Even Foley will keep his $32,000 pension

[SHRED]

This needs to be dealt with and dealt with as soon as the Dems take over Jan. 3rd.

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"The typical American is already angry that members of Congress get such generous pensions, two to three times more generous than what a similarly paid executive would get in the private sector," says Pete Sepp, Vice President of the Taxpayer's Union and one of the letter's authors. "Then they hear that lawmakers that have been convicted of serious crimes keep collecting the payments, well, they just blow through the roof."

LINK: http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/11/outcry_over_con.html

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It's damn shame this Kerry bill stalled in the Republican controlled Congress and now even Foley gets to keep his pension.

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Kerry bill to target legislators convicted of misconduct

By Rick Klein, Globe Staff | February 9, 2006

WASHINGTON -- Senator John F. Kerry said he plans to file a bill today that would strip government pensions from lawmakers who are convicted of official misconduct, adding a new element to congressional efforts to overhaul ethics and lobbying laws.
Article Tools

Kerry's bill would halt pensions for senators and House members who are found guilty of bribery, perjury, or conspiracy to defraud the government. Kerry is nicknaming the bill the ''Duke Cunningham Act," after the Republican House member from California who resigned his seat last year after pleading guilty to accepting bribes.

Cunningham is entitled to a pension of about $40,000 a year under current law, which denies pensions only to former lawmakers who are convicted of crimes against the United States, such as treason and espionage.

''It's disgusting that hard-working taxpayers fund the retirement of criminals like Duke Cunningham," said Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat. ''We have to restore the public trust in the country. People don't believe in Washington. They think it's broken."

LINK: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2006/02/09/kerry_bill_to_target_legislators_convicted_of_misconduct/

[blm]

1. Heh - look how much attention that bill gets. DC establishment doesn't want ANYTHING

to do with corruption matters and it reflects in the DC press corps who have endless days and hours to pontificate over a dropped pronoun in a joke, but can't find news stories in anti-corruption efforts.

This bill has GOT to be given a quick vote in January. It would set an EXCELLENT tone for the rest of the year.



“Duke Cunningham Act” protects Americans from paying for the culture of corruption in Washington

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Senator Ken Salazar (D-Colo.) introduced ethics reform legislation that takes direct aim at the culture of corruption in Washington by denying taxpayer-funded pension benefits to Members of Congress who break the public trust and are convicted of crimes such as bribery, conspiracy, or other serious ethics offenses.
Kerry said, “It is disgusting that hardworking taxpayers are funding the retirement of convicted criminals like Duke Cunningham. No wonder people look at Washington and know this city is broken. The American people are forced to send pension checks to criminals.”

The Congressional Pension Accountability Act – or “The Duke Cunningham Act” – was authored by Kerry and is co-sponsored by Senator Ken Salazar.

Under current law, only a conviction for a crime against the United States, such as treason or espionage, causes U.S. Representatives and Senators to lose their Congressional pensions. Members of Congress convicted of white collar crimes still receive these federal retirement benefits. The Kerry legislation will change existing law to insure that the Congress no longer rewards unethical behavior at the expense of American taxpayers.

It is the intent of the Kerry bill to stop all future payments of Congressional pensions to lawmakers convicted of these serious ethics crimes. “The only thing crazier than giving a member of Congress convicted of a crime a federal pension is the fact that we still need a bill to prevent a convict from receiving their pension. Any member of Congress who abuses their position of authority for their personal profit deserves a prison sentence, not a government pension,” said Senator Salazar.

In the largest bribery case in the Congress since the 1980s, former Congressman Randy “Duke” Cunningham recently resigned from the House of Representatives after pleading guilty in federal court to receiving $2.4 million in bribes from military contractors and evading more than $1 million in taxes. In a plea agreement, Cunningham admitted a pattern of bribery lasting close to five years, with federal contractors giving him Persian rugs, a Rolls-Royce, antique furniture, travel and hotel expenses, use of a yacht and a lavish graduation party for his daughter. Unless the law is changed, Cunningham will be allowed to receive his Congressional pension of approximately $40,000 per year.

Under Kerry’s bill, the following offenses would cause a Member of Congress to lose his or her Congressional pension: - Bribery of public officials and witnesses (Section 201 of Title 18);

- Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud the United States (Section 371 of Title 18); - Perjury committed under the statues of the United States or the District of Columbia in falsely denying the commission of bribery or conspiracy; and - Subordination of perjury committed in connection with the false denial or false testimony of another individual.

“Most Americans don’t get a $40,000 a year pension, in fact most Americans are working harder for less and less. These guys who abuse the public trust shouldn’t be allowed to continue to exploit the system at taxpayer expense,” Kerry added.

# # #

[PVnRT]

2. Hmmm. Why isn't the AFA up in arms

about a sex offender getting a pension from our tax dollars?

[xultar]

3. OK. Should being a perv keep you from your pension? Foley hasn't

been accused anything illegal...yet.

Being guilty of a crime maybe. But Foley though disgusting isn't guilty of a crime...yet.

[sallyseven]

4. These people contribute to their pensions.

I think Kerry is wrong about this. I have a fed pension and I would not want anyone to take mine away. I contributed to it for 20 years. Remember it would be in the eyes of the beholder. They could take away pensions from fed employees who participate in DU. Don't think that that is a streach? Witness Newtie.