Will Congressman
Gephardt Comply?
Taxpayer group asks
lawmakers to follow law and forfeit salaries for days campaigning
As the campaign season heats up and
more Senators and Representatives launch their bids for higher office, a
citizens group is asking them to refund their official taxpayer-financed
salaries for days they’re seeking votes at the polls instead of casting votes
in
“Many taxpayers believe it is unfair
to subsidize the salaries of members of Congress running for other offices,”
said NTU President John Berthoud. “Yet, not only is the practice unfair, it
also directly contradicts established federal law.”
On June 2nd, NTU sent letters to 13
lawmakers who are running for President, Governor, or (in the case of House
members) the U.S. Senate, in an effort to make them aware of a “long-standing
statute [that] requires Members of Congress to forgo pay for days missed due to
campaign appearances or other unexcused absences.” House and Senate leaders
were also copied on the letter.
According to 2 U.S. Code 39, “The
Secretary of the Senate and the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of
Representatives, respectively, shall deduct from the monthly payments (or other
periodic payments authorized by law) of each Member or Delegate the amount of
his salary for each day that he has been absent from the Senate or House,
respectively, unless such Member or Delegate assigns as the reason for such
absence the sickness of himself or of some member of his family.”
Under 2 U.S. Code 48, the President
of the Senate and the Speaker of the House are responsible for certifying the
salary accounts of Senators and Representatives, and so must make a good faith
inquiry into whether Section 39 deductions are in order.
The 13 office-seekers were also
provided with a memorandum authored by attorney Bruce Fein, which discussed the
validity and requirements of the law. Fein’s research determined that
enforcement of 2 U.S. Code 39, originally enacted in 1856, has been erratic, but the fact that it was
amended in minor respects as recently as 1996 “reaffirm[s] a Congressional
belief in its continued legal vitality.”
NTU is recommending that if
Congressional leaders won’t institute procedures to implement the law, then
those running for higher office should do so on their
own, by voluntarily requesting a salary deduction or by writing a check to the
Treasury equal to the cost of campaign-related absences. The group suggests
that an amount of $616.33 per day is appropriate (reflecting the annual
Congressional salary of $154,700 divided by 251 workdays, not counting 10
federal holidays).
“If the average American skipped
days of work in order to look for another job, they wouldn’t be paid,” Berthoud
concluded. “Why should Members of Congress be treated differently?”
NTU is a non-partisan citizen group
working for lower taxes, less wasteful spending, and accountable
government at all levels. Note: Copies of the letter to Senators and
Representatives (listing recipients at the end), along with the legal
memorandum, are available online at www.ntu.org.
For those without access to a computer, the following is the letter which was
sent and the list of recipients.
Dear
Congressman:
Although you may be unaware of it,
there is an obscure law that is applicable to Members of Congress seeking another
office. This long-standing statute requires Members of Congress to forgo pay
for days missed due to campaign appearances or other unexcused absences.
According to 2 U.S. Code 39, “The
Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives ... shall deduct
from the monthly payments (or other periodic payments authorized by law) of
each Member ... the amount of his salary for each day that he has been absent
from the House ... unless such Member ... assigns as the reason for such
absence the sickness of himself or of some member of his family.”
Under 2 U.S. Code 48, the Speaker is
responsible for certifying the salary accounts of Representatives. To discharge
that responsibility, the Speaker must make a good faith inquiry into whether
any salary deductions under Section 39 are in order.
We believe Congress should institute
procedures to implement this law, which, unfortunately, has been largely
ignored for decades. If you are absent for a campaign event during a day the
House is in session, we recommend that you implement the law on your own by
asking the Chief Administrative Officer to make the appropriate salary
deduction. Alternatively, you could write a check to the U.S. Treasury for the
amount equal to the cost of your absences due to campaign events.
To determine the amount of your
salary to deduct for each day missed, we suggest simply dividing your annual
Congressional salary by 251, since there are 261 weekdays per year, and 10
federal holidays. At current Congressional salaries, that is $616.33 per day.
After revealing the existence of
this law a few years ago, we found that many citizens agreed that it is unfair
to subsidize the salaries of Members of Congress running for other office.
I have enclosed additional information on this
law, including a legal memorandum written by attorney Bruce Fein that discusses
the validity and requirements of 2 U.S. Code 39 and 2 U.S. Code 48.
Please let me know in writing
whether or not you plan to voluntarily follow this law during your campaign. We
plan to publish a report on those Members of Congress who are running for other
office on whether and how they plan to comply with this law. The report will be
published some time after
Sincerely,
John
Berthoud
President
Letters
Sent to:
The
Honorable Richard Burr
The Honorable Mac Collins
The Honorable Jim DeMint
The Honorable Ernie Fletcher
The Honorable Mark Foley
*The Honorable Richard Gephardt
The Honorable Johnny Isakson
The Honorable Dennis Kucinich
The Honorable Pat Toomey
Letters
Sent to Senators:
The
Honorable John Edwards
The Honorable Bob Graham
The Honorable John Kerry
The Honorable Joseph Lieberman
cc:
The Honorable Richard Cheney, President of the Senate
The Honorable Trent Lott, Chairman, Rules Committee
Emily J. Reynolds, Secretary of the Senate
*Publisher's
Note…
It should
be quite interesting to see if Congressman Gephardt gives up his congressional
salary while he campaigns for President.
I wonder if he and other Congressmen and Senators owe us – the tax
payers – a refund from previous campaigns?