During a recent interview on CNBC, Warren Buffett said, "I could end deficit spending in 5 minutes. 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 only 3 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 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.

Demand that your elected representatives introduce this legislation for a vote, and then vote for its passage.

CONGRESSIONAL REFORM ACT OF 2011

1. Members of the U.S. House of Representative and Senate shall collect a salary while in office. But there shall be no provision for a special Congressional pension once they leave office.

2. Congress (past, present & future) shall participate in Social Security. All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security trust fund immediately. Members of Congress shall participate with exactly the same benefits as the American people.

3. Congress can purchase their own supplementary contributory retirement plan, just as many Americans do.

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

5. The current Congressional health care system shall be discontinued. They can participate in the same program of health insurance as all federal employees, paying the same premiums as all other government workers.

6. Congress must abide by all laws they impose on the American people. They must also be governed by any and all regulations issued by federal agencies.

7. If the amount of federal spending exceeds government revenues by more than 3% in any year, the terms for members of both the House and Senate shall be automatically limited to their current term of office. They shall then be disqualified from standing for re-election.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, not career politicians.

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!!!!! If you agree with the above, pass it on.

Nice - I just copied it into an email to my address book

VK, I find that your posts are most interesting. This is really one great idea. But will never happen. None of our criminal career politicans would even let this come up to go to the states as an Amendment to the Constitution.

I will ask again, how do WE THE PEOPLE get a Constitutional Amendment on the General ballot for consideration? Is there anyway that this can be done? Enquiring minds would like to know.

Originally Posted by Villages Kahuna

CONGRESSIONAL REFORM ACT OF 2011

1. Members of the U.S. House of Representative and Senate shall collect a salary while in office. But there shall be no provision for a special Congressional pension once they leave office.

2. Congress (past, present & future) shall participate in Social Security. All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security trust fund immediately. Members of Congress shall participate with exactly the same benefits as the American people.

3. Congress can purchase their own supplementary contributory retirement plan, just as many Americans do.

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

5. The current Congressional health care system shall be discontinued. They can participate in the same program of health insurance as all federal employees, paying the same premiums as all other government workers.

6. Congress must abide by all laws they impose on the American people. They must also be governed by any and all regulations issued by federal agencies.

7. If the amount of federal spending exceeds government revenues by more than 3% in any year, the terms for members of both the House and Senate shall be automatically limited to their current term of office. They shall then be disqualified from standing for re-election.

Some of that already exists.

For #1, Congress participates in FERS. I *did*, however, just learn that, for SOME federal employees, there are higher pension rates (not ridiculous, but still higher than the rest of us get) - and Congress is included in that (as are, for example, nuclear material handlers)

2. Congress DOES participate in Social Security and has since the 1980s.

4. Congressional pay raises are now handled far differently. When they DO vote on a raise (allowing a COLA, for example) they don't get it. It doesn't take effect until the NEXT Congress.

VK, Consider it done...passed on, that is. KP