Convicted Ex-Lawmakers Rake in Pensions

Being on the take in Washington may no longer pay off...

June 22, 2007 - At least 20 former members of Congress convicted of a range of criminal offenses continue to draw taxpayer-supported pensions each year, according to the National Taxpayers Union.

Congressional pensions are not public records, and the NTU says it bases its estimates on a lawmaker's time of service, eligibility, and life expectancy. The numbers are adjusted based on factors such as cost of living changes, a former member's military service and marital status.

All of the following were former members of the House of Representatives, with the exception of Durenberger, a former senator. Fauntroy was a non-voting delegate in the House representing the District of Columbia.

Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.)
- Convicted in 1996 on mail fraud charges
- Pension in 1995: $96,500
- Pension in 2006: $126,000
David Durenberger (R-Minn.)
- Convicted on fraud charges (1994 plea bargain)
- Pension in 1995: $65,000
- Pension in 2006: $86,000

Full list

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Congress May Revoke Pensions for Disgraced Members
June 22, 2007 - More than a dozen convicted felons who were formerly members of Congress qualify for some $900,000 in taxpayer-supported government pensions each year, according to estimates from the National Taxpayers Union.

If Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) is convicted in a federal bribery and corruption scandal, he will still enjoy a taxpayer-supported congressional pension of $53,000 a year. That's less than the up to $64,000 received each year by former Rep. Randy Duke Cunningham (R-Calif.), who is now serving a federal prison term for bribery, conspiracy, mail and wire fraud and tax evasion. And Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.), who pleaded guilty to mail fraud, is reaping the fattest retirement among convicted former congressmen -- $126,000 a year.

In all, more than a dozen convicted felons who were formerly members of Congress qualify for more than $900,000 in taxpayer-supported government pensions each year, according to estimates from the National Taxpayers Union, which calculated the benefits based on time of congressional service, eligibility and life expectancy (see list). The NTU says congressional pensions are about three times more generous than the average salary offered in the private sector, and are protected by cost of living adjustments, a benefit only included in about one in 10 private pension funds.

Legislation is pending to halt pensions for crooked former members of Congress, but if enacted it would cover future crimes. It likely would not affect Jefferson, if he is convicted, because the Senate version of the proposal would not kick in until 2009. Currently, only a conviction for espionage or treason requires a forfeiture of retirement benefits. The leading proposals currently under consideration are narrow in scope, only revoking pension for lawmakers convicted of bribery, conspiracy to defraud the government, perjury and suborning perjury.

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[waltky]

Gonna make it harder to convict Jefferson...

FBI Violated Constitution in Raid
Aug 3, 2007 - Court Sides With Congressman on FBI Raid

The Justice Department trampled on congressional independence when raiding U.S. Rep. William Jefferson's office last year, a federal appeals court ruled Friday, siding with Congress in a constitutional showdown. In a rare textbook case involving all three branches of government, the court held that investigators violated the Constitution by reviewing legislative documents as part of a corruption investigation.

The court ordered the Justice Department to return any legislative documents it seized from the Louisiana Democrat's office on Capitol Hill. Still undecided is whether prosecutors can use other records it confiscated as part of their bribery case against Jefferson. The raid was part of a 16-month international bribery investigation of Jefferson, who is accused of accepting $100,000 from a telecommunications businessman, $90,000 of which was later recovered in a freezer in the congressman's Washington home.

Jefferson pleaded not guilty in June to charges of soliciting more than $500,000 in bribes while using his office to broker business deals in Africa. The Justice Department has predicted a ruling such as the one Friday will turn Congress into a haven where lawmakers can keep evidence of corruption off-limits to prosecutors.

That's not the case, said the three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The raid itself was constitutional, the court held. But the FBI crossed the line when it viewed every record in the office without allowing Jefferson to argue that some involved legislative business. The Constitution prohibits the executive branch from using its law enforcement powers to interfere with the lawmaking process.

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[waltky]

Justice denied...

Court won't rule on Jefferson search case
Mon., March. 31, 2008 WASHINGTON - Decision could prevent investigators from searching lawmakers' offices

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to step into a legal fight between the Justice Department and a member of Congress who has been indicted on bribery charges. The court declined to review an appeals court ruling that the FBI reviewed legislative documents in the office of Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., in violation of the Constitution.

Jefferson has pleaded not guilty to charges of soliciting more than $500,000 in bribes while using his office to broker business deals in Africa. His trial has been delayed indefinitely. While the Bush administration asked the Supreme Court to intervene, Attorney General Michael Mukasey said last month that he would prefer Congress and the Justice Department reach agreement about any future searches.

The ruling "is jeopardizing ongoing public corruption investigations," the Justice Department said in urging the justices to accept its appeal. If allowed to stand, the ruling also would essentially prevent investigators from searching lawmakers' offices because it requires the FBI to give the lawmakers advance notice, the department said.

"The bottom line is that, if the government cannot search a member's office in the manner authorized by the search warrant here ... the government cannot do so in any meaningful manner and congressional offices may become a 'sanctuary for crime,'" the Justice Department said.

More Court won't rule on Jefferson search case - Capitol Hill - MSNBC.com

[waltky]

Is that the tinkling sound of a tax hike to cover this that I hear, or are we all being trickled-down on?

Pension plans suffer huge losses
July 7, 2008: Report says weak markets, credit crunch have drained $280 billion from plans of largest U.S. companies

Falling stock markets around the globe and the credit crunch are putting the pension funds of some of the largest U.S. companies into deeper financial holes, according to a report released Monday. Since the credit crunch hit last fall, pension plans funded by S&P 1500 companies have lost about $280 billion in assets, according to an actuary at Mercer, a human resources consulting firm.

On paper, the losses from last October tally $160 billion. However, according to Mercer actuary Adrian Hartshorn, the asset losses are closer to $280 billion when pension plan assets and liabilities are considered together. The losses amount to about 7% of a total $4 trillion in pension plan assets. Companies should be concerned, he said, because - assuming no change in the market - a typical U.S. company can expect their pension expenses to increase between 20% and 30% in 2009. That's due to the higher cost of servicing the pension plan's debt and the smaller return from the plan's assets. "I think it's important for corporations to be aware of what's going on in their pension plans, as corporations would be concerned when any part of its business is performing badly," Hartshorn said.

According to the report, the total losses on pension assets and liabilities from the last day of 2007 through the end of June has grown to more than $80 billion. Part of the loss has been reflected in companies' current financial statements, but many losses incurred since the end of 2007 have yet to hit company balance sheets. The affected pension plans are qualified and non-qualified plans.

Source

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Social Security, Medicare Will Cost $41 Trillion More than Available
Monday, July 07, 2008 - The future costs to maintain Social Security and Medicare will exceed available revenues by $41 trillion in the next 75 years, according to a government report, and those costs will likely require trillions of dollars in new taxes or spending cuts.

The June report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said that the "unfunded liabilities" - or future planned costs for which funding has not been set aside by Congress - for Social Security alone in the next 75 years will exceed $7 trillion.

"One would need approximately $41 trillion invested today to deliver on the currently promised benefits not covered by earmarked revenues for the next 75 years," the report said. Trillions of dollars will need to be raised, either through new taxes or in spending cuts.

"The $41 trillion is the gap between how much we promised and how much the current revenue sources can pay in the future," explained Michael Cannon, director of Health Policy Studies at the libertarian Cato Institute.

More CNSNews.com - Social Security, Medicare Will Cost $41 Trillion More than Available