House Votes on Legislation to Strip Felony Lawmakers of Benefits

There is a piece of legislation working its way through Congress right now that has my attention.

The legislation is to prevent lawmakers convicted of a felony from being able to keep their pensions.

The law was written to hold them accountable for having committed felonies directly related to their duties as a lawmaker.

Hold That Money

The No Corruption Act, introduced by Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Rick Scott (R-FL), would halt any payments to lawmakers as soon as a guilty verdict is reached.

If they were to appeal their case and win, their benefits would be restored.

If a president pardons them, their benefits would still be suspended. The legislation is clear that the only way the benefits are restored is with the verdict being overturned by the courts once a guilty verdict is issued in the case.

Now, the caveat here is that they have to use their office to commit their felonies, such as what was done with Senator Robert Menendez (D-N.J.).

Donald Trump, even though he is a convicted felon, would not be impacted by this because his crimes were committed outside of his office.

Rosen commented, “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.

“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.”

Senator Scott added, “We must never stop working to hold elected officials accountable and protect taxpayers’ hard-earned money.”

I am all for this law. It would not come into play much, but any lawmaker who has used their office for illegal activity should 100% be banned from collecting benefits.