George Will reminds Congress about the Constitution here. Since Congressmen and Senators take an oath of office that requires them to “support and defend the Constitution,” it seems that they should be required to take a refresher course on the Constitution at least once a year.
Under legislation drafted by Sens. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., and Judd Gregg,
R-N.H., and endorsed by 33 other senators, the Bipartisan Task Force
for Responsible Fiscal Action would be composed of 16 members of
Congress (four each selected by the House speaker and minority leader,
and the Senate majority and minority leaders) plus the Treasury
secretary and someone the president selects. The panel would propose
spending cuts and tax increases to put the government on a glide path
to solvency. The menu of proposals would be guaranteed an up-or-down
vote — no amendments permitted — in both houses of Congress….Regarding procedure, consider a sentence in a Fiscal Times story in The
Washington Post on the task force idea, a sentence that seems bland
only because of this city’s advanced state of constitutional decadence:
“The White House has been talking to Congress to try to craft a
proposal that would not wholly relinquish congressional control over
major decisions on taxes and spending.” Wholly? The oath of office for representatives and senators does not commit them to partially or occasionally or when convenient
“support and defend,” and bear “true faith and allegiance” to, the
Constitution and “faithfully discharge the duties” of their offices…..
To this Constitutional abomination, Will suggests this new monetary incentive system:
Armies on the march are supposedly no match for an idea, especially
a bad one, whose time has come. But what armies cannot defeat, monetary
incentives might. So, the Gregg-Conrad legislation should be amended to
include this language:“During the life of this task force, which will perform
Congress’ fundamental duties, all senators and representatives will be
considered on vacation and will not be paid. If the task force’s
recommendations are accepted by Congress, there will be no
congressional pay until 2050.”This would be a Madisonian measure, altering incentives in order to encourage responsibility. Let’s vote.
