Kirsten Gillibrand, Joni Ernst introduce bill to strip federal pensions from convicted sex criminals in wake of FDIC sexual harassment report

Sens. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.) are introducing legislation this week that would force federal employees convicted of certain sex crimes to have their pensions forfeited. .

Federal agents convicted of treason, sedition, espionage, and other acts of subversion have already Banned From receiving pensions saved by taxpayers. The bill, called the “Prohibit Taxpayer Pensions to Sex Offenders Act,” would add crimes such as child sexual abuse and exploitation to the list of convictions for pension forfeiture.

Gillibrand said it’s “outrageous and just wrong” that federal employees convicted of sex crimes can now receive pensions funded by taxpayers.

“The bipartisan Sex Offender No Taxpayer Pensions Act would prohibit federal employees convicted of sex crimes from receiving pensions. “It’s a great bill,” she said.

The bill follows a bombshell Wall Street Journal report last November that exposed a culture of sexual harassment at the Federal Deposit Insurance Agency (FDIC) and prompted women to quit.

In response to the report, FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg told lawmakers that he was “personally disturbed and deeply troubled” by the allegations. Ernst, a sexual assault survivor and one of the bill’s sponsors, was one of the first lawmakers to call for Gruenberg’s resignation last fall.

“The federal government should be committed to serving the American people, not the misbehavior of the Wild West,” Ernst said in a statement.

An independent investigation released last week by the law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton accused banking regulators of a toxic work environment and found management’s “patriarchal, insular, and risk-averse culture.” There have been renewed calls for Gruenberg’s resignation from some members of Congress. .

Republican leaders on the Congressional Finance Committee called on Mr. Gruenberg to resign following the report, as did Rep. Bill Foster (D-Ill.), ranking member of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions. .

But there are other Democrats, including Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, and acting Labor Secretary Julie Su stopped short of calling for the FDIC director’s resignation.

This is not the first time Ernst and Gillibrand have teamed up to combat sexual harassment and assault within the federal government. Last Congress, lawmakers introduced the Military Justice Improvement and Prevention Enhancement Act, which includes several changes to how the military justice system handles serious crimes, including rape and sexual assault.

Ernst described the No Taxpayer Pensions for Sex Offenders Act as an effort to “strengthen protections for women in the workplace and restore the health of the public service.”

“Our bipartisan bill would create real consequences to stamp out bad behavior and send a signal that sex offenders are not welcome in the federal government,” Ernst said.