The House GOP task force on reforming Congress came up with seven proposals as part of the onceballyhooed “Reform Week.” But one of the proposals that probably won’t be debated is a bill to deny pensions to members of Congress or staffers convicted of felonies while in office. Perhaps it is mere coincidence, but 17-term congressman Joe McDade of Pennsylvania, under a five-count indictment for job-related racketeering and bribery and currently on trial, has been cornering his colleagues in an effort to get them to reconsider what had been previously nicknamed the “Rostenkowski bill.” You remember Rosty: He’s the Democrat who ended up with a $ 96,462-a-year pension that he’s now collecting in jail. Another instance of your tax dollars at work.
