Submitted by Demian Brady
Despite multiple major reform efforts over the years, no member of Congress has ever been confirmed to have lost their taxpayer-funded pension after being convicted of a serious crime. But taxpayers tired of seeing their tax dollars go to corrupt politicians got some great news this summer: the Senate unanimously passed Senators Jacky Rosen’s (D-NV) and Rick Scott’s (R-FL) No CORRUPTION Act.
The bipartisan reform closes a major loophole in federal law allowing convicted politicians to continue collecting federal pensions, and could be the first law that would actually see a politician suffer the loss of their congressional pension for their crimes.
Members of Congress who serve for at least five years in office become eligible for a generous pension. It may come as no surprise but the value of this benefit can be two or three times higher than pensions available to employees in the private sector with similar salaries.
But when it comes to congressional felons, it sounds elementary: taxpayers should not have to fund pension payouts to elected officials who violate the public trust. I’ve followed this issue for decades in Washington, and to date, not a single member of Congress has lost their pension.
In 2007, Congress passed the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA) of 2007 in order to try to fix this problem. Before passage of that reform, there were 16 members convicted of serious criminal charges who were still eligible for pensions totaling roughly $800,000.
Under HLOGA, lawmakers who are convicted of certain crimes are supposed to lose eligibility for their congressional pension. A follow-up law, the Stop Trading on Insider Knowledge Act (STOCK) of 2012, added to the list of crimes that would lead to the loss of this congressional perk.
Unfortunately, under these laws, the pension is not actually forfeited until a member is “finally convicted” after all opportunities for appeal expire. This loophole means that payments can continue for several years while the legal appeals process runs its course. In addition, pensions paid out during this prolonged process would not be clawed back even after final conviction.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which oversees federal retirement benefit programs, confirmed that former Representative Chaka Fattah (D-PA) continued receiving his pension even though he was convicted and sentenced to ten years in federal prison in 2017 because he had not exhausted his appeals. His crimes included racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud, mail fraud, mortgage fraud, and falsification of records.
Fattah is still serving his sentence through August 1, 2024, although he was released from federal prison in July 2020 and the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) will not clarify whether Fattah is under home confinement or at a halfway house. Fattah remained eligible for his pension at least through his appeals process. Based on his years in office, Fattah was eligible for a pension worth $55,000 plus annual cost-of-living adjustments.
To put an end to situations like that going forward, Sens. Rosen and Scott’s No CORRUPTION Act would cut off pension benefits once a member has been convicted. This would prevent any more jailhouse payments. The legislation also includes an important legal protection: If a member’s appeal is subsequently successful, their pension amount would be fully paid out retroactively. The No CORRUPTION Act balances taxpayers’ interest with the constitutional rights of the accused.
Cutting off perks to congressional felons should be a no brainer. It is essential for lawmakers to remember their responsibility to protect the public’s trust and to ensure that taxpayer dollars are used wisely and fairly. The No CORRUPTION Act represents a significant step towards achieving this goal.
Demian Brady is the Vice President of Research with the National Taxpayers Union Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to fiscal research and education at all levels of government.
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