Senate hopeful Todd Wilcox calls for term limits, no pension for Congress

In a year where it’s all about Republicans proving how much they hate Washington, candidates in Florida’s Senate race are amping up their game to show their disdain for the current political culture.

While David Jolly has been getting mileage about his proposal to ban members of Congress from fundraising on the job, Todd Wilcox is upping the ante, unveiling his 5-point plan to “end career politicians.”

That 5-point plan includes:

1. Term limits for U.S. senators – Wilcox calls for senators to run for office only once, and re-election once for a total of two six-year terms.
2. No pension – According to the Congressional Research Service, as of Oct. 1, 2013, there were 367 former members of Congress who had retired under the Civil Service Retirement System, the old system that was criticized for being too generous. Those members were receiving an average annual pension of $71,664. The pensions of the 250 former members who retired under the Federal Employees Retirement System, which began in 1987, average  less. Their average pension was $42,048 in 2013.
3. Read the Bill – Not sure how this will be enforced, but obviously, the line references the anger and frustration that was felt when Nancy Pelosi infamously said of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, “We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.”
4. Follow the law – Wilcox writes that, “Members of Congress MUST live under the same laws that apply to the American people. If it’s good enough for the nation you serve, it should be good enough for a Senator.”
5. Lifetime lobbying bill –  Currently, the law requires House members to wait at least a year after leaving office before becoming lobbyists. Former senators, meanwhile, must wait at least two years. There have been several attempts in recent years for a lifetime lobbying ban, with none getting the votes in Congress to pass.

Wilcox has been the only non-politician in the race for Senate, but that will change next week when Manatee County developer Carlos Beruff enters the race, joining U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis and Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera in rounding out the five-man field.