The National Taxpayers Union, who led a grassroots activist campaign, announces victory.
Dear David,
Last year, we told you about how the more than 20 former Members of Congress who had been convicted of serious offenses were allowed to keep drawing benefits from a lavish, taxpayer-funded pension system.
It's bad enough that taxpayers have to cough up for a pension program whose payments are far more generous than what similarly-paid workers in the private sector typically receive, but we thought that handing this cash over to criminals was just wrong.
Thousands of taxpayers joined us in expressing outrage over this matter by sending "no pensions for Congressional felons" letters to their representatives in Washington, D.C.
Thanks to your demands for change, WE GOT IT!
Last week, President Bush signed a bill that contains a version of the "no pensions for Congressional felons" reform we sought.
From here on out, Members of Congress who commit certain felonies (like perjury, bribery, or fraud) related to their official duties won't be allowed to draw from a Congressional pension "honey-pot" that overtaxed American workers are forced to fill.
While the new law doesn't go quite as far as our request for automatically denying taxpayer-funded retirement benefits to a Representative or Senator convicted of any felony, during or after Congressional service, it is a MAJOR IMPROVEMENT to the current law that lets criminals like "Duke" Cunningham and Dan Rostenkowski collect cash from you and me.
Thank you for helping to change things for the better in Washington. You deserve a huge pat on the back!
With many thanks,
John Berthoud, President, National Taxpayers Union
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