I received yet another email filled with lies and urging immediate action. This one is titled ’35 States file lawsuit……I hope U will agree with it’. This one has been circulating since November 2009.
Here’s the basic premise: 'Congress votes to allow itself to retire with full pay and benefits after serving only one term, they exempt themselves from many laws they expect ordinary citizens to abide by, and they exempt themselves from Healthcare Reform.' The email goes on to say that the proposed 28th Amendment to the Constitution would force Congress to live under the same rules and regulation that the rest of us do.
This is a cry for more transparency in what Congress does receive in retirement benefits, how much they are paid, and what their benefits consist of while they represent us.
All of this information can of course be found with very little effort but people would rather believe these random emails, get themselves all worked up over the lies presented within, and then share their worked up state with all of their friends.
Honestly, the reasoning behind why these falsehoods perpetuate is beyond me. It doesn’t seem to matter which party is in control of the house so you can’t readily blame Republicans for attacking Democrats and vice versa.
We are all thinking adults and really should know better than to believe everything that lands in our inbox. I know it was difficult to write that line with a straight face.
The ramifications are troubling. If we can so easily believe email can we also be easily mislead by reports from ‘legitimate’ media resources? The sad truthful answer is yes.
The American public needs to stop acting like sheep and lemmings.
The truth
While this idea may sound good in principle to most Americans and there's some historical truth to the claim that Congress has exempted itself from certain laws that apply to the rest of us, the case outlined above is largely inaccurate and outdated.
Ever since the passage of the Congressional Accountability Act in 1995 Congress has been answerable to the same civil rights and equal employment regulations that pertain to private businesses. Other alleged disparities, such as those having to do with Congressional retirement provisions and health care coverage, are misrepresented above as well.
It’s false that members of Congress can retire after only one term with full pay, and false that they don't pay into Social Security. Members elected after 1983 participate in the Federal Employees Retirement System. Members elected before 1983 participate in the older Civil Service Retirement Program. In both cases, they contribute to the plans at a slightly higher rate than ordinary federal employees. How much members of Congress receive upon retirement depends on their age, length of government service, and the configuration of their plan. All members of Congress pay into Social Security.
Once upon a time, members of Congress were exempt from many of the employment and civil rights regulations under which private businesses operate, but no longer, thanks to the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995. Section 201 includes prohibitions against discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, as well as sexual and other harassment in the workplace.
It’s false that Congress has exempted itself from the provisions of the various health care reform bills introduced in the House and Senate in 2009. According to an analysis by FactCheck.org: "Members of Congress are subject to the legislation’s mandate to have insurance, and the plans available to them must meet the same minimum benefit standards that other insurance plans will have to meet."
Urban Legends, 16 February 2005
Office of Compliance (U.S. government)
FactCheck.org, 20 January 2010
Come on people, stop showing the government how easily we are lead around. It just gives the wrong people dangerous ideas, like Genetically Modified Foods are good for you.
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