Congressional Reform

This has been going around in an email and I think is well worth considering. I have made some minor changes but the basic idea remains as It came to me.

The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds) took only 3 months & 8 days to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people demanded it. That was in
1971…before computers, before e-mail, before cell phones, etc. Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took 1 year or less to become the law of the land…all because of public pressure.

Proposed by the people:
Congressional Reform Act

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

2. No Tenure/ No Pension. A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office. All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people.

3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.

4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3% (or be tied to the Social Security annual raises).

5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.

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

7.All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/12.

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, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work.

This is the kind of congress John Adams envisioned. He even advocated that congressmen serve without pay but wisely discarded that idea because it would mean that only the very rich could serve in Congress. Note that the operative word here is “serve”. To serve in Congress is an honor and a privilege. This idea deserves to be circulated and promoted so that our legislators know it is what the people want and what is expected of them. Talk about this and promote it. Lets make this truly a government “of the people, by the people and for the people”. This nation does not exist for the sole purpose of the care and feeding of congressmen.