[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 13 (Tuesday, January 23, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E173]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E173]]


                CONGRESSIONAL PENSION ACCOUNTABILITY ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. BRIAN P. BILBRAY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, January 22, 2007

  Mr. BILBRAY. Mr. Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to speak on 
this very important issue. As you know, my constituents have been 
directly impacted by the very issue we are voting on today. The 
previous Congressman from my great Congressional district, Randy 
Cunningham, used this Chamber and his position to line his pockets with 
bribe money from lobbyists. He violated the trust of his constituents 
and his colleagues with his behavior, tarnishing this institution. 
Unfortunately, the taxpayers will be forced to pay a sizeable pension 
to him every year.
  I think this legislation is an important first step in denying 
pensions to Members of Congress who abuse the trust of the people. 
However, I want to note that this legislation did not go far enough.
  First, it has a 2-year implementation window, which would allow any 
Member convicted over the next two years to maintain their pension. I 
think this is the wrong message to send. If it was constitutional, I 
would support retroactively taking away the pensions of convicted 
felons such as Dan Rostenkowski and Randy Cunningham.
  Additionally, I think H.R. 476 does not go far enough in detailing 
the types of crimes that would trigger these provisions. That is why I 
am a strong supporter and cosponsor of H.R. 14, sponsored by 
Congressman Mark Kirk. His legislation, the Congressional Integrity 
Act, would deny a Congressional pension to any Member convicted, and 
denied a final appeal, for a much more expansive number of crimes 
directly related to the official duties of a Member of Congress.
  This legislation is long overdue. I was proud to support a similar 
measure, H.R. 4011, in the 104th Congress along with many of my 
Democratic and Republican colleagues, including current Speaker Nancy 
Pelosi and our former Speaker Dennis Hastert.
  I call on Speaker Pelosi to widen the scope of this legislation to 
help us regain the trust of the American people and withhold the 
pensions of those who violated that trust.
  Furthermore, I call on Speaker Pelosi to consider important 
legislation to develop stricter, more transparent regulations on pork-
barrel spending, also known as ``airdropped'' earmarking. I was proud 
to introduce legislation that would ban the practice of slipping 
earmarks into Conference reports that have not been approved by either 
the House or the Senate previously. These items do not have the benefit 
of being debated in Committee or on the floor of the House of 
Representatives. By requiring the Conference Committees to only 
consider items that were passed by one of the Chambers; we can ensure 
that all projects were examined in the light of day, not the backrooms 
of Congress.
  I ask for consideration of this important provision.

                          ____________________