Guest Commentary: Congress’s complaint about health reform is hypocrisy

Written by Teddy Bart | 28 July 2010

TSI Guest Columnist

In the country classic, Willie and Waylon advise, Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys. –  Don’t let ‘em pick guitars and drive them old trucks; –  make 'em be doctors and lawyers and such.
I disagree. I think mamas should make their babies grow up to be members of the U.S. Congress. Only a chigger at Bonnaroo has a better gig.
For starters, let’s look at their wages. Each member of Congress currently receives a salary of $174,000 annually. (Leaders of both the House and Senate get approximately between 25 and 50 grand more.) A cost-of-living-adjustment increase takes effect annually unless Congress votes to not accept it, which is as likely as Barney Frank joining the NRA. If they lose a bid for re-election or retire, their retirement deal is the quintessence of cushy. The amount of a their pension depends on the years of service and the average of the highest 3 years of his or her salary. The starting amount – underscore starting – of a Member’s retirement pension is 80% of his or her final salary or $139,200 for the rest of their life.
And while all the republican Members along with several blue-dog democrat Members of Congress voted against the new health care law and antagonized many in the country into believing it was a government take-over of our health care system, members of Congress enjoy a health care plan superior to the one enacted for the rest of us. Like their salary, pension, and other benefits, we taxpayers tote a major part of the note.
As soon as members of Congress are sworn in, they may participate in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP.) The program offers an assortment of health plans from which to choose. In addition, Congress members can also insure their spouses and their dependents. Not only does Congress get to choose from a wide range of health plans, but there’s no waiting period, no precondition clauses, no conditions at all. Senators and Representatives are covered no matter what – effective immediately. And here’s the best part. The government, funded by taxpayers, pays up to 75 percent of their premium.
Ah, but there’s more from the fountain of Congressional blessings. Members of Congress have their own pharmacy, right in the Capitol. They also have a team of doctors, technicians and nurses standing by in case of emergency. They can get a physical exam, an X-ray or an electrocardiogram, without leaving work. Although members pay extra for these services, taxpayers end up kicking in another $2 million for the perk.
Ironically, the very national health care plan all republicans and some democrats voted against – the plan the Tea Party pejoratively labels, “Obama-care” – is a kissing cousin to the health care plan members of Congress enjoy. I wonder how many candidates running for Congress on the promise to rescind “Obama-care” will refuse coverage if they are elected?
Is it any wonder Congressional wannabes fork out millions for a gig like that and incumbents use all their leverage to hold on? The pay is terrific, the health care plan is beyond any other, and the perks are sensational. In what other job can you junket to some of the most glamorous resorts in the world on somebody else’s dole.
Then there are the non-tangible bonuses. Like rock stars, members of the House and Senate have implicit stature. From airport parking to restaurant seating to event tickets, being a member of Congress or the U. S. Senate gets you first class priority. 
In addition to the litany of perks, each member of Congress runs a small business totally subsidized and paid for by we taxpayers including salaries, office space, equipment and all the trimmings. Representatives have a limit of eighteen full time and four part time staffers; Senators have no limit on staff. On average Representatives employ 14 staff members, while the average Senator employs 34. Budgets for staff are determined by the population of their state.
According to LegiStorm, a non-partisan information gathering organization to promote transparency in Congress (www.legistorm.com), in 2009 Tennessee Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker each had a staff payroll of over 2.5 million dollars.  Representatives Marsha Blackburn and Jim Cooper had staff payroll of over one-million dollars with Rep. Lincoln Davis coming in just under that at $997, 815. Those of us who have run a small business salivate seeing the government tote the note for 535 small businesses. 
As difficult as it is for small business owners to stay in business, laws passed by members of Congress stack the deck against competition with the tenacity of an NFL lineman protecting his job against some rookie in training camp.
For example, living in Tennessee’s 4th Congressional District, I received a well-produced, four-page, full color mailer piece from my Representative, Lincoln Davis. In it, he explains what he’s for and what he’s against, pictures of himself shaking hands with folks out in the hustings, plus some other items fashioned to promote his re-election to the sprawling 24 county portion of the state he represents.
According to information provided by Lincoln Davis’ office, 116,115 pieces of the brochure was mailed to voters in his district--the precise number of people who voted in the last election. The mailer cost $4,300 to design and lay out and $13,680 in printing costs. A postmaster in the 4th Congressional District told me that if Davis would have had to pay the postage for mailing 116, 115 of his brochures, it would have cost him around $60,000. But it cost him nothing, zilch, nada. Members of Congress get free franking privilege, paid for by taxpayers.
This information is not intended to be a rap on Lincoln Davis. In fact, his office is one of the more frugal operations among the 535 members of Congress. Many of his colleges spend far more running their offices and producing and distributing their material to voters. 
My intention is to illustrate how being a public servant has evolved into being lord and master.

Teddy Bart is a broadcaster and author. Contact him at www.teddybart.com.