[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4011 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4011

 To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide that if a Member of 
 Congress is convicted of a felony, such Member shall not be eligible 
for retirement benefits based on that individual's service as a Member, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 2, 1996

 Mr. Tate (for himself, Mr. Riggs, Mr. Dickey, Mr. Horn, Mr. Miller of 
   Florida, Mr. Baldacci, Mrs. Kelly, Mr. Hayworth, Mr. Sanford, Mr. 
 Coble, Mr. Funderburk, Mr. Weldon of Florida, Mr. Metcalf, Mrs. Smith 
of Washington, Mr. Brownback, Mr. Inglis of South Carolina, Mr. Coburn, 
   Mr. Barrett of Wisconsin, Mr. Hayes, Mr. Linder, Mr. Weller, Mr. 
 Christensen, Mr. Greenwood, Mr. McKeon, Mr. Taylor of North Carolina, 
   Mr. LoBiondo, Mr. Souder, Mrs. Meyers of Kansas, Mr. Pomeroy, Mr. 
Ramstad, Mr. Lazio of New York, Mr. Reed, Mr. Fox of Pennsylvania, Mr. 
   Frelinghuysen, Mr. Foley, Mr. Bereuter, Mr. Porter, Mr. Goss, Mr. 
McCollum, Mr. Klug, Ms. Rivers, Mr. Dornan, Mrs. Myrick, Mr. Hoekstra, 
   Mr. Shays, Mr. Bliley, Mr. Packard, Mr. Franks of New Jersey, Mr. 
 McIntosh, Mr. Neumann, Mr. Largent, Mr. Sensenbrenner, Mr. Chrysler, 
Mr. Ensign, Mrs. Vucanovich, Mrs. Fowler, Mr. Johnson of South Dakota, 
 Mr. Canady of Florida, Mr. Watts of Oklahoma, Mrs. Seastrand, and Mr. 
 Hutchinson) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, and in addition to the 
     Committee on House Oversight, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide that if a Member of 
 Congress is convicted of a felony, such Member shall not be eligible 
for retirement benefits based on that individual's service as a Member, 
                        and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Congressional Pension Forfeiture Act 
of 1996''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) Members of Congress pledge to uphold the Constitution 
        and the laws of the United States;
            (2) Members of Congress are elected to serve in the public 
        trust and pledge to uphold the public trust;
            (3) a breach of the public trust by a Member of Congress is 
        a serious offense that should have serious consequences; and
            (4) taxpayers should not pay for the retirement benefits of 
        Members of Congress who have breached the public trust.

SEC. 3. FORFEITURE.

    (a) Civil Service Retirement System.--Section 8332 of title 5, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(o)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter, 
the service of an individual convicted of an offense described in 
paragraph (2) shall not, if or to the extent rendered as a Member 
(irrespective of when rendered), be taken into account for purposes of 
this subchapter. Any such individual (or other person determined under 
section 8342(c), if applicable) shall be entitled to be paid so much of 
such individual's lump-sum credit as is attributable to service to 
which the preceding sentence applies.
    ``(2) An offense described in this paragraph is any felony (within 
the meaning of section 3156(a) of title 18) committed--
            ``(A) by the individual (referred to in paragraph (1)) 
        while a Member; and
            ``(B) during the One Hundred Fifth Congress or later.
    ``(3) An individual convicted of an offense described in paragraph 
(2) shall not, after the date of the conviction, be eligible to 
participate in the retirement system under this subchapter while 
serving as a Member.
    ``(4) Except as provided in paragraph (5), the Office shall 
prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to carry out this 
subsection, including provisions under which interest on any lump-sum 
payment under the second sentence of paragraph (1) shall be limited in 
a manner similar to that specified in the last sentence of section 
8316(b).
    ``(5) The Executive Director (within the meaning of section 
8401(13)) shall prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to carry 
out the purposes of this subsection with respect to the Thrift Savings 
Plan. Regulations under this paragraph shall include provisions in 
accordance with which appropriate dispositions shall be made.
    ``(6) Nothing in this subsection shall restrict any authority under 
subchapter II or any other provision of law to deny or withhold 
benefits authorized by statute.
    ``(7) For purposes of this subsection, the term `Member' has the 
meaning given such term by section 2106, notwithstanding section 
8331(2).''.
    (b) Federal Employees' Retirement System.--Section 8411 of title 5, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(i)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the 
service of an individual convicted of an offense described in paragraph 
(2) shall not, if or to the extent rendered as a Member (irrespective 
of when rendered), be taken into account for purposes of this chapter. 
Any such individual (or other person determined under section 8424(d), 
if applicable) shall be entitled to be paid so much of such 
individual's lump-sum credit as is attributable to service to which the 
preceding sentence applies.
    ``(2) An offense described in this paragraph is any felony (within 
the meaning of section 3156(a) of title 18) committed--
            ``(A) by the individual (referred to in paragraph (1)) 
        while a Member; and
            ``(B) during the One Hundred Fifth Congress or later.
    ``(3) An individual convicted of an offense described in paragraph 
(2) shall not, after the date of the conviction, be eligible to 
participate in the retirement system under this chapter while serving 
as a Member.
    ``(4) Except as provided in paragraph (5), the Office shall 
prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to carry out this 
subsection, including provisions under which interest on any lump-sum 
payment under the second sentence of paragraph (1) shall be limited in 
a manner similar to that specified in the last sentence of section 
8316(b).
    ``(5) The Executive Director shall prescribe such regulations as 
may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this subsection with 
respect to the Thrift Savings Plan. Regulations under this paragraph 
shall include provisions in accordance with which appropriate 
dispositions shall be made.
    ``(6) Nothing in this subsection shall restrict any authority under 
subchapter II of chapter 83 or any other provision of law to deny or 
withhold benefits authorized by statute.
    ``(7) For purposes of this subsection, the term `Member' has the 
meaning given such term by section 2106, notwithstanding section 
8401(20).''.
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