Washington, DC — Iowa Congressman Zach Nunn is co-sponsoring a bill that would make members of the US House and Senate who are expelled ineligible for a congressional pension.
Former New York Congressman George Santos, who was expelled last week, will not be getting a pension because he hadn’t served long enough to be eligible for one, but Nunn says two House members who were expelled in 1980 and 2002 were able to get pension checks from the government.
Nunn, a Republican from Bondurant in central Iowa, is co-sponsoring the legislation with Democrats from Minnesota and New Hampshire and a Republican congressman from New York. Nunn says members of the military are ineligible for benefits if they’re dishonorably discharged.
Nunn and the other three Republicans from Iowa who serve in the US House voted late last week to remove Santos from office. Some House Republicans opposed the move, saying it sets a dangerous precedent because Santos has been charged, but not yet convicted of a crime. Nunn says a House Ethics Committee report on Santos was damning evidence that Santos should be expelled.
Santos is accused of using campaign funds for personal expenses, like Botox treatments, and racking up charges on credit cards that were used to make donations to his campaign.
