NTU urges all Representatives to vote "YES" on S. 932, the No CORRUPTION Act and S. 4716, the Financial Management Risk Reduction Act. NTU has long supported the No CORRUPTION Act and the Financial Management Risk Reduction Act was recently featured on NTU’s 2024 No Brainers List.
No CORRUPTION Act - S. 932 / H.R. 5725 - This legislation by Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Rick Scott (R-FL) and Reps. Ralph Norman (R-SC) and August Pfluger (R-TX) closes a loophole that permits members of Congress convicted of a crime to continue collecting a taxpayer-funded pension.
Two earlier laws - the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 and the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012 - require forfeiture of a congressional pension for several listed corruption-related crimes. However, because the pension is not stripped until all opportunities for appeal have expired, some convicted members have continued to receive their pensions for years, even while in prison, by filing one appeal after another. In a review of recent convictions and sentencing published a year ago, NTUF was unable to identify any convicted ex-members of Congress who have actually lost their pensions.
If enacted, the No CORRUPTION Act would update the law to immediately halt any federal pension payment to a member of Congress following a lawful conviction. It also provides a constitutional protection to ensure that the full amount of a pension would be paid retroactively in the event that an appeal is successful and a conviction is later overturned.
Financial Management Risk Reduction Act - S.4716 / H.R. 10155 - This bill by Senators Gary Peters (D-MI), and Ron Johnson (R-WI) along with Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene (R-GA) would compel the federal government to conduct a broad review of single audit quality. Single audits are a primary tool for ensuring taxpayer funds are being spent in a responsible manner. Improper payments are a government-wide problem and this would help cut down on at least one driver of mismanagement of taxpayer funds.
Roll call votes on these bills will be included in NTU’s annual Rating of Congress and a “YES” vote will be considered the pro-taxpayer position.