Congressional Reform Act of 2010

[T-rav]

Here s a start to fix America got this in a email.

1. Term Limits: 5 years only and get their *** out. No returns.
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.

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.

4. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan just as all Americans.

5. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

6. Congress looses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.

7. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.

8. All contracts with past and present congressmen are void effective 1/1/2011. The American people did not make this contract 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

 

[Cygnus]

Repped! Close to my thoughts on the subject as well.


It won't happen next year but maybe with time and an involved electorate.

This the one issue where you'll see democrats and republicans put on a lrgit united front....against it!!!!

 

[T-rav]

This the one issue where you'll see democrats and republicans put on a lrgit united front....against it!!!!

I say to the the political machine BRING IT! We Americans are willing and ready to take back our America!

 

[rmabrey]

Repped! Very well put!

 

[feriil]

Agree 100%, congress does not live in the REAL world with the rest of us. It's so nice they want to make a career out of it. If you get elected it should be something you really care about and should sacrifice to participate - like you said, cut all the benefits paycheck only. And a paycheck you can live off of, not get rich off of.

 

[rev500ss]

same feelings I've had for a while though I always wanted to see them at two or three terms max.

 

[MACHINEGUN]

We Americans are willing and ready to take back our America!

 

[T-rav]

The thing is these are things I have talked about with co-workers and friends for some time now. My question is would the American people be willing to keep a man/woman in office for more than a few terms IF they had bills after bills to reform this and they actually donated the majority of THEIR salary to a GOOD charity. I think as long as they were making a valiant effort to get this done Id keep them around AS LONG as they were not becoming part of the machine.

I would be more than willing if I was a congressman to present this on a national tv program.

 

[ArmedProgrammer]

Power corrupts - we should be changing our Congress critters REGULARLY. Politics ought not be a career. The Founders all had legitimate businesses/trades?etc. T-rav - I would make it absolute. Two terms in Congress, One as a Senator, and the objective is to eliminate ALL career politicians.

 

[CarmelHP]

Here s a start to fix America got this in a email.

1. Term Limits: 5 years only and get their *** out. No returns.
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.

Where's the evidence of this? They didn't build it into the Constitution so why should I believe they believed this.

2. No Tenure / No Pension:

There is no tenure except that conferred by the voter. Congressman participate in the same pension plan as other federal employees with the same vesting structure.

A congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.

That is how it is now and always has been.

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.

The do participate in Social Security except for a very few who were in office prior to the late '70's. Congress participates in FERP (Federal Employees Retirement Plan) unless they opt out (and receive nothing) pays the same contributions and receives the same benefits with the same vesting structure.

4. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan just as all Americans.

That's the way it is now.

5. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

Technically, they cannot vote themselves a pay raise (27th Amendment). Any vote on a pay raise can not become effective until a subsequent Congress has been elected. Don't like Congress' pay, vote them out. Simple.

6. Congress looses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.

Hopefully, the American people will never have a "health care system." If you mean buy their own insurance, Congress participates in the federal employees cafeteria plan for health insurance and can choose from a list of providers like other federal employees.

7. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.

That was the rule from 1995 until 2007 under Republican Congresses, but they got voted out, so I guess voters didn't think that rule was too important.

8. All contracts with past and present congressmen are void effective 1/1/2011. The American people did not make this contract with congressmen, congressmen made all these contracts for themselves.

Rather broad statement. What contracts are we talking about?

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

Again, where's the evidence of this? I know this is a popular current assertion and, perhaps, some of the Founders did, but if they believed it, they certainly didn't think it was important enough to bind Congress with the chains of the Constitution.

This list was apparently prepared by someone with a poor grasp of history, and an even poorer grasp of the operations of Congress and the Constitution. These feel-good panaceas are not the answer to the rot that emanates from the voter. The voter does an absolutely abysmal job of being a watchdog. God help them for their failings.

 

[ArmedProgrammer]

CarmelHP -

1) I agree that the Founders did not bind it with the chains of the Constitution. You make a fair point there. I would point out that it's important to follow their DEEDs as well... As I indicated above most all of them that I'm aware of had other career ambitions and enterprises as opposed to "civil servant".

2) If we consider many in Washington DC, you would likely agree that many of them display an arrogance and a belief that they are above the law - both sides of the aisle. Probably more Democrats right now simply due to the way the power is leaning.

3) I agree that the voters have been horribly derelict in their duties. Your point there makes total sense.

4) What you're hearing, IMHO, is the frustration of people who are watching behavior #2 above and feel powerless to stop it. They as voters, truly are not - but one can understand the frustration.

I can only hope that the frustration that you are hearing turn to CONSTRUCTIVE use, and that good candidates step up and run. People who believe in the Constitution and the rule of law - not merely the acquisition of power. I believe that the voters would see that choice fairly clearly this time around. I further believe that for a person to be credible (and show that they are not after the power grab) that they would do well to only go to Congress for a limited number of terms. Then use whatever they power they have to find the NEXT person in their district to lead us Constitutionally, and not kowtow to the pressures from either political machine... I have thought about, and if I were running for Congress that's the route that I would take. Not because it's an effective campaign strategy, but because it would be the right thing to do.