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It’s time to trim congressional perks

Start with Congress’s overly generous pension plan

By Congresswoman Virginia Foxx

The federal budget deficit will hit $1.3 trillion in 2011, topping one trillion dollars for the third year in a row.  This unprecedented flood of red ink concerns me as well as millions of Americans.  That’s why I’ve voted hundreds of times under both Republican and Democrat administrations to reduce federal spending and get the federal deficit under control.

As important as it is to cut federal spending, Congress also needs to lead by example and closely examine its own budget.  This year the House of Representatives did just that, cutting its own budget by $55 million for 2011 and voting for an additional $39.1 million cut for 2012.  That amounts to nearly $100 million in cuts to the House budget. 

But I’m not convinced this is enough.   Congress can do more to reduce its own expenses, especially if we expect the rest of the federal government to do the same.   The best place to continue the cutting is the congressional pension program. 

Misinformation about congressional benefits like pensions or health care is pervasive.  For instance, if you believe many of the email forwards circulating on the web, you could think that Representatives don’t pay Social Security taxes or get a full pension after one year or even get “free healthcare.”

The truth is that every member of Congress pays Social Security taxes and pays monthly health insurance premiums if they choose to participate in the federal employee health insurance program.  But Congress does have a very generous pension program that costs taxpayers millions each year.  It’s time to wind it down.

The congressional pension system is based on the federal government employee pension system. The congressional plan gives retired federal lawmakers, who have served at least five years in Congress, an annual payment equal to 1.7 percent of their salary multiplied by the number of years served—for up to 20 years.  Current members of Congress are also required to pay 1.3 percent of their annual salary into the pension plan.

This means a congressman who is at least 62 years old and who retired in 2012 after serving six years in Congress would receive a pension of approximately $17,000 a year for the rest of his life.   For a 10-term congressman it would be closer to $59,000 per year. 

Very few North Carolina private sector workers have such generous retirement benefits.  During these times of economic difficulty it makes no sense for Congress to enjoy a lucrative pension plan that almost none of our constituents have. 

There’s an easy fix to this problem: stop the congressional pension.  To that end, I’ve cosponsored legislation with my colleague Congressman Mike Coffman from Colorado to wind down the pension program.  This legislation (H.R. 2913) would end the pension program and save taxpayers millions each year. 

Will this balance the budget and end the federal deficit?  Absolutely not.  It is a start, however.  And it sends a message to America that Congress is serious about cutting spending—including its own budget and benefits.

As someone who owned and operated a small business for more than 20 years, I understand the value of a dollar and how to keep costs under control.  The congressional pension is emblematic of a federal government that lost touch with any sense of cost control and needs to be reined in.  The sooner we rein it in, the better.  And what better place to start than with congressional pension largess?

Note: The congressional pension system is, like much of the federal government, a byzantine labyrinth of rules and carve-outs.  If you want to learn more about the congressional pension, the non-partisan Congressional Research Service produced a very detailed study on the topic that covers all the specific ins and outs of congressional retirement benefits.  You can read it by clicking here.