E-mails untrue about Congress

Please, please! Enough with the unverified forwards in a society in which 10 seconds on Google will net original sources. Entire "reform" movements and rebellions are being generated by e-mails without basis in truth.

The latest proposes a new constitutional amendment, claimed necessary due to a slew of misrepresented "laws" exempting members of Congress from regulations ranging from taxes to crimes.

What's wrong with verifying alleged information before spreading the you-know-what? Have we really gotten this lazy?

The latest smear campaign is outrageous. Let me count the ways:

Social Security: Yes, members of Congress do pay into the Social Security system. This myth comes from old news. Until 1984 participation wasn't automatic because federal employees had an alternative retirement system, so Congress amended the Social Security laws. Since then, everyone pays in.

Retirement benefits: It's a complex system based upon number of years worked and age. Read it yourself at Senate.gov and House.gov in the "Pension Plan and Benefit Formulas" section of each benefit booklet. No, they don't get full salaries for life after one term.

Sexual harassment: I don't know who came up with this one or how, but there is no legal exemption for members of Congress or any other civil servant from sexual harassment or other civil and criminal laws. They're not free to attack others any more than you or I.

Health care reform "exemption": What? Where? This new law, not in full effect for several years, may not be what we end up with anyway. Some states including Idaho have vowed to sue rather than participate, so it's likely to be revised in future sessions. In any case, the most specific allegations I can find claim the offending bit is on page 114 of the massive bill (go to http://thomas.loc.gov and look it up yourself - H.R.3590 as passed by both House and Senate). Page 114 doesn't mention Congress, nor can I find any such reference in the bill at all.

Change can be scary and people tend to panic. Worse, they spread that panic irresponsibly.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Healthcare Act leaves in place existing employer-sponsored plans, adding new requirements such as removing pre-existing condition clauses and other coverage exceptions. It also offers a "public option" plan for those without coverage or who wish to choose it.

Congress members and their staff have long had access to a health insurance plan for which they pay premiums. That will not change under the new law.

Statutes and legislation are the easiest things to find on the Net to verify anything that sounds extreme or egregious; all U.S. state and federal governments publish their statutes online and in searchable form.

Still want an easy way out of doing your own research? When you receive an e-mail forward, at least try Snopes.com. And when a forward says "I checked; it's true," don't believe it.

"True ideas are those that we can assimilate, validate, corroborate, and verify. False ideas are those that we cannot." - William James

Sholeh Patrick is an attorney, former congressional staffer, and a columnist for the Hagadone News Network. E-mail sholehjo@hotmail.com