Sherrod Brown.
Jerry McGuire.
Read on.
Washington (CNN) -- Should members of Congress cut their salaries
or raise the age at which they can draw a congressional pension when
many Americans are making personal sacrifices during the country's
prolonged economic crisis?
Sen. Sherrod Brown thinks so.
In April, the Ohio Democrat introduced the Shared Retirement Sacrifice
Act of 2011, which would require lawmakers to wait until the age of 66
to collect their pensions. Currently, lawmakers can retire as early as 50
with a full pension depending on how long they served.
"The reason I introduced my bill ... on this shared sacrifice in terms
of retirement age is I hear lots of members of Congress, especially,
particularly conservative members of Congress, say we should raise
the retirement age for Social Security," Brown said on CNN's "American
Morning."
Brown points to the fact that a member of Congress who gets elected
at 35 and retires at 55 can draw a pretty good pension then while other
Americans can't draw Social Security benefits until they reach 66.
"So, my thought there was that members of Congress should not be
able to get their pension, no matter how many years of service they
had; they should get no pension until any earlier than a Social Security
beneficiary should get theirs," he said.
In 2009, there were 455 retired members of Congress drawing a federal
pension based fully or in part on their congressional service in 2009,
according to a Congressional Research Service report released in
January.
Of that number, 275 were in office before 1984 and did not pay into
Social Security nor can they collect benefits. They received an average
yearly pension of $69,012 in 2009.
Amendments to the Social Security Act in 1983 required members of
Congress to pay into Social Security after January 1, 1984. The other
180 retired members are covered by both the old and new pension plans
and collected an annual pension of $40,140 in 2009.
Under both systems, members of Congress are eligible for a pension at
age 62 if they have completed at least five years of service, according to
the Congressional Research Service report. Members are eligible for a
pension at 50 if they have 20 years under their belt, or at any age after
completing 25 years of service, the report added.
Brown said it's important that lawmakers "sort of align as much as
possible their lives with the people who we represent, so we understand
things better and, you know, we still make more money than most
people, of course."
"But, at least, we ought to share some of the sacrifice better than we
do," he added.
On Thursday, a group of five taxpayer advocacy organizations sent
a letter to the 12 members of the deficit-reduction super committee
charged with a long-term debt reduction plan, calling for a 10% pay cut
for members of Congress, which it said would save $100 million over 10
years.
"This action is especially important at a time when many Americans
have seen their wages flatten out or decline, and a large number are
unemployed," the groups wrote in a letter.
The five groups were Taxpayers Protection Alliance, National Taxpayers
Union, Center for Fiscal Accountability, Our Generation and Americans
for Tax Reform.
Brown acknowledges the challenges in getting such a bill passed.
"I don't think that members of Congress will vote to pass that. I don't
think that probably will happen here any more than my idea to raise the
retirement age for members of Congress will pass," he said.
During the showdown over a possible government shutdown earlier
this year, the Senate passed a bill by unanimous consent that would
withhold pay from Congress and the president if the shutdown occurred.
Members of Congress and the president fall under mandatory spending,
meaning they would get their paychecks during a shutdown while federal
workers who weren't considered mandatory would not.
Democratic Sens. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Barbara Boxer of
California introduced the bill in February, arguing that if a government
shutdown occurs, politicians should "feel the pain," too.
Read more about the Senate bill
On April 5, Boxer and Casey called on House Speaker John Boehner,
R-Ohio, to pass a standalone bill in the House of Representatives that
would do the same, but it failed to gain traction.
Other efforts at enacting pay cuts for Congress, which hasn't taken such
action since the depths of the Great Depression in 1933, have failed to
get out of committee.
Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Virginia, sponsored legislation in January that
would cut members' pay by 10%, beginning in 2013. Griffith's legislation
is awaiting action after being sent to the House Committee on Oversight
and Government Reform.
Rep. Joe Wilson, R-South Carolina, also introduced a bill the same
month that would end automatic salary adjustments for members of
Congress. The bill was referred to the House Rules Committee, where it
has yet to move.
So how much do members of Congress make?
According to Mark Tratos, deputy chief of staff in the Office of Secretary
of the Senate, senators make $174,000 a year. Senate Majority Leader
Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell both make $193,400.
Over in the House, representatives make $174,000 a year, and the
speaker pulls in $223,500.
That may not be enough for one freshman tea party-backed Republican,
who said he's finding it hard to get by on his salary.
Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wisconsin, known for his stint on MTV's "The Real
World," told a constituent at a town hall meeting in Amery, Wisconsin,
in March that while he is making that high salary, he is "not living off the
hog."
The constituent, who described his own money woes, asked Duffy if he
were willing to take a pay cut. Duffy defended his salary, sharing his own
money problems.
"I guarantee that I have more debt than all of you. With six kids. I still
pay off my student loans. I still pay my mortgage. I generally use a
minivan. ... I've got one paycheck. So I struggle to meet my bills right
now," the lawmaker responded.
According to the Census Bureau, the median income for Wisconsin
residents in 2009 was $49,994 -- well below Duffy's salary.
Duffy spokesman Daniel Son said in a statement to the Milwaukee
Journal-Sentinel that "our nation faces a real fiscal crisis and
Congressman Duffy is committed to working with his colleagues in
the House to face these challenges head on, not score cheap political
points."
Lawmakers, however, do have expenses many average Americans don't
such as maintaining a residence in their home district and affording a
place to stay while in Washington, a city with hefty housing prices. Many,
including Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, have found a way around that:
sleeping in their Capitol Hill offices.
Others such as Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York, share a house with
other members of Congress.
An online poll related to this issue indicated that out of twenty thousand, give or take, respondents, 94% said they agreed that Congress should take a cut in pay and benefits.
I'm no statistician, but I believe that result gets filed under the category "no shit, Sherlock."
At the same time, no one with even a modest possession of their faculties could possibly believe that will ever happen.
Primarily because to do so would violate one of mankind's more amusing unwritten laws.
I got mine.
Now you go get yours.
The classic opening scenes in the movie "Jerry McGuire" had the sports agent wandering just a little too far off the reservation by writing a heartfelt and bluntly sincere "memo" on the subject of replacing greed and self interest with sacrifice and service to others.
And then committing professional suicide by copying and distributing it to all of his co-workers and managers.
Who all rallied behind him with words of praise and support and congratulations.
Right up to the inevitable moment he got his ass canned.
Old joke.
We're behind you.
So, that in the event we have to turn and run, we'll be in front of you.
It would be easy to dismiss Sherrod Brown's suggestion as grandstanding.
Somehow, and for the life of me I can't tell you why, my instinct is that he is sincere.
It really doesn't matter, though.
Because, as Jerry McGuire discovered, any idea that requires honestly and totally putting others before self usually has only one chance.
An ice cube's.
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