Panel weighs bill to deny corrupt public servants federal pensions

House Government Reform Chairman Tom Davis, R-Va., will add his voice Wednesday to the cacophony of lawmakers pushing for more stringent ethics laws in the wake of recent scandals.

Davis plans to introduce a narrowly tailored ethics overhaul measure denying retirement benefits to federal policymakers -- including members of Congress -- who engage in public corruption.

It is still unclear whether Davis' proposal, which the panel is examining in a hearing, will become part of a broader ethics package to be introduced by Rules Chairman David Dreier, R-Calif., or put forward as a stand-alone measure, a spokesman for Davis said.

The legislation would apply to any crime punishable by more than one year imprisonment, including accepting bribes, conspiracy, fraud and falsifying statements or documents. The bill is "clearly a no-brainer," Davis' spokesman said.

Government Reform ranking member Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said he was "pleased that Chairman Davis is holding a hearing concerning the ethics in the federal government. The recent scandals involving Jack Abramoff and others have underscored the need for a comprehensive review of how well our ethics laws and regulations are working."

Chellie Pingree, president of Common Cause, who is scheduled to testify Wednesday on Davis' bill, praised the legislation, but recommended further changes in ethics enforcement.

Pingree noted that pensions for members of Congress and top federal employees are often higher than the average annual salary for most Americans. "The fact that public servants who have seriously violated their duties to the public would be rewarded by a lifetime pension seems grossly unfair," Pingree said in a statement.

She said she would also testify about the need for an independent commission, rather than the Ethics committees, to investigate complaints against members suspected of breaking the rules. "Peer review simply is not the answer when it comes to a fair, firm process that ensures that members live by ethics rules on the books," she said.

The commission, which would report its findings to the House and Senate Ethics committees, would be comprised of five members selected by party leaders in both chambers, a spokeswoman for Common Cause said.

She recommended that the panel be made up of retired judges to avoid criticism that members might be beholden to the lawmakers who appointed them, a charge sometimes leveled against the FEC, whose members are also selected by chamber leaders.

The spokeswoman said that, so far, none of the ethics proposals put forth by members of Congress have adopted the suggestion, although Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid's, D-Nev., bill would establish an Office of Public Integrity.