Amid reports that two members of Massachusetts congressional delegation receive state pensions in additional to their congressional salaries, political analysts chimed in this week with whether the reports will be damaging to either congressmen politically.

[img_assist|nid=153|title=U.S. Rep. John Olver (D-Amherst)|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=147|height=180]Two recent reports in the Boston Herald found that Rep. Bill Delahunt (D-Quincy) receives a $57,623 pension for his work as a district attorney and Rep. John Olver (D-Amherst) collects a $27,000 pension for his time in the Massachusetts state legislature.

The Massachusetts Republican Party immediately jumped on the report as an example of pols taking advantage of the pension system.

"It's completely outrageous," said Barney Keller, spokesman for the Massachusetts GOP. "The fact of the matter is that too many people use pensions as a way to pad their income."

Many analysts surveyed for this story, however, said the report would have little if no effect on Olver and Delahunt politically. For one, they said, the congressmen are not breaking any laws.

"I don't regard pension and congressional salaries as double dipping," said Jeffrey Berry, a political science professor at Tufts University. "There is no deception. They are not working two jobs, they are well past retirement age and what they are doing is completely within the law."

"I think some people will react negatively, but as a principle of public policy there is no issue," Berry added. "They are completely safe and they will re-election in a landslide."

Olver and Delahunt declined to comment for this story.[img_assist|nid=151|title=U.S. Rep. Bill Delahunt (D-Quincy)|desc=|link=none|url=undefined|align=right|width=180|height=178]

Even Common Cause, the nonpartisan government accountability group, said that while pension reform is needed, there are bigger problems with the pension system that need to be addressed first.

"The whole area of pension reform is way overdue," said Pam Wilmot, the Executive Director of Common Cause. "There are many aspects that need to be addressed...What we really need to look at is a comprehensive review."

"This isn't the number one priority," she added.

Others said the term "double dipping" more aptly describes when an employee works a second job without his or her primary employer knowing about it. That isn't the case with Olver and Delahunt, they said, since they have since moved on from their state jobs into their congressional roles.

"Delahunt was an outstanding district attorney," said Mike Shea, a Democratic consultant who has worked for the Quincy lawmaker. "Had he retired or gone into a lucrative law practice would his pension be an issue? Instead he's become an extremely effective Congressman. While there are always people who will begrudge anything elected officials receive, this won't do any lasting damage to Delahunt."

Still, Republicans said while Olver and Delahunt aren't breaking any laws, they should be mindful of the budget crunch Massachusetts is in.

"There's a difference between being legal and being right," said Daniel Winslow, the Boston Republican commentator. "Double dipping from the public might be legal, but it isn't right. The entire pension system reeks of unsustainable fiscal policy. Massachusetts needs public pension reform and we need it now."

Others maintained that the pensions will have little effect on Delahunt and Olver, both of whom have served in Congress for over ten years. "I don't know how much traction this pension stuff is getting," said Thomas Dumm, a political science professor at Amherst College. "I would doubt that those reports would go very far."