Sens. Mike Braun (R-IN) and Rick Scott (R-FL) introduced legislation on Tuesday to end taxpayer-funded congressional pensions. Braun contends that this legislation would help the D.C. swamp.
Sens. Braun and Scott introduced the End Pensions in Congress (EPIC) Act on Tuesday. Lawmakers can receive a taxpayer-funded pension if they work in Congress for five years and their pension can rise even higher depending on their years of service and average of the highest three years of salary.
Braun and Scott’s bill would eliminate the congressional pension.
Braun and Scott released the bill as the government may soon face another government shutdown on Friday if Congress cannot find a solution to fund the government and fund President Donald J. Trump’s requested border wall funding.
For example, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has been in Congress for 33 years, and if she retired tomorrow, her annual taxpayer-funded pension would be over $102,000.
Sen Braun said in a press release on Tuesday that this bill will help drain the swamp. The Hoosier conservative also said that he would donate his pension to Hoosier charities if Washington bureaucrats force him to accept the pension.
The Hoosier Republican said:
It’s time we make Washington more like the private sector and the best place to start is to end taxpayer-funded pensions – like Nancy Pelosi’s six-figure annual pension – that senators and congressmen are entitled to in retirement. If we remove the luxurious perks from Congress, we’ll get better leaders: that’s why I’ll never accept my Senate pension and, if forced to, I pledge to donate every penny to Hoosier charities.
Sen. Scott said in a press release on Tuesday:
I’m proud to introduce this bill ending taxpayer-funded congressional pensions. I’ve been in Washington a month and I can already see how dysfunctional it is. When Congress failed to do their job and created the longest government shutdown in history, hardworking Americans were forced to go without pay while members of Congress were still collecting paychecks. That is wrong and is exactly why I’m fighting to reform Washington. It’s time for term limits and it’s time to make those in D.C. realize that the era of career politicians is over. Americans should not have to foot the bill for generous salaries and pensions for members of Congress, and I’m proud to be working on common sense solutions to make Washington work for families across the nation.
Braun and Scott’s bill acts similarily to previously legislation the Indiana senator proposed. In January, Sen. Braun told Breitbart News exclusively that introduced his “No Budget, No Pay” bill which would block any lawmaker from receiving a paycheck if Congress does not pass a budget.
Hoosier told Breitbart News about the No Budget, No Pay bill:
When I decided to run, I also decided to sign the term limits bill. I signed a pledge as a senator, and I’ll be forthright here: we don’t send the cream of the crop to D.C., and I said that many times and that’s because most people that have really done something in the real world are not going to give up that to build a career in politics. I think that if you take the money out of it, you certainly get a better average individual coming here in Congress and certainly here in the Senate if you had term limits.
“Our job in Congress is to serve the American people, and not enrich ourselves with special taxpayer-funded benefits,” Braun said in his op-ed for Fox News. “By ending congressional taxpayer-funded pensions, we will take one more step toward draining the swamp in Washington.”