Florida Congressman Proposes Taxpayer Pension Disclosure Act

A Florida Congressman has introduced a bill to increase transparency of government pensions. Currently, the amount paid to former government employees after they retire is unknown by taxpayers footing the bill. It would take an act of Congress to force those records open.
Congressman Ron DeSantis (FL-R) is  looking to do just that with the Taxpayer Pension Disclosure Act. “Taxpayers have a right to know how their money’s being spent” DeSantis said.
Roughly 125 billion dollars is spent annually on federal pensions. Federal courts have consistently ruled that disclosing federal pension amounts of retired congressional representatives and senators violates  privacy rights.   
DeSantis is against Congressional pensions altogether, however the bill is not to get rid of them, but to lift the veil and let taxpayers know where and to whom their money is going. “Regardless of your political affiliation,” said  DeSantis,  “most voters and most taxpayers think they have a right to know how their money’s being spent. It should not be done in the dark.”
He used former director of the Exempt Organizations Unit at the I.R.S., Lois Lerner as one example as to why he believes taxpayers should have the right to pension information.
“There are certain offenses that if you get convicted of then your pension goes away. Then there are other offenses where it doesn’t like Lois Lerner.” Lerner became the center of controversy when she was accused of targeting conservative organizations. “[Lerner] was at the I.R.S. really at the center of that. She was allowed to retire and she’s getting a full pension. We know it’s a 6 figure pension but we don’t know exactly how much.”