Winds of Change

by Catherine Giordano

I received the following in an email. I've received it before. I don't send these kind of emails to 20 people because people get enough email.  Instead, I decided to put it on the blog where thousands can see it. What the initiators of this post forget is that these things can't become law until Congress votes it into law. When pigs fly!

It's too bad we can't do a citizens referendum to add an ammendment to the constituition.

Congressional Reform Act of 2013

1.  No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they're out of office.

 2. 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. It may not be used for any other purpose.

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%.

 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/women are void effective 12/31/13. The American people did not make this contract with Congress- men/women. Congressmen/women 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.

 *  *  * 

If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people then it will only take three days for most people (in the U.S.) to receive the message. Don't you think it's time?

P.S. I would amend to point 4 to say Congress gets the same increase as the Cost of Living increase that Social Security recipients get, but only once every six years.  They are already paid very well and that 3% a year will add up really fast.