Republican legislators introduce bill to deny taxpayer-funded pensions from going to convicted child predators
The bill was introduced by Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., and Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn.
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FIRST ON FOX: Two Republican legislators introduced a bill to stop taxpayer-funded pensions from going to convicted child predators.
The bill, titled "Denying Pensions to Convicted Child Molesters Act," comes on the fifth anniversary of pediatrician Stanley Weber's conviction of sex crimes against children on Native American reservations, some of which were from Montana.
It was introduced on Tuesday by Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., and Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn.
Weber went to collect $180,000 from a government-funded pension until late 2020 when a federal review resulted in it being revoked.
BILL WOULD BAR FEDERAL PENSION TO CONVICTED CHILD PREDATORS
Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) questions U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell as he testifies at a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on the Fed's "Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress," on Capitol Hill on March 3 (Tom Williams-Pool/Getty Images / Getty Images)
The bill was introduced by Daines in May 2019 and October 2021 but stalled on each occasion in the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee.
Weber was convicted in September 2018 in a Montana court for abusing children during his work at a reservation for the Indian Health Service, but his $98,285.64 annual pension wasn't revoked until November 2020.
The Wall Street Journal first reported in 2019 that Weber was still getting his pension and was eligible at the time to receive $1.8 million during his 18-year, four-month sentence.
Weber was later convicted in South Dakota in January 2020 on similar charges and sentenced to five life prison terms.
Daines said in a statement it's ridiculous Weber was able to collect a government pension after being convicted.
"Despite several warning signs, Stanley Weber was allowed to continue unspeakable abuse of young Montanans for years while IHS turned a blind eye," Daines said in a statement. "Even after being convicted of sexually abusing children, Weber was collecting a government pension—this is absurd. It’s past time we pass my bill to fix this flawed system."
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Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., and Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn. (Tom Williams-Pool/Getty Images and Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
"There are few things more heinous than the sexual abuse of a child, and yet, these crimes often receive a slap on the wrist in comparison to the havoc they wreak on their victims. Under current law, federal employees who are found guilty of molesting children are still able to receive their federal, taxpayer-funded pensions. This is simply unacceptable, and I’m proud to join Senator Daines in his efforts to ban these evil people from receiving a wage at the taxpayer expense in the House," Ogles said.