Social Security beneficiaries have never enjoyed the same protection of their retirement benefits that Members of Congress seem to give to their own handsome pensions. When Members of Congress are convicted of crimes, they may lose their office and their annual paycheck ($165,200 this year), but they won't lose their cushy annual pensions — even in prison. Former U.S. Representative Randy "Duke" Cunningham, after pleading guilty to taking $2.4 million in bribes, is due to collect an estimated Congressional pension of $36,000 this year. In 1996, former chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Representative Dan Rostenkowski pleaded guilty to mail fraud, served 15 months in prison, and continues to draw $110,000 per year.
Under federal law, only conviction for a crime such as treason can cause a Member of Congress or any other convicted federal employee to lose a government pension. Yet Social Security benefits can be cut at any time. The Notch Babies are a case in point.
In 1977, as the Social Security Trust Fund was facing insolvency, Congress changed the Social Security benefit formula, affecting persons who started to retire just two years later. When the 1977 law was enacted, Congress provided a transition plan. Benefits for Notch Babies were calculated under both the new law benefit formula and a transitional benefit formula, and they received the higher of the two. The phase-in transitional plan was flawed, and it failed to provide any benefit protection.
Congress should consider banning pensions to convicted colleagues. But even more importantly, they must address their failure to protect the Social Security "pensions" of Notch Babies. And there is impressive progress to report. Support for "The Notch Fairness Act" (H.R. 615) introduced by Representative Ralph Hall (TX) is growing to a record number of co-sponsors since the legislation was introduced. With enough Representatives signed on as co-sponsors, we can help see to it that Notch Reform legislation is either brought to the House Floor via the House Ways and Means Committee or by the extraordinary measure of a "discharge petition." Please help us continue to build on this support by getting in contact with your Member of Congress and asking him or her to co-sponsor H.R. 615, "The Notch Fairness Act."
If you have not already signed our Social Security Notch Victim Consituent Petition, please do so now.
Sources: "Fallen Lawmakers Could Lose Pensions," Richard Simon, Los Angeles Times, December 15, 2005.
March 2006
