Rosen-Led Bipartisan Bills to Fight Corruption, Fentanyl Smuggling Advance Out of Senate Committee

Senator Rosen’s No CORRUPTION Act Bars Convicted Lawmakers From Ever Receiving Taxpayer-Funded Pension

Rosen-Backed END FENTANYL Act Would Help U.S. Law Enforcement Prevent Drug Smuggling And Save Lives

WASHINGTON, DC – Yesterday, the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs voted to advance two bipartisan bills that Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) introduced or helped introduce to fight corruption and fentanyl smuggling. The committee passed Senator Rosen’s bipartisan No Congressionally-Obligated Recurring Revenue Used As Pensions To Incarcerated Officials Now (No CORRUPTION) Act, which would bar members of Congress who are convicted of felonies related to their official duties from collecting taxpayer-funded pensions, and the Rosen-backed bipartisan END FENTANYL Act, which would help combat drug smuggling by requiring the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to update its drug interdiction guidance regularly to ensure it provides guidance on how to handle dangerous drugs such as fentanyl.

“It’s common-sense that any member of Congress convicted of a felony during  their time in office should never receive a pension from taxpayers,” said Senator Rosen. “My bipartisan legislation will prevent convicted, corrupt officials from pocketing a dime of Americans’ hard-earned dollars as a federal pension. I will continue working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to make sure this legislation passes the Senate and gets closer to becoming law.”

“Action must also be taken to combat fentanyl smuggling that is having deadly consequences in Nevada and across our country,” Senator Rosen continued. “I’m proud to see that bipartisan legislation I helped introduce to give law enforcement officials the updated training necessary to stop fentanyl and drug smuggling has advanced out of committee.”

Current law requires former members of Congress convicted of a felony to forfeit their pensions only after exhausting their appeals, which allows convicted former members to go on filing one appeal after another for years while collecting their taxpayer-funded pensions. Senator Rosen’s bipartisan No CORRUPTION Act, which she introduced with Senator Rick Scott (R-FL), would amend the law to close that loophole, so former members of Congress lose their pensions immediately following a lawful conviction of certain felonies related to their official duties. The bipartisan END FENTANYL Act, also from Senators Rosen and Scott, builds off the 2019 GAO report, “Land Ports of Entry: CBP Should Update Policies and Enhance Analysis of Inspections,” which found that drug interdiction guidance has not been updated in 20 years. 

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