No pensions for dirty Congresscritters

The US Senate just passed a bill to strip Congresspeople who have been convicted of serious ethics offenses of their federal pensions:

"The only thing crazier than giving a member of Congress convicted of a crime a federal pension is the fact that we still need a bill to prevent a convict from receiving their pension," Salazar said at the time. "A member of Congress who abuses their position of authority for their personal profit deserves a prison sentence, not a government pension..."

. Ex-congressmen such as Randall "Duke" Cunningham -- collecting an estimated $64,000 a year although he pleaded guilty to charges of accepting bribes -- and James Traficant -- convicted of taking bribes, among other charges, and collecting an estimated $40,000 a year -- will get to keep their pensions.

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