How would one organize a referendum requiring a referendum to make changes in Congressional pay/benefits?

Question

I wonder why this hasn't been done, or attempted in my lifetime and figure someone with more political savvy than I have will tell me.

Why doesn't someone, or a united group of someones, start a referendum process for reviewing Congressional pay? What are the obstacles?

Why can't something be done about the posh pensions for Congress? Every other worker in the United States can have their pension altered or LOST in a few strokes of a pen. Why are those who "serve" us exempt from that?

They should get the same "COLA" raise a Social Security pensioner does...and not percentage wise, either...

Answer 1

I'm sorry but that would take a referendum to answer that..

Answer 2

By chance, you have hit upon one of the biggest conundrums in our democratic republic form of government.

To "fix" the pay issues of Congress would require amending the US Constitution.  Unlike certain state constitutions (CA and FL for example), our founding fathers made it extremely difficult to change our governing document, because they felt that it shouldn't be changed on a whim.

There are two ways to get a Constitutional Amendment considered:

First, it can be passed by resolution in Congress and then sent to each of the 50 states for ratification by the state legislatures (which usually means a state referendum on the issue).  In this scenario, 3/4 of the state legislatures must adopt it in order for it to pass.  I don't need to tell you that this method of controlling Congress' pay will probably be ineffective.

Second, the states can request a National Convention, which requires 2/3 of the states to "apply" to Congress to set this Convention to consider the amendment.  To date, this method has never been used to amend the Constitution.

This would be an uphill battle for several reasons--not least of which is the seeming all-consuming greed of legislators (both state and federal).  State legislatures won't want to limit Congress' pay because a vast number of them harbor designs on becoming a Congressman themselves eventually.

Congress won't limit itself--it would have been done long ago if they were so inclined.  And lest you think this issue a partisan one (greedy Republicans vs. liberal Democrats) neither side of the aisle has ever, to my knowledge, proposed this sort of restraint, even when they controlled both houses of Congress as well as the White House.

Answer 3

Well first you would need to pass a Constitutional Amendment allowing a national referendum. There is no process for a national referendum so it cannot happen.