I was forwarded an email this week about congressional reform. They’re calling it the “Congressional Reform Act of 2010” though I haven’t been able to dig up a source, or anything indicating whether or not it’s real.
Anyway, it goes something like this:
1. Term Limits: 12 years only, one of the possible options below.
A. Two Six year Senate terms
B. Six Two year House terms
C. One Six year Senate term and three Two Year House terms
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.2. No Tenure / No Pension:
A congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.
3. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security:
All funds in the Congressional retirement fund moves to the Social Security system immediately.
All future funds flow into the Social Security system, Congress participates with the American people.Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.
4. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan just as all Americans.
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.
5. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.6. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.7. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.
8. All contracts with past and present congressmen are void effective 1/1/2011.The American people did not make these contracts with congressmen, congressmen made all these contracts for themselves.
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.
This sound really good to me. Seriously. There are term limits for other offices, why not the House and Senate? I’m not 100% sure I agree with the healthcare and retirement fund portions, though it would force them to think more about the decisions they are making.
Congress, especially the Senate, has proven to be a completely ineffectual body of government. Take a look at the mess they made of healthcare. We’re going to be forced into buying healthcare from a third party with penalty of a fine if we don’t have any? How does that help anyone? The problem was never that people didn’t want healthcare, it was the people couldn’t afford healthcare. Now you’ve forced people into a corner and there’s really nowhere to run.
It would be wonderful to see congressional reform, but let’s get real. In order to get congressional reform, you need to have congress pass a bill to reform themselves. That’s not likely to happen. Would you consciously give yourself a pay cut, lose decent benefits, and put an and to your own career? I think not.
But, it’s a new year. Maybe we’ll see an actual miracle this year?