Whereas We, the People, agree, regardless of political affiliation, that Congress as it currently functions has lost its ability to effectively lead;

And Whereas We also collectively understand the following three foundations of this dysfunction permeating our people's Congress;

1. The Congress has been usurped by large monied interests;
   
2. Representatives' desire to stay in power is the driving factor to do anything, regardless of its harm to the People, to keep it;
3. A powerful underlying factor to Congress Member's desire to remain in office is a sense of  separateness from/superiority to the People they serve, through a system of entitlements, designed to provide Members exceptional benefits not available to the majority of Americans.
   

Therefore, We the undersigned demand the following changes to Congressional Compensation and Entitlement, in the form of an Amendment to the Constitution:

Congressional Reform Act of 2012

A member of Congress can receive no pay, pension, or any other form of residual compensation once out of office.


All members of Congress must purchase their own retirement plan as do the American people, and will participate in the Social Security retirement system as do the American people; the current Congressional retirement program shall be immediately dismantled, and no special retirement fund will again be created; All funds in the current Congressional retirement fund shall be immediately moved to the Social Security system. 

All Members of Congress shall be compensated based upon the median salary for all Americans at any given time (currently at $98,000, whereas Congress currently makes $174,000);

Congress may not vote itself a pay raise; Congressional pay may rise by an amount the lower of CPI or 3%.

All Members of Congress must participate in the same health care system as do the American People; any health care programs specific to Congress shall be immediately dismantled; no health care system apart from that available to the American People shall again be created.

Members of Congress must travel using the least costly methods, and while in office, must send their children to public school.

All Members of Congress shall have a staff that is no larger than that of a business senior manager in the private sector;

No member of Congress is permitted to receive special treatment in any form, and their needs or wants shall not be placed ahead of or above another American in any way, whether in Washington DC or in their home districts.

We the People demand that you discontinue the practice of treating yourselves in a way that places you above the average American, a practice of providing yourselves with compensation, benefits, and other treatments far better than that of those you serve.

To end such practices, we demand that you immediately pass the Congressional Reform Act of 2012, as outlined here.

Thank you.