Is It True That ... ?

Is it True that ...

E-mail will be taxed?

Congressmen don't pay Social Security?

Congressmen have a lavish pension plan?

Ethnic minorites will lose the right to vote?

Family members cannot serve in the same military unit?

bin Laden threatened Oliver North?

The Constitution is modeled after the Iroquois Constitution?

There are many colorful stories that circulate about Congress and actions taken by Members. Occasionally these stories end up in e-mail circulation. The U.S. Senate has put together the following research and information on several of the most commonly-asked questions. For more details, please visit the U.S. Senate Reference Home.

. . . Congress is considering a bill to tax e-mail?

The answer is no. This Internet hoax claims that "Congressman Tony Schnell" is sponsoring Bill 602P to allow a 5-cent surcharge or tax for each e-mail delivered by billing the Internet service provider.

However, there is no Congressman Schnell, and there never has been one. Bill 602P does not exist; in fact, bills in the U.S. Congress are not numbered in that style. You can find more information about this at the U.S. Postal Service.

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. . . Congressmen don't pay Social Security?

The answer is no. All Members of Congress pay Social Security taxes in the same fashion as every other person employed in the private sector. For more details on the situation which may have created the confusion regarding Social Security, please visit the U.S. Senate Reference page on this issue.

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. . . Congressmen have a lavish pension plan that will pay them a pension equal to their congressional salary for the rest of their lives?

The amount of a congressional pension varies and depends on years of service and age at the time of retirement. Like most federal employees, Members of Congress are eligible for a pension upon meeting age and service requirements. Read a report on the details on retirement benefits for Members of Congress.

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. . . Ethnic minorities may lose the right to vote because the Voting Rights Act of 1965 expired in 2007?

The answer is no. Congress passed the Voting Rights Act in 1965 and it is a permanent law. It protects citizens' right to vote primarily by forbidding states from using tests of any kind (like literacy tests) to determine eligibility to vote, requiring federal approval before enacting any election laws and assigning federal officials to monitor the registration process in certain places. The Act has been amended several times since it was first passed. There are some provisions of the law which were scheduled to expire in 2007, but those provisions (which require federal examiners and federal election observers) will not result in the loss of the right to vote. The Department of Justice has a fact sheet on this matter which you may find of interest.

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. . . Family members are prohibited from serving in the same military unit or on the same ship?

The question sometimes refers to "the Sullivan Act," which allegedly prohibits family members from serving together on the same ship or in the same military unit?

The answer is no. There is no such act or law, although there were several bills introduced in Congress regarding family members serving together. None of those bills were enacted into law, but there are military policies in place to discourage immediate family members from serving together.

The so-called Sullivan Act derives its name from the five Sullivan brothers; George Thomas, Francis "Frank" Henry, Joseph "Joe" Eugene, Madison "Matt" Abel, and Albert "Al" Leo; who enlisted in the Navy on the same day, January 3, 1942. The Waterloo, Iowa, natives enlisted with the stipulation that they serve together. They were assigned to the same ship, the U.S.S. Juneau, which was torpedoed and sank on November 13, 1942, during the Battle of Guadalcanal. All five died. It is interesting to note that there were at least thirty pairs of brothers on board the ship, including four Rogers brothers from New Haven, Connecticut. The Naval Historical Center maintains additional information on the Sullivan brothers and the legacy left by their efforts.

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. . . bin Laden threatened Oliver North?

This question generally refers to reports that Oliver North testified in the 1987 Iran-Contra hearings that Osama bin Laden had threatened his life.

The answer is no. The Internet hoax claims that, during a July 7, 1987, joint Senate-House hearing under questioning from a Senator, Oliver North said that he had installed a home security system because a terrorist had threatened him and his family. North identified the terrorist as Abu Nidal, not Osama bin Laden. In addition, the question was not asked by a Senator, but by committee counsel John Nields.

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. . . The Constitution is modeled after the Iroquois Constitution?

This question posits that the U.S. Senate passed a resolution on September 16, 1987, stating that the U.S. Constitution was explicitly modeled upon the Iroquois Constitution.

The answer is no. The Senate did pass a resolution that acknowledged the contributions of the Iroquois Confederacy of Nations to the development of the Constitution and reaffirming the continuing government-to-government relationship between Indian tribes and the United States established in the Constitution. That resolution, S.Con.Res. 76, was introduced in the Senate by Senator Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii); a similar resolution, H.Con.Res. 331, was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Morris Udall (D-Arizona). Both resolutions passed their respective bodies in October 1988. Read the text of H.Con.Res 331 as passed by Congress.

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