Congressional Reform Bill

                I recently received an excellent idea for the fiscal problems in our nation.  The idea was attributed to Warren Buffett, and the article was written by John Paul Crum.  I believe the idea is excellent no matter who originated it.  Here is the article by Crum.

“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 26^th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18-year-olds) took only 3 months and 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 one (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.

“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 are out of office.

2.        Congress (past, present, and 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 [12/1/13].  The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen/women.

“Congress 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 think it is time?”

                I think it is time that We The People took matters into our own hands and forced this idea or a very similar one into law.  Our representatives enter Congress as ordinary people and manage to become millionaires or billionaires in just a few years.  They go to Washington with promises to serve us and soon become corrupted – if they were not already corrupt.  They will not vote any controls on themselves into law.   This is one way we can “take back our country” – by weeding out the politicians who are in government for the money and the perks.