Senate Approves Canceling Pensions for Congressional Felons
BECK: We're watching the clock for you. House Democrats are 23 hours and 34 minutes into their 100-hour legislative blitz. Today they passed legislation that would require the government to negotiate with drug companies over the price of drugs for Medicare participants. President Bush is threatening a veto. Also today some action on a story that we've been following intensely for you. When we told you about congressmen who are convicted of crimes and still collecting fat government pensions, you were outraged. So we demanded answers and got action. Today the Senate approved an amendment to the Ethics Reform Bill that would prevent lawmakers who break the law from cashing in at taxpayers' expense. It's not over yet. CNN's Drew Griffin is "Keeping them Honest" tonight.</s>DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It wasn't even close, 87-0. The act supported by both Democrats and Republicans would ban the pensions of members of Congress if they are convicted of certain felonies. Not all. Just the ones related to ethics in office, such as bribery, perjury, stealing public money.</s>SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: The principle is a simple one. Public servants who abuse the public trust and are convicted of ethics crimes should not collect taxpayer-financed pensions.</s>GRIFFIN: The bill would not ban pensions for congressmen convicted of other crimes, even murder. Why?</s>SEN. KEN SALAZAR (D), COLORADO: It's really that white collar crime where people, instead of representing the public interest in the people of the country, instead of representing their own personal interests. And so that's why we went after the white collar crime.</s>GRIFFIN (on camera): What has surprised us in our reporting is just how many convicted public servants are collecting. According to the National Taxpayers Union, 20 lawmakers over the past 25 years have been convicted of crime and have gone on to collect a federal pension. (voice-over) Convicted Congressman Dan Rostenkowski gets the most, based on his years in office, an estimated $126,000. James Traficant is getting an estimated $40,000. And the man for which the act is named, Duke Cunningham, collects an estimated $64,000 a year while he serves time in a federal prison. It's costing taxpayers more than a million dollars a year.</s>JOHN BERTHOUD, NATIONAL TAXPAYERS UNION: It's hard unless maybe you're a member of Congress or a former member of Congress, for anybody to understand how on earth you could ask taxpayers to pay pensions for people like that.</s>GRIFFIN: We soon may no longer be paying for pensions of people like that. But because the already-convicted crooks will be grandfathered in, the bill is not retroactive. That's right, the pension checks sent to Rosty, Traficant and Duke will continue to be sent. And the bill still needs several more votes before it becomes law. The Democrat controlled House plans to take up a similar bill next week. Supporters are vowing to make sure congressmen who are paid to make the law and uphold it finally, after all these years, will no longer get retirement benefits if they break it. Drew Griffin, CNN, Atlanta.</s>ROBERTS: Up next, another push for change in Washington. Lance Armstrong's race for a cancer cure for all of us. The law he's pressing lawmakers to help speed research along. Plus, a daring move. What is this woman doing? Is this love or lunch? "Shot of the Day", 360 next.