Congressman doesn't worry about the Constitution

[nawainwright]

This guy isn't the first to slip up and be truthful. For example, when Walter Mondale ran against Reagan, he promised he would raise taxes.

I don't call it "refreshingly honest", I call it "stating the obvious."

But never fear, he'll probably be reelected by a bunch of idiots that ALSO don't concern themselves with the Constitution.

well he is from IL (full disclosure: I am a refugee of the aforementioned state)

 

[Rizzo]

This congressman just admitted to treason.

 

[Rich.Carpenter]

At least he is honest.

At least Adolph Hitler had conviction.

Congressman Hare, like so many others in Congress right now, is outright delusional. How could anyone in their right mind think it's ok to leave the Constitution out of the legislative process?!?

 

[jedi]

The government is nothing more than a bunch of slave owners. They have their own insurance, own rules, and are not subject to Social Security. They attempt to dictate what we can and can not do, and unfortunately masses of the SHEOPLE are all for it.

God help us all.

Wrong 1) "They have their own insurance". Congress has the SAME health insurance that the rest of the federal employee pool has. They get to pick from among several health plans (ie. Blue Cross Blue Shield, etc.. OPM-Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan Home Page) or pay into a Health Savings account (this is new as of 2009 me thinks; Insurance Programs). Both of these work similar to what big companies offer with the exception that me thinks most big companies have just 1 insurance provider while the FEDs can choose from several different providers.

Wrong 2) "are not subject to Social Security". Congress **AND** federal employees have been subject to Social Seucirty Income Tax (FICA) since 1984.

Q5: Is it true that members of Congress do not have to pay into Social Security?

A: No, it is not true. All members of Congress, the President and Vice President, Federal judges, and most political appointees, were covered under the Social Security program starting in January 1984. They pay into the system just like everyone else. Thus all members of Congress, no matter how long they have been in office, have been paying into the Social Security system since January 1984.
(Prior to this time, most Federal government workers and officials were participants in the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) which came into being in 1920--15 years before the Social Security system was formed. For this reason, historically, Federal employees were not participants in the Social Security system.)
Employees of the three branches of the federal government, were also covered starting in January 1984, under the 1983 law--but with some special transition rules.
1) Executive and judicial branch employees hired before January 1, 1984 were given a one-time irrevocable choice of whether to switch to Social Security or stay under the old CSRS. (Rehired employees--other than rehired annuitants--are treated like new employees if their break-in-service was more than a year.)
2) Employees of the legislative branch who were not participating in the CSRS system were mandatorily covered, regardless of when their service began. Those who were in the CSRS system were given the same one-time choice as employees in the executive and judicial branches.
3) All federal employees hired on or after January 1, 1984 are mandatorily covered under Social Security--the CSRS system is not an option for them.

So there are still some Federal employees, those first hired prior to January 1984, who are not participants in the Social Security system. All other Federal government employees participate in Social Security like everyone else.

This change was part of the 1983 Amendments to Social Security.

SOURCE: Social Security history Frequently Asked Questions

Federal employees (Congress included) also get a federal pension and depending on which program they are under CERS or FERS the pension can be greater/lessor than their SS check. Those under CERS (those who were hired before 1984 and DIDNOT convert) will get a CERS pension that will generally pay more than their SS check in part becuase most DONOT get an SS check since they did not pay enough into it. The rest are covered under FERS and the FERS pension is less the SS and the CERS pensions.

Note that those still in CERS are "double taxed" they get taxed for FICA for SS and then get "taxed" for their CERS pension even though the majority will never get an SS check due to not paying into the system long enough.

Next time please do a bit of research on this topic.

 

[Rizzo]

This man who says he doesn't care what the constitution says swore this upon entering office:

I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God!