When former Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) was found guilty of bribery, he was still eligible for his government pension. However, Senators Rick Scott (R-FL) and Jacky Rosen’s (D-NV) No Congressional Obligated Recurring Revenue Used As Pension to Incarcerated Officials Now (NO CORRUPTION) Act has passed both chambers of Congress and will head to President Joe Biden’s (D) desk.
Current law would allow former Sen. Menendez to receive his pension until the appellate process had been exhausted. The No Corruption Act will prevent former Sen. Menendez from receiving his pension if signed into law, ending the loophole.
The bipartisan nature of the bill is a testament to the unity of purpose among lawmakers. The bill passed the Senate last July and remained in the House since, prompting renewed calls from the Florida and Nevada Senators.
Sen. Scott said that curbing dysfunction in Washington requires “real reforms” to see change.
“If you are a Member of Congress and convicted of a crime involving public corruption you should lose all pension benefits provided to you by taxpayers and hardworking families—period,” said Senator Scott. “Making Washington work for American families requires real reforms that end the current dysfunction. I’m proud to see our bipartisan, commonsense legislation pass the Senate and the House and head to the president’s desk to become law. We must never stop working to hold elected officials accountable and protect taxpayers’ hard-earned money.”
Furthermore, Sen. Rosen said that politicians have been exploiting this loophole for “too long” in Congress.
“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,” said Sen. Rosen. “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. I’ll keep working across party lines to find commonsense solutions to protect Nevadans’ hard-earned dollars.”
Menendez is expected to be sentenced in January.
