Congressional Reform Act of 2011

1/15/2011 Thanks for visiting!  So many people have checked this page that I thought you'd like to know that I expanded on it today.  The new post is here. KH

My mother just forwarded me this email:

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.

Congressional Reform Act of 2011

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.

3.  Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security.  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.

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

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

6. Congress loses 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 1/1/11.  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.

Actually, only some of the Founding Fathers, such as James Madison, envisioned a citizen legislature.  Federalists such Alexander Hamilton and George Washington favored professional legislation.  Learn more about this by reading the chapter on Shays Rebellion in 10 Days that Unexpectedly Changed America.    I have to add this because I believe that eisegetic reading of important documents, such as the US constitution and religious literature, foments discord and is ultimately dangerous.

Nonetheless, I agree that our elected representatives isolate themselves from the rest of US citizens by swaddling themselves in lifelong privilege.  They'd care a whole lot more about the state of US health care and about our entitlement programs if they knew they had to share in them.

Everyone who participates in our government (even by voting or abstaining from voting) should care a lot more about who's governing and why.