[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 3935]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                               TRUST ACT

  (Mr. YOHO asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share something that has been 
on my heart and will, in the coming days, be at the heart of my first 
bill introduced in the House. When Members of Congress break the law, 
they break trust: they break trust with their colleagues, hurting our 
ability to work together; they break trust with the American people who 
sent them here; and they break trust with the Constitution they swore 
to uphold.
  I will be introducing the TRUST Act. This bill is simple. It does not 
distinguish between types of offenses or the possible reasons behind 
them. It makes clear that a Member of Congress convicted of any felony 
will forfeit the taxpayer-funded portion of their pension.
  If our servicemen and -women who lay their life on the line for our 
Nation lose their pension with a dishonorable discharge, should not 
Members of Congress be held to the same standard?
  These days with public opinion of Congress at record lows and public 
debt at record highs, the TRUST Act is a place to start in restoring 
the faith of the American people to their government. I am pleased to 
present this opportunity to my colleagues to restore trust to 
taxpayers, and I ask them to join me in this effort.

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