US House votes to deny corrupt lawmakers pensions

WASHINGTON, Jan 24 (Reuters) The U S House of Representatives, responding to recent scandals, has voted unanimously to deny congressional pensions to corrupt lawmakers.

By margin of 431-0, the Democratic-led House approved a bill to prohibit taxpayer-funded retirement benefits to members convicted of bribery or related conspiracy or perjury.

''Corrupt politicians deserve prison sentences, not taxpayer-funded payouts,'' said Democratic Rep. Nancy Boyda of Kansas, chief sponsor of the bill yesterday.

The Senate approved a similar measure last week. Differences between the two must now be resolved before a final bill can be sent to President George W Bush to sign into law.

The measures would only cover crimes committed after enactment of the bill, backers explained, since current law prohibits retroactive punishment.

Democrats won control of Congress from Bush's Republicans in November's elections, vowing to end a ''culture of corruption'' that featured recent influence-pedaling.

Former Republican Rep. Bob Ney of Ohio was sentenced to 30 months in prison last week for his role in a scandal involving convicted former lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Ney had earlier pleaded guilty to accepting trips, meals, tickets to sporting events and other items worth tens of thousands of dollars in return for official acts performed for Abramoff and his clients.

Ney is the only member of Congress convicted in the Abramoff probe, but the investigation has snared a number of former aides and is not yet over.

In a separate case, Republican Randy Cunningham of California resigned from the House in 2005 after pleading guilty to taking 2.4 million dollar in bribes from defense contractors. He received a prison sentence of eight years and four months.

On the other side of the political aisle, Democratic Rep.

William Jefferson of Louisiana is under investigation for suspected bribery. He denies any wrongdoing. Last year, federal authorities found 90,000 dollar in his freezer.

Congressional pensions, which now average about ,000 a year, date back to the 1940s. Existing law only strips these pensions in cases of treason or espionage-related offenses.

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