Letter from Senator Tom Udall

I sent the following to Tom Udall...Senator from New Mexico:

Proposed 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution:


"Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United
States that does not apply equally to the Senators and/or Representatives;
and, Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators and/or
Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United
States ."


Here is his reply (sorry I couldn't transfer the fancy stationery...use your imagination)..:

January 31, 2011

Dear Ms. Bianca,

Thank you for contacting me regarding benefits for Members of Congress. I appreciate hearing from you about issues that concern you, and I would like to address a few of the issues that were raised in your letter.

There are many common misconceptions about the benefits Members of Congress receive. Prior to 1984, Members of Congress and other federal employees did not pay into Social Security and did not receive benefits from that program. They participated in a separate program for civil servants, the Civil Service Retirement System. In 1984, Congress established the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) for those who entered the federal workforce after 1983. Members of Congress, like other Federal employees under FERS, pay 6.2% of their taxable wage base into Social Security, and an additional 1.3% into a supplemental program. FERS is similar to the retirement savings programs offered by many private employers.

Concerns also have been raised regarding Congressional pay. Since 1989, Congress' annual pay adjustments have been based on a formula that is supposed to reflect the average pay increase for private-sector employees in a given year. However, dating back to my service in the House of Representatives, I have voted each and every time against allowing the automatic Congressional pay raise to occur.

Even though I voted against it, the most recent pay raise given to members of Congress was a 2.8 percent increase in January 2009. However, a provision in the FY2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act, which I supported, prohibited the pay adjustment for 2010. Additionally, with my support, Congress passed S. 3244 on April 27, 2010. This legislation stipulated that Members of Congress would not receive a cost of living adjustment in pay during fiscal year 2011.

You also raised the issue of term limits for Members of Congress. Currently, there is no mandatory limit on the number of terms or years Members of Congress may serve. There have been attempts in the recent past to change this by amending the United States Constitution to limit the number of terms that Congress may serve to three in the House of Representatives and two in the Senate. As an amendment to the Constitution, it would require a two-thirds majority vote approval in the House and Senate, and then must be ratified by three-fourths of the states. Currently, there is no legislation in the 112th Congress that has been introduced to address term limits.

You also may be interested to know that on March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law, a bill that I voted for in the Senate on December 24, 2009. This marked an important step forward in providing much needed health security to New Mexico families and businesses. Although this law won't solve all of the problems we face as a nation regarding health care, I look forward to continuing our work together to perfect our healthcare system for all New Mexicans.

The new health insurance reform law will provide affordable coverage options for 434,000 New Mexicans who are uninsured and 98,000 New Mexicans who purchase health insurance through the individual market. This landmark law will not stop insurance companies from raising premiums, but it will reduce family health insurance premiums by between $1,380 and $1,970, compared to what premiums would have been by 2016 without health reform. The law also will help our small businesses; almost 23,000 New Mexico small businesses will be eligible for tax credits for their contribution to their employee's health insurance.

It is important to note, however, that Members of Congress and their staff members will be required to purchase their health insurance through the health exchanges, just as everyone else will be, when these provisions take effect in 2014.

Please know that I understand your frustrations with Congress and also am personally dissatisfied with the current state of the affairs. Yet, despite this frustration, I remain committed to reform. On January 5, 2010, at the beginning of the 112th Congress, I introduced Senate Resolution 10, a resolution to improve the debate and consideration of legislation and nominations in the Senate. Senate Resolution 10 includes a rules reform package that improves accountability and transparency, while preserving minority rights. With 25 additional cosponsors, there is already wide support for the resolution.

The full Senate returned on January 25, 2011, and the resolution was debated further. On January 27, 2011, after many hours of debate, Senate Resolution 10 failed to receive a majority of votes, but I am pleased that 44 Senators voted for the reform measure. I look forward to continuing this important debate in the 112th Congress.

Thank you again for sharing your thoughts with me. Please feel free to contact me with your concerns regarding any federal issue by visiting my website at www.tomudall.senate.gov. For more information, you may also visit my Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Senator-Tom-Udall/106433512869 and receive up to the minute updates through my Twitter page at http://twitter.com/senatortomudall.

Very truly yours,

Tom Udall
United States Senator