Representatives Zach Nunn (IA-03), Chris Pappas (NH-01), Young Kim (CA-40), and Angie Craig (MN-02) today introduced the Congressional Pension Accountability Act, bipartisan legislation to end taxpayer-funded pension benefits for Members of Congress who are expelled — or who resign to avoid accountability — while facing serious ethics violations.
“I first introduced this bill after George Santos was expelled, because Members found unfit to serve are also unfit to receive a taxpayer-funded pension,” said Rep. Nunn. “Since then, we’ve seen members resign in the middle of investigations into serious misconduct, exposing a serious loophole in the current system where resignation is the end of accountability. This bipartisan bill closes both loopholes, restoring accountability and ensuring taxpayers aren’t on the hook for the pensions of politicians who break the public trust.”
The bill comes amid a string of resignations and ethics investigations on Capitol Hill, including cases in which Members facing allegations of serious misconduct have stepped down before disciplinary proceedings could run their course. Under current law, a Member forfeits their congressional pension only after being convicted of certain crimes — a process that can stretch on for years, if it comes at all — meaning Representatives can leave office under an ethics cloud and still collect a taxpayer-funded pension for the rest of their life.
“Members of Congress whose behavior rises to the high bar set for expulsion, particularly those who have been found to have defrauded their constituents and abused the privileges of their office, shouldn’t be able to retire on the taxpayer’s dime,” said Rep. Pappas. “Our government must always be accountable to the people.”
“Hardworking Californians across my state are stretching every dollar to afford groceries, housing and health care. Disgraced politicians should not get to glide into retirement on a taxpayer-funded golden parachute when they’ve betrayed the public’s trust,” said Rep. Kim. “I’m proud to partner with Rep. Nunn on this commonsense bill to hold corrupt politicians accountable and strip them of taxpayer-funded benefits when they fail to uphold the basic standards of public service. The American people work hard and play by the rules. They deserve representation that does the same.”
“It’s past time we start holding Members of Congress accountable for violating their oath of office,” said Rep. Craig. “Minnesota taxpayers shouldn’t be paying disgraced Members of Congress even after they leave office. It’s just common sense. I’m proud to be partnering with Reps. Nunn, Pappas and Kim on a bill that will help clean up Washington and restore trust in our government.”
The Congressional Pension Accountability Act is an update to legislation by the same name Rep. Nunn first introduced in 2023, following the expulsion of former Representative George Santos, to forfeit the taxpayer-funded pension and retirement match for any Member expelled from Congress. The updated bill strengthens and expands that effort.
Specifically, the Congressional Pension Accountability Act would:
- Forfeit a Member’s taxpayer-funded pension not only when they are expelled, but also when they resign after the House or Senate Ethics Committee has formally determined there is substantial reason to believe they committed a serious violation;
- Apply consistently across all federal retirement systems available to Members of Congress, including the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), and the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP);
- Preserve the Ethics Committee’s investigative records when a Member resigns while under investigation, so those records remain available if the individual later returns to Congress; and
- Clarify that a presidential pardon or commutation does not restore retirement benefits that were forfeited due to misconduct.
Text of the bill can be found here.
