In December of 2017, Brown was sentenced to five years in prison for defrauding funds from a charity. Although Fattah was the first member convicted since the pension forfeiture laws were enacted, because of the appeals loophole, he has remained eligible for nearly $189,000 in annuity payments. In 2019, an appeals court overturned four of the convictions in compliance with a Supreme Court decision on a related public corruption case that occurred after Fattah’s conviction. He resigned from office after serving 22 years in Congress, and that December he was sentenced to 10 years in prison. In June of 2016, Fattah was found guilty on 23 charges of corruption, including bribery, bank fraud, mail fraud, money laundering and racketeering. The ongoing legal dramas involving former representatives Fattah and Brown highlight the problem of the loophole. That’s because a member who is found guilty of any of the provisions in the HLOGA or STOCK Act will only lose their pension upon “final conviction.” This means that as long as they are able to submit appeals to their cases, a member can continue to collect their annuity even though they’ve been convicted, sentenced and reported to prison. However, a loophole in the law is allowing some criminals to continue drawing on taxpayer funds. Committing a felony while serving as a governor, for example, would also lead to Congressional pension forfeiture. It also extended the forfeiture to include crimes committed while serving in other public offices. At the time, National Taxpayers Union calculated that there were 16 members convicted of serious criminal charges eligible for pensions totaling roughly $800,000.Ī 2012 law, the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act,strengthened the restriction by adding crimes that would result in pension forfeiture, including tax evasion and vote buying. Fattah sentenced to 10 years in prisonįrom 2017: Corrine Brown get 5 years in prison for fraud Loophole in previous lawsĪfter a string of criminal cases involving disgraced members of Congress, the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (HLOGA) prohibited pension payments for members who are guilty of corruption-related crimes. The bipartisan reform bill, named the “No CORRUPTION Act” would close the loophole, ensuring that politicians who violate the public trust can no longer collect taxpayer dollars in retirement.įrom 2016: Reports: Ex-Rep. In fact, since January 2017, taxpayers have shelled out over $350,000 to two jailed former representatives, Chaka Fattah (D-Pennsylvania) and Corrine Brown (D-Florida). Their taxpayer-funded pensions are generous too, with payouts two or three times higher than pensions offered to similarly-salaried workers in the private sector.Īnd even more egregious is that members of Congress rarely lose their pension, even after being convicted of a crime. Members of Congress receive something that few Americans do: a pension. Thankfully, Senators Rick Scott (R-Florida) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nevada) have banded together to prevent taxpayer dollars going to corrupt politicians. The situation quickly worsened with the coronavirus pandemic.Īs Washington spares no expense to address the crisis, it will become increasingly necessary to ensure that each federal dollar is spent wisely. The federal budget was already in bad shape at the start of this year with forecasts of a trillion-dollar deficit. ![]() This opinion column was submitted by Demian Brady, director of research at the National Taxpayers’ Union Foundation. ![]() Subscribe: Get local news and views with a $5 subscription to RGJ.com
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |