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Schilling Testifies in Support of the Congressional Retirement Age Act
Joins a Panel of Congressmen Pushing to Lead by Example, Promote Shared Sacrifice, and Save Taxpayer Money
Washington,
Jan 25 -
Washington, DC – Congressman Bobby Schilling (IL-17) and a number of his colleagues testified this morning before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in support of reforming congressional pensions at a hearing titled “Retirement Readiness: Strengthening the Federal Pension System.” Schilling – who has pledged to reject the congressional pension – testified alongside Congressmen Howard Coble (NC-06), Mike Coffman (CO-06), Bob Dold (IL-10), Tim Griffin (AR-02), and Richard Nugent (FL-05), all of whom have introduced legislation to reform the way congressional pensions are administered. Video and text of Schilling’s testimony can be found by clicking here or on the image below.
In July, Schilling introduced the Congressional Retirement Age Act (H.R. 2397), which would tie Members of Congress’ access to their federal pensions to the Social Security retirement age of their constituents. Members of Congress can generally retire with a full pension at the age of 62, but if a Member has served for 25 years they can retire with a full pension as early as age 50. Working Americans that Members of Congress represent, on the other hand, are eligible to receive full Social Security benefits at age 65 at the earliest. Preliminary estimates from the Congressional Budget Office staff indicate that the Congressional Retirement Age Act would save approximately $10 to $15 million over 10 years.
H.R. 2397, the Congressional Retirement Age Act of 2011, has been endorsed by the National Taxpayers Union (NTU). Identical legislation was introduced in the Senate by Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH).
"The Congressional Retirement Age Act is an ideal way to start a long-overdue, bipartisan conversation on how to keep federal benefit programs sustainable for the future,” said Pete Sepp with the NTU upon the bill’s introduction. “All Members of Congress should be able to agree that focusing on their retirement system first will provide a solid fiscal and moral foundation for building a consensus on necessary budget reforms throughout government. NTU's 362,000 members salute Congressman Schilling for his leadership and look forward to helping him as well as Senator Brown get this legislation to the President's desk as soon as possible."
Sepp was among those testifying on the hearing's first panel. More information on today's hearing can be found on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform's website by clicking here.
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