WANTED: A National Referendum on the U.S. Congress

This is taken and modified from one of those emails that periodically gets circulated on the Internet. Since it is a great idea, I'm sharing it. Perhaps we can get a critical mass to actually implement this.

Congressional Reform Act of 2010

1. Term Limits of twelve years only, in one of the options below.

• Two Six-year Senate terms

• Six Two-year House terms

• One Six-year Senate term and three Two-Year House terms
  

2. No Tenure / No Pension.

Members of Congress will collect a salary while in office and receive no pay when they are out of office.

3. Members of Congress (past, present & future) will participate in Social Security.

All funds in the Congressional retirement fund will be moved to the Social Security system immediately. All future congressional retirement funds flow into the Social Security system, and members of Congress will participate along with their constituents, the American people.

4. Members of Congress can choose to purchase a retirement plan or not, just as all Americans do.

5. Members of Congress may no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of the Consumer Price Index or 3%.

6. Members of Congress will no longer have their current health care system, but will participate in the same health care system as their constituents, the American people.

7. Members of Congress will be equally subject to all laws they impose on the American people.

8. Effective January 1, 2011, all contracts with past and present members of Congress are voided.

The American people did not make or approve the rules by which the U.S. Congress operates; members of Congress created these rules for themselves.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators that served their term(s), then returned to home and work.