Rep. Howard Coble (R-N.C.) pushed for support of a measure that would reform the congressional pension system on the House floor on Wednesday.
Coble’s bill stipulates that new members of Congress would have to serve at least 12 years before becoming vested in the Federal Employee Retirement System. Current law requires legislators to serve for five years before becoming eligible for lifetime pension benefits.
“…My bill is a commonsense reform measure for an overly-generous pension program,” Coble said. “It would require longer service time before someone would be eligible to receive a congressional pension. I introduced the bill back in June, and I thought after (four or five) weeks, I would have 20 to 25 cosponsors. As of today, there are zero cosponsors. That’s why I went to the House floor to renew my call for pension reform.”
Coble, who recently announced that he would not run for reelection when his current term in Congress expires, noted that the measure would not impact other federal employees.
“It is a commonsense proposal,” Coble said. “I will anxiously await the knock on the door for cosponsors willing to sign up. The welcome mat is out. It is a good proposal.”
The bill would go into effect at the start of the 114th Congress in January.