[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4535 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4535

 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

                           December 14, 2005

Mr. Kirk (for himself, Mr. Upton, Mr. Platts, Mr. Pence, Mr. Bass, Mr. 
 Terry, Mr. Shadegg, Mr. Price of Georgia, Mrs. Myrick, Mr. Manzullo, 
  Mr. Sodrel, Mr. Hoekstra, Mr. Dent, Mr. Gerlach, Mr. Reichert, Mr. 
  Simmons, Mr. McCaul of Texas, Mr. Paul, Mr. Green of Wisconsin, Mr. 
 Bradley of New Hampshire, Mr. English of Pennsylvania, Mr. Schwarz of 
 Michigan, Mr. Shays, and Mr. Shimkus) introduced the following bill; 
  which was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in 
  addition to the Committee on Government Reform, 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 Integrity and Pension 
Forfeiture Act of 2005''.

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 been convicted of a felony.

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 finally 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)(A) An offense described in this paragraph is any offense 
described in subparagraph (B) for which the following apply:
            ``(i) The offense is committed by the individual (referred 
        to in paragraph (1)) while a Member.
            ``(ii) The conduct on which the offense is based is 
        directly related to the individual's service as a Member.
            ``(iii) The offense is committed after the date of 
        enactment of this Act.
    ``(B) The offenses described in this subparagraph are as follows:
            ``(i) An offense within the purview of section 201 (bribery 
        of public officials and witnesses), 203 (compensation to 
        Members of Congress, officers, and others in matters affecting 
        the Government), 204 (practice in United States Court of 
        Federal Claims or the United States Court of Appeals for the 
        Federal Circuit by Members of Congress), 207 (restriction on 
        former officers, employees, and elected officials of the 
        executive and legislative branches, 219 (officers and employees 
        acting as agents of foreign principals), 286 (conspiracy to 
        defraud the Government with respect to claims), 287 (false, 
        fictitious or fraudulent claims), 371 (conspiracy to commit 
        offense or to defraud the United States), 597 (expenditures to 
        influence voting), 599 (promise of appointment by candidate), 
        602 (solicitation of political contributions), 606 
        (intimidation to secure political contributions), 607 (place of 
        solicitation), 641 (public money, property or records), 1001 
        (statements or entries generally), 1341 (frauds and swindles), 
        1343 (fraud by wire, radio, or television), 1503 (influencing 
        or injuring officer or juror), 1951 (interference with commerce 
        by threats or violence), 1952 (interstate and foreign travel or 
        transportation in aid of racketeering enterprises), or 1962 
        (prohibited activities) of title 18 or section 7201 of the 
        Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (attempt to evade or defeat tax).
            ``(ii) Perjury committed under the statutes of the United 
        States in falsely denying the commission of an act which 
        constitutes an offense within the purview of a statute named by 
        clause (i).
            ``(iii) Subornation of perjury committed in connection with 
        the false denial of another individual as specified by clause 
        (ii).
    ``(3) An individual convicted of an offense described in paragraph 
(2) shall not, after the date of the final 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 
requiring the return of all vested amounts which are attributable to 
periods of service rendered by the individual as a Member (as described 
in paragraph (1)).
    ``(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 finally 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 offense 
described in section 8332(o)(2)(B) for which the following apply:
            ``(A) The offense is committed by the individual (referred 
        to in paragraph (1)) while a Member.
            ``(B) The conduct on which the offense is based is directly 
        related to the individual's service as a Member.
            ``(C) The offense is committed after the date of enactment 
        of this Act.
    ``(3) An individual finally 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 requiring the return of all vested amounts 
which are attributable to periods of service rendered by the individual 
as a Member (as described in paragraph (1)).
    ``(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).''.
                                 <all>