CONGRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP, AUSTERITY & REFORM NOW!

                Leadership, austerity and reform, like charity, needs to begin at home. The home in this case is Congress. The following  ideas - - some collected from others and some personal thoughts - - are what this citizen believes are consistent with the concept of  duty, loyalty and service to Country to which all Congress people profess to aspire, but equally important, would convey commitment to fiscal leadership, constituent compassion and responsible service.   They are worthy of immediate consideration and expedited implementation.

1. Term Limits:  A twelve (12) year term limitation should apply to all in Congress - two six (6) year terms for Senators; six (6) two year terms for members of the House. Appointment or election to fill Congressional vacancies should count as a full first term in calculating the twelve (12) year term limitation. Any incumbent ( Senate or House) who has achieved term limitation should not be eligible for appointment or election to the same office for a period of six (6) years following imposition of the term limitation.

2. Base Salary, Productivity Bonus & Other Benefits:  

(A) Congress (House & Senate) 530 rank and file members should receive an annual base salary in the amount of $ 170,000.00 which should not be increased at any time by a cost of living adjustment (COLA) nor by any other index or factor. Incumbent rank and file members should be eligible to earn a productivity bonus each year following the first full year in office in an amount equal to one percent of base salary for each 1,000,000 net increase in private sector employment achieved by the Nation during the preceding calendar year.   Increase or decrease in the fixed $170,000.00 annual base salary should only be authorized by a majority vote of the electorate during any regularly held national election.

(B) The majority and minority party leaders in the House and Senate should receive a fixed annual base salary in the amount of $190,000.00 which should not be increased at any time by a cost of living adjustment (COLA) or by any other index or factor. The same annual productivity bonus afforded rank and file members should also be given to minority and majority leaders. The same requirement (a vote of the electorate) that applies for increasing or decreasing rank and file members fixed base salary should also apply to majority and minority party leaders.

(C) The Speaker of the House should receive an annual base salary of  $220,000.00 which shall not be increased at any time by a cost of living adjustment (COLA) or by any other index or factor.  An annual productivity bonus should be awarded to the Speaker of the House in the amount of one half of one per cent using the same job increase criteria established for rank and file members.

(D) There should be no salary adjustments based on tenure, no match of pension contributions, and members of Congress should not receive pay when they leave office whether they leave  term-limited, unelected  or succumbed. They should be eligible for unemployment compensation at the same rate and for the same term as the citizenry at large.  Retired members of Congress should not be eligible to lobby, contract with or work for the Federal Government or any of its departments, agencies or the Congress itself for a period of five calendar years from the day they leave office.

(E) All members of Congress and all Federal employees should contribute to and be part of the Social Security System and receive benefits at the same age and on the same basis as any other eligible citizen.  Congressional member and Federal employee participation in the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees’ Retirement System (FERS) should cease and all funds attributable to contributions made by members of Congress and Federal employees should be transferred to the Social Security System. Members of Congress and Federal employees should be permitted to enroll and contribute to a private sector 401k or other private sector pension program which should be matched annually up to 5% of annual base salary or a maximum of $ 8,500.00 per year and adjusted accordingly if the electorate approves an adjustment in fixed annual base salary.

3.Expense Allowances:

(A) Members of House and Senate should receive an annual basic staffing allowance of $700,000.00 for salaries for up to 14 permanent employees including legislative assistants (combined count in Washington and the District or State offices).  Each member of the House and Senate should be allowed one additional permanent employee in Washington for each standing committees of which they are the Chair.  The $700,000.00 basic allowance should be increased by $50,000.00 to allow for additional permanent employees needed as the result of a standing committee Chair assignment.  No allowance should be made for committee or subcommittee member assignments. No immediate family (spouse, children or spouses of children) of a member of Congress should be employed by any member of Congress.

(B) A supplemental annual allowance for general  office expenses including travel and franking for rank and file House and Senate members should be limited to $200,000.00 per year. House and Senate office space should be provided in Washington and should be provided in Federal buildings when available in the home District or State.  No House or Senate office should exceed 5,000 sq. ft. outside of Washington. If Federal building space is unavailable outside of Washington, the General Services Administration (GSA) should locate and negotiate a lease for suitable space which should not exceed the average sq. ft. office space rate in the selected area.
  
(C) All office furniture and office equipment, new and refurbished, should meet GSA specifications and should be provided to the members of Congress by the GSA.  All office supplies should be requisitioned and drawn from a central GSA office supply inventory.  There should be no separate member allowance for office furniture or equipment either in Washington or in the District of State.

(D) Tuition assistance for Congressional employees should not exceed the actual cost and be limited to $ 7,500.00 per employee, per semester, per year in an accredited institution or other program and should be awarded only upon successful completion of the program undertaken.
       
4. Other thoughts:

(A) When in Washington, free preventative and emergency health and dental care should be available to Members of Congress in a Capitol Clinic operated as an adjunct of the Bethesda Naval Facility. The Facility should also provide hospital beds and surgical facilities when needed.  Members on their own may  purchase additional health care coverage for themselves, for their spouse and for their children from any private sector health care provider that offers health care coverage to the general public.

(B) Consideration should be given to constructing a 535 dormitory/apartment facility for Members of Congress with easy access to Congressional office buildings and the Capitol.  Each Member should be provided with a two bedroom, two bath apartment, a dine-in kitchen facility, a sitting room and a den for use by the Member and family when in Washington on Congressional business.  The dormitory facility should also have security, a guest lobby, a central recreation facility (pool, weight & exercise room), a buffet dinning facility (no room service) serving breakfast and dinner, and a 24 hr. snack canteen.

(C) Congressional Hearings are a costly proposition and should held and  conducted only when absolutely necessary.  This is not to say no hearings should be conducted. Rather, no hearing should be scheduled and conducted simply on the say so of a committee chair. Committee Chairs should be required to post a  proposed schedule of hearings along with its purpose and intent on a Proposed Hearing Log which should be updated and distributed weekly to all members of the House of Senate. The body in which the hearing is to be held should review and vote its approval of  the proposed hearings at its concluding session each week.   Each hearing posted shall be subject to hold if an objection is raised by any member and is followed by a  ten per cent affirmative vote of the body assembled when the Proposed Hearing Log is considered. A held  proposed hearing may be re-posted with additional information for further consideration on subsequent Proposed Hearing Logs.  Publication of a notice of a hearing in the Congressional Record should not be sufficient to justify the cost expended in holding a hearing.

(D)  All members of Congress (House & Senate) should be required to disclose within thirty days following an occurrence the nature of any investment transactions they make themselves, have others make for them, or have advised others to make. This includes stock  & bond transactions, real property acquisition or disposal, and direct capital investment in any private sector business.  

         In conclusion: It should be a privilege to be elected and serve.  However, to be elected and serve should not make one privileged nor exempt them any rule or regulation that their constituents must observe.  Those we elect should be people who lead the way on all fronts including austerity and who adhere to the highest code of values possible.  

Harold Vogt

Veterans: Needed Training Going In and Need Training Getting Out!

      Both enlistees and inductees receive basic and supplemental training when they begin their military service. The purpose of this is obviously and rightfully to erase the characteristics they have developed to survive as civilians and  provide them the characteristics they will need for the rigors of military service including surviving when called to serve in a hostile environment.  While there may be some overlap in characteristics required for survival in both a civilian and military environment, for the most part, those for the military will be new and with continued service will become inbred and dominant.  But what happens at the end of their service?

      For the most part it's surrender your gun, maybe a thank you and good bye. Is this enough for the many who have served a tour or successive tours often under horrific conditions?  Is this enough for those who have traded, whether voluntarily or through activation or "call-up", the freedom and lifestyle they enjoyed as civilians to  protect and preserve ours?  Do we owe them more?

      I  believe YES!  And, its more than the VA benefits they have earned and are eligible for when they get out, which arguably may not be adequate compensation for what they have been through and done.  The more I am talking about would occur even before they left the active ranks.  For the lack of a better term, lets call it Exit Training.  Like the fixed period of basic training at the beginning, there should be a similar fixed period of training before the end and the return to life as a civilian.

      Exit Training should be designed as preparation course for a return to civilian life.  It should include an orientation to changes in living and working conditions that may have come about while they served. It should cover what they can expect when returning to their loved ones, looking for employment, getting their financial house in order, and getting the assistance  (VA or other) that may be available to them should the need it.  How the skills they acquired while in the military can be used productively in civilian life should also be discussed.. This Exit Training should also include an evaluation of the departing service members' ability to make the transition, their mental and physical state, and provide for the immediate referral for assistance when problems are identified.  Yes, this may be a costly addition to our military budget, but whatever that cost may be, it will never be enough to repay those who were in a position to have to give their lives, so we could have ours.

Harold Vogt   

   

 

CONGRESS PEOPLE NEED TO LOSE THEIR INDEX FINGERS

             Well, maybe not have them cut off, but perhaps at least taped to the palm of their hand so it becomes unusable and unable to point.  The current  point and blame  game on key issues like the economy, jobs, government spending, regulatory reform,  banking, tax fairness, energy development, housing, health care, education to name a few, solves none of them. They all need leadership, objective thinking, compromise and commitment and not the pointed index finger to achieve a thumbs up.  Isn't that really what our evolved aristocracy was elected to do?

             If you think about it, there is another reason for taping down that index finger. In that position and can't be inserted into mouth to moisturize and then be extended up in the air to determine what way the wind is blowing.  That's something that most of those in the Congressional aristocracy do before they even begin to give thought to or research an issue.  I have been around too long and  am not so naive to recognize that the number one objective of someone elected is to be re-elected. And, yes, the wind of the constituency is important to that end.  However, wouldn't it be nice if those elected would attempt to change the way the wind might initially be blowing  to another direction based on their own objective and educated assessment of what needs to be done to achieve the best outcome not just for their constituents but for the whole nation?  Is this too much to ask?

            Finally, think about it.  With the arms extended in front and the palms held facing one another, there is only one way the index finger points.  That's right, right back to oneself.  This not only applies to those who may be in the Congressional aristocracy, but to you and me, the voters, who put the aristocracy in place, compensate them and then tolerate procrastination,  sleazy behavior, and corruption when identified.  Maybe its time for us all to get the point of that taped index finger.  That's my view, what do you think?

Harold Vogt