Public service should come with accountability, not special privileges. If a Member of Congress betrays the public trust, resigning shouldn’t allow them to escape consequences and walk away with a retirement funded by your tax dollars. That’s not how things work in Iowa, and it’s not how they should work in Washington.
The problem: Under current law, Members of Congress only forfeit their pension after being convicted of certain crimes, a process that can drag on for years, if it happens at all. That leaves a loophole where a Member can resign in the middle of a serious ethics investigation and still collect taxpayer-funded retirement benefits.
What’s new: I introduced the bipartisan Congressional Pension Accountability Act to close that loophole and ensure Members are held accountable for their misconduct.
Our bill would:
đźš« Strip taxpayer-funded pensions from Members who are expelled or resign after Ethics finds a substantial reason to believe they committed a serious violation
đź”’ Preserve investigative records when a Member resigns while under investigation, so those records don’t disappear if they return to Congress
⚖️ Make the consequences stick by ensuring a pardon or commutation can’t restore a forfeited pensionÂ
Why it matters: Iowa families are stretching every dollar for groceries, housing, and health care. They shouldn’t be paying the pension of a politician who betrayed the public trust. Serving in Congress is a privilege, not a guarantee of special treatment.
Bottom Line: Corruption doesn’t check a party registration, and neither does this bill. I’ll keep working across the aisle to get it across the finish line and close the loopholes that let politicians rig the rules in their own favor.