[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 348 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 348
To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide that a Member of
Congress convicted of any of certain felony offenses shall not be
eligible for retirement benefits based on that individual's Member
service, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 9, 2007
Mr. Jones of North Carolina introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to
the Committee on Oversight and 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 a Member of
Congress convicted of any of certain felony offenses shall not be
eligible for retirement benefits based on that individual's Member
service, 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 2007''.
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, 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)(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 during the One Hundred
Eleventh Congress or later.
``(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), 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 (attempt to evade or defeat tax) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986.
``(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 conviction, be eligible to
participate in the retirement system under this subchapter while
serving as a Member.
``(4) 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) 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.
``(6) 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 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 during the One Hundred
Eleventh 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) 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) 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.
``(6) For purposes of this subsection, the term `Member' has the
meaning given such term by section 2106, notwithstanding section
8401(20).''.
(c) Thrift Savings Plan.--Paragraph (5) of section 8432(g) of title
5, United States Code, is amended by striking ``(5)'' and inserting
``(5)(A)'' and by adding at the end the following:
``(B) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, contributions
made by the Government under subsection (c) for the benefit of an
individual and all earnings attributable to such contributions shall be
forfeited--
``(i) if any service rendered by such individual as a
Member is made noncreditable as a result of a conviction
described in section 8411(i); but only
``(ii) to the extent of any contributions attributable to
periods of service rendered by such individual as a Member (as
described in section 8411(i)(1)) and earnings thereon.''.
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