Ex-Rep. Barney Frank wants interim appointment to replace Kerry in Senate

[Geee]

The Hill:

Outgoing Rep. Barney Frank has asked to be appointed as an interim senator to replace Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.).

Frank, who just retired from Congress, said Friday he had asked Massachusettes Gov. Deval Patrick for the appointement, which would put the outspoken Democrat in the Senate while Kerry seeks confirmation as secretary of State.

Frank said he wanted the appointment so that he could serve during looming negotiations on the debt ceiling and sequester.

"I'm not going to be coy, it's not [something] I've ever been good at, I told the governor I would now like frankly to do that, because I would like to be part of that," Frank told MSNBC. "It would only be a three-month period, I wouldn't want to do anything more, I wouldn't run again."

Kerry was recently tapped to replace Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, and his nomination is widely expected to earn confirmation from the Senate. Patrick would appoint a temporary replacement until a special election could be held later in the year.

[Rheo]

aaaccckkkk. They just don't ever go away.

[saveliberty]

How can we miss him if he won't go away?

[clearvision]

Will he then also get a life pension from the Senate?

[Draggingtree]

Will he then also get a life pension from the Senate?

That's a very good question perhaps our resident scholar (Valin) could answer.

[Draggingtree]

Well I looked around and this is what I came up with to answer my on question

 

Members who participate in the congressional pension system are vested after only 5 years of service.

 

A full pension is available to Members 62 years of age with 5 years of service; 50 years or older with 20 years of service; or 25 years of service at any age. A reduced pension is available depending upon which of several different age/service options is chosen.

 

If Members leave Congress before reaching retirement age, they may leave their contributions behind and receive a deferred pension later.

 

How much they receive depends on a complicated formula based on when they joined Congress, how old they are at the time of retirement, how many years of service they had at the time of retirement (including previous military or other federal service), their salary, and which pension option they chose when they enrolled.

 

There is a limit, however. A Member's pension amount may not exceed 80% of his/her salary upon retirement. A regular member of congress makes $158,100 per year, so a pension for them could not exceed $126,480. A member of the leadership makes $175,600 and the Speaker gets $203,000, so their pensions could be up to 80% of those amounts.

[clearvision]

5 whole years wow.

[cudjo]

such a shame they have to work 5 whole years, too bad the voters can't decide if they deserve it or not.

[Geee]

If you add the number of days they actualloy are there, it comes to much less than five HOLE years.