U.S. Senator McCaskill, the top-ranking Democrat on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, joined Republican Senators Deb Fischer of Nebraska and Dean Heller of Nevada to introduce a bill to prohibit bonuses to federal employees who have engaged in serious misconduct.

“This should be a cut-and-dried issue,” said McCaskill, former Missouri State Auditor. “If you’ve taken actions that could get you suspended, fired or even thrown in jail, you shouldn’t get a bonus. This bill would help to protect taxpayer dollars from being used to pad the pockets of irresponsible government employees.”

The legislation, the Stop Improper Federal Bonuses Act, would forbid a federal agency from awarding a bonus to an employee for five years after an adverse finding that could have resulted in a long suspension, removal or jail time. It would require the employee to repay any bonuses awarded for any year in which an adverse finding is made.

Since her time as Missouri State Auditor, McCaskill has been a leading voice in Missouri and Washington for cutting wasteful government spending. She’s joined with Democrats and Republicans to introduce legislation that would save millions of dollars. For example, she teamed up with a bipartisan group of lawmakers to introduce the Stopping Improper Payments to Deceased People Act, which would improve the Social Security Administration’s data so that it does not continue to send Social Security checks to people who are deceased. She supports a Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and in 2011, McCaskill’s proposal with former Republican Senator Jeff Sessions to cap federal spending became law as part of the Budge Control Act. During her first term in the Senate, McCaskill waged a successful six-year effort to crack down on waste, fraud and abuse in wartime contracting.

Visit mccaskill.senate.gov/spending to learn more about McCaskill’s fight to cut wasteful spending in Washington.