There’s an e-mail making the rounds concerning Congressional pay and perks that is false and misleading. I’ve sent out corrections over and over, but I’m just one voice of reason. So I decided to post this here and hope it gets passed along too.
(Please note, that in correcting this misinformation, I am not arguing that current Congressional pay is necessarily reasonable, or that expense accounts or Congressional staffing couldn’t be beneficially trimmed.)
If you are curios enough to learn more, click here.
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1. No Tenure / No Pension. A Congress person collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when out of office.
There is no tenure and no pension. Congressional reps fall under the same rules as any other federal government worker. After 5 years they MAY join a retirement and health benefit plan, paying in at the same rate and receiving the same benefits as other government employees.
2. Congress (past, present & future) must contribute to the Social Security system. All funds in the Congressional retirement fund will be rolled over to the Social Security system. All future payments flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates equally with the American people.
There is no “Congressional retirement fund.” All Congressional pay is subject to the same Social Security and Medicare taxes as everyone else, and their SS benefits are figured exactly the same as everyone else’s.
3. Congress can purchase any additional retirement protection individually, just as all Americans can.
Of course. Always true.
4. Congress can no longer vote itself a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3% annually.
Congress implemented a CPI based system long ago. For at least the past two years they have voted NOT to accept the increase.
5. Congress loses their current health care system and will participate in the same health care system as the rest of the American people.
They already do. See above.
6. Congress must abide equally by all laws imposed on all the American people.
Always true.
7. All other contracts, past and present, with Congressional Reps become void effective with passage of this amendment. The American people did not approve these contracts.
What contracts? I have yet to see any evidence of any “contracts with Congressional Reps.”
8. Term limits?
Worth discussing. While one side argues that they would encourage “citizen” representation (and I tend to lean that way), others say it would do even more to empower lobbyists and corporations, particularly following Citizens United.
This e-mail is getting wide circulation. Most of it is spam. PLEASE, IF YOU RECEIVE IT, DO NOT FORWARD!
