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----
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 misconductBy 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.
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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/