosen has been leading the fight to clean up Washington. Following the Supreme Court decision that Presidents are immune from prosecution for “official” actions, Senator Rosen joined her colleagues in introducing a constitutional amendment to make it clear that no one, including the President, is above the law in the United States. She has cosponsored legislation to increase ethics and transparency for Supreme Court justices and their staff. Senator Rosen also helped pass a bipartisan bill out of committee to ban members of Congress from owning and trading individual stocks.
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