# Congressional Reform Act of 2011



## Synthaholic (Oct 14, 2011)

Just got this in an email.  I don't know if it's true, bullshit, from Buffett, not from Buffett, or anything else about it.

But I like it!



[FONT=&quot]Warren Buffett, in a recent  interview with CNBC, offers one of the best quotes about the debt ceiling:

"I  could  end the deficit in 5 minutes," he told CNBC. "You just pass a   law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than 3% of  GDP,  all sitting members of Congress are ineligible for  re-election

The 26th amendment (granting the  right to vote for 18 year-olds) took only3  months & 8 days  to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people demanded  it. That was in  1971...before computers, e-mail, 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.

Warren  Buffet is asking each addressee to forward this email  to a minimum of  twenty people on their address list; in turn ask  each of those to do  likewise.

In three days, most  people in The United States of  America will have the message.  This is one idea that really should be  passed  around.


[/FONT]*[FONT=&quot]Congressional Reform Act of 2011[/FONT]*[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
1. No  Tenure / No Pension.
A Congressman collects a salary while in  office and receives no pay when they are 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 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.

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. Maybe  it is  time.

THIS IS HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS!!!!![/FONT]


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## percysunshine (Oct 14, 2011)

Synthaholic said:


> Just got this in an email.  I don't know if it's true, bullshit, from Buffett, not from Buffett, or anything else about it.
> 
> But I like it!
> 
> ...



The Democrat Senators will never go for it.

DOA.


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## Truthmatters (Oct 14, 2011)

Not bad but you need to reform who can give money in an election.


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## Synthaholic (Oct 14, 2011)

Truthmatters said:


> Not bad but you need to reform who can give money in an election.


Get Money Out


Sign it!  Get your friends to sign it!


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## percysunshine (Oct 14, 2011)

Truthmatters said:


> Not bad but you need to reform who can give money in an election.



Only Truthmatters should be allowed to give money to politicians. That way we can trust that it is going to the right people.


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## Synthaholic (Oct 14, 2011)

percysunshine said:


> Truthmatters said:
> 
> 
> > Not bad but you need to reform who can give money in an election.
> ...


I can see why you only consider yourself a hobbyist.  Even if you do spell it wrong.


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## percysunshine (Oct 14, 2011)

Synthaholic said:


> percysunshine said:
> 
> 
> > Truthmatters said:
> ...



Is there a problem with Truthmatters? So you want to be the arbitor of political largesse. 

Can we trust you?


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## Defiant1 (Oct 14, 2011)

Truthmatters said:


> Not bad but you need to reform who can give money in an election.


 

Really?  Whose rights do you want to trample now?


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## Inthemiddle (Oct 15, 2011)

It would take a constitutional amendment to do this.


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## WatertheTree (Oct 15, 2011)

Synthaholic said:


> Just got this in an email.  I don't know if it's true, bullshit, from Buffett, not from Buffett, or anything else about it.
> 
> But I like it!
> 
> ...



Really?  Were going to fix congress's addicition to lobbiest money by attacking proper and justified income and benifits.

Thats fucking smart -not-


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## WatertheTree (Oct 15, 2011)

Defiant1 said:


> Truthmatters said:
> 
> 
> > Not bad but you need to reform who can give money in an election.
> ...



Corporate power, cause there not people.  They are souless monsters, eaters of profit who justify there own existence and greed by fueling the narcissim of there stockholders.
They should be stripped of the rights of human returned to there rightfull place, servants to population.


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## tplhhi (Oct 18, 2011)

Right, the republicans would be completely on board.




percysunshine said:


> Synthaholic said:
> 
> 
> > Just got this in an email.  I don't know if it's true, bullshit, from Buffett, not from Buffett, or anything else about it.
> ...


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## Greenbeard (Oct 18, 2011)

Synthaholic said:


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



That one, at least, has already been passed.


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## Navy1960 (Oct 19, 2011)

Congressional pension is a pension made available to members of the United States Congress. Members who participated in the congressional pension system are vested after five (5) years of service. A full pension is available to Members 62 years of age with 5 years of service; 50 years or older with 20 years of service; or 25 years of service at any age. A reduced pension is available depending upon which of several different age/service options is chosen. If Members leave Congress before reaching retirement age, they may leave their contributions behind and receive a deferred pension later.[1] The current pension program, effective January 1987, is under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), which covers members and other federal employees whose federal employment began in 1984 or later. This replaces the older Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) for most members of congress and federal employees.

Congressional pension - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

AMENDMENT XXVII 
Originally proposed Sept. 25, 1789. Ratified May 7, 1992. 

No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of representatives shall have intervened
The Constitution of the United States: Amendments 11-27

It would seem to me that if one wished to change the retirement benefits of Congress it would be a matter of  doing one of two things. The easiest way would be  for congress to bascially pass legislation setting their  pension benefits or  what program they participate in. The other way would be to create an Amendment that sets that for all of Congress which would seem to me a needless excerice, when it can already be set by legislation. The hard part would be  getting them to actually do it.   Would be a matter of finding  candidates that people are willing to vote for  that commit to do it.  On a side note, I know of very few professions that one can be fully vested in after 5 years.   I would also submit that 5 years of Military service would be MUCH more deserving of being vested than 5 years of  congressional service.


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## CrusaderFrank (Oct 19, 2011)

A generation ago Jackie Mason said to "put Congress on commission"


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## CrusaderFrank (Oct 19, 2011)

Truthmatters said:


> Not bad but you need to reform who can give money in an election.



Agreed. Unions and Soros affiliated companies should not be allowed to give money to politicians


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## Wiseacre (Oct 19, 2011)

Truthmatters said:


> Not bad but you need to reform who can give money in an election.




Really?   Some people or organizations get to give money but others don't?   Is that fair, you guys just love fair.   I'd rather limit the contribution to say $500 for everybody, no excpetions, and I'd funnel it through an independent group that checks the donor for legality.  If it doesn't check out then the money goes into the US Treasury.

I'd also require 3rd party ads to be listed, who paid for it and no funny bu siness trying to hide identities.   Actually, I'd rather outlaw all rd party ads, but that's probably a violation of the 1st amendment.   At least we should ensure full transparency for who's paying for what.


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## CrusaderFrank (Oct 19, 2011)

Truthmatters said:


> Not bad but you need to reform who can give money in an election.



Stupid people shouldn't be allowed to cancel my vote, but I can't help that either


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## BDBoop (Oct 19, 2011)

FactCheck.org : Congressional Reform Act


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## asaratis (Oct 21, 2011)

Synthaholic said:


> Just got this in an email.  I don't know if it's true, bullshit, from Buffett, not from Buffett, or anything else about it.
> 
> But I like it!
> 
> ...


The first part is indeed from Warren Buffet.  The remainder is editorial comment from someone else.  Still, the ideas are quite in line with what should be done regarding congressmen and their perks.  There is absolutely no valid reason that they should be granted any privileges, retirement programs, medical care of other benefits that exceed those available to the average citizen.

The problem is, they vote themselves these things and it will be difficult to take them away.  Maybe an executive order by the President could do that.


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## jimgeddes (Oct 21, 2011)

I am 100% for an ammendment like this. Could we also add that base pay is based on the medium income of the area sitting congessmen represent?


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