With economy in shambles, Congress gets a raise

[ThoughtCriminal]

With economy in shambles, Congress gets a raise

A crumbling economy, more than 2 million constituents who have lost their jobs this year, and congressional demands of CEOs to work for free did not convince lawmakers to freeze their own pay.

Instead, they will get a $4,700 pay increase, amounting to an additional $2.5 million that taxpayers will spend on congressional salaries, and watchdog groups are not happy about it.

“As lawmakers make a big show of forcing auto executives to accept just $1 a year in salary, they are quietly raiding the vault for their own personal gain,” said Daniel O’Connell, chairman of The Senior Citizens League (TSCL), a non-partisan group. “This money would be much better spent helping the millions of seniors who are living below the poverty line and struggling to keep their heat on this winter.”

However, at 2.8 percent, the automatic raise that lawmakers receive is only half as large as the 2009 cost of living adjustment of Social Security recipients.

Still, Steve Ellis, vice president of the budget watchdog Taxpayers for Common Sense, said Congress should have taken the rare step of freezing its pay, as lawmakers did in 2000.

“Look at the way the economy is and how most people aren’t counting on a holiday bonus or a pay raise — they’re just happy to have gainful employment,” said Ellis. “But you have the lawmakers who are set up and ready to get their next installment of a pay raise and go happily along their way.”

Member raises are often characterized as examples of wasteful spending, especially when many constituents and businesses in members’ districts are in financial despair.

Rep. Harry Mitchell, a first-term Democrat from Arizona, sponsored legislation earlier this year that would have prevented the automatic pay adjustments from kicking in for members next year. But the bill, which attracted 34 cosponsors, failed to make it out of committee.

“They don’t even go through the front door. They have it set up so that it’s wired so that you actually have to undo the pay raise rather than vote for a pay raise,” Ellis said.

Freezing congressional salaries is hardly a new idea on Capitol Hill.

Lawmakers have floated similar proposals in every year dating back to 1995, and long before that. Though the concept of forgoing a raise has attracted some support from more senior members, it is most popular with freshman lawmakers, who are often most vulnerable.

In 2006, after the Republican-led Senate rejected an increase to the minimum wage, Democrats, who had just come to power in the House with a slew of freshmen, vowed to block their own pay raise until the wage increase was passed. The minimum wage was eventually increased and lawmakers received their automatic pay hike.

In the beginning days of 1789, Congress was paid only $6 a day, which would be about $75 daily by modern standards. But by 1965 members were receiving $30,000 a year, which is the modern equivalent of about $195,000.

Currently the average lawmaker makes $169,300 a year, with leadership making slightly more. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) makes $217,400, while the minority and majority leaders in the House and Senate make $188,100.

Ellis said that while freezing the pay increase would be a step in the right direction, it would be better to have it set up so that members would have to take action, and vote, for a pay raise and deal with the consequences, rather than get one automatically.

“It is probably never going to be politically popular to raise Congress’s salary,” he said. “I don’t think you’re going to find taxpayers saying, ‘Yeah I think I should pay my congressman more’.”

[billamj]

Gotta love it. The only group with a satisfaction rating lower than the President's and they are getting a freaking raise. Never mind that virtually everything they've touched over the past several years has turned to shit.

[adymond]

I heard an interesting suggestion today. Congress (and I would add all elected State officials) should forego all paid holidays and vacations as well as refusing the raise.

[Gkgas]

They deserve the raises for all there hard work giving there buddies all the buy out money. This makes me sick to my stomach.

[cgbudde]

You think with all the money and gifts they get under the table from lobbiest they would be happy.

[Curmudgeon]

I seriously doubt there is any hope left but, to be fair, here is an *attempt* to stop it...

http://checkingin.freedomblogging.co...y-raise-again/


Harry Mitchell tries to halt pay raise — again
January 23rd, 2008, 12:22 pm · 1 Comment · posted by Paul Giblin

Rep. Harry Mitchell today asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to include his legislation that blocks Congress’ automatic pay raise in a broader economic stimulus package.

Mitchell, a Democrat from Arizona, and presidential hopeful Rep. Ron Paul, a Republican from
Texas, introduced legislation Tuesday that would quash a scheduled automatic pay increase of nearly $4,400 that every member will receive in 2009.

Every member of Congress will be paid $169,300 this year – a $4,100 increase from last year pay.

Mitchell tried to block the $4,100 pay increase last year, and found 29 co-sponsors to support it, but the legislation never made it to the House floor. Mitchell pledged to donate his pay raise to charity. (No word yet on which charities will get the bonanza.)

Mitchell said the timing is wrong to accept another pay raise. Here’s the text of his letter to Pelosi:

January 23, 2008

The Honorable Nancy PelosiSpeaker
United States House of Representatives

U.S. Capitol Building, H-232
Washington, DC 20510

Madam Speaker:

Yesterday our colleague Dr. Ron Paul and I introduced H.R. 5087, a bill to block the automatic pay raise Members of Congress are scheduled to receive next year.

I hope you will agree that this is the wrong time for Congress to raise its own pay and that doing so sends the wrong message to the American people. I urge you to support H.R. 5087 and include it as a part of the upcoming economic stimulus package.

As you work with the President and Republican leadership to build a bipartisan economic stimulus package to strengthen the nation’s weakening economy, I know you are familiar with the statistics: nationwide inflation shot up 6 percent in 2007 and the same gallon of gas that cost $2.20 a year ago costs more than $3 today. New home construction dropped 25 percent, the largest decrease in 27 years. Fears of a recession have sent the stock market into a tailspin. Unemployment is up; home sales are down; and markets around the world are on shaky ground.

Even in my home state of Arizona, which for so long seemed immune to economic woes that plagued other parts of the country, is feeling the effects of the Bush recession. Unemployment in my state rose 42 percent between September and December alone, and now 143,800 Arizonans are unemployed. In the East Valley, which I represent, foreclosures increased more than 500 percent in 2007 and in metro Phoenix, 10,000 homes were foreclosed – an 88 percent increase over 2006. Home prices fell 11 percent.

The American people didn’t get a pay raise this year. I do not know how in good conscience, we, as their representatives in Congress can not only accept one, but insist on another one for next year. When I campaigned for Congress nearly two years ago, I heard from the people in my District that they were disappointed that Members of Congress approved their own pay raise, but cut critical services that made a significant impact on the lives of everyday Americans. Americans are suffering right now and I hope this Congress has the courage to change course.

Thank you, as always, for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Harry E. Mitchell

Member of Congress

Here are the 34 Reps who had the stones to back this bill. IS YOUR REP ON THIS LIST?

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquer...0:HR05087:@@@P

H.R.5087
Title: To prevent Members of Congress from receiving the automatic pay adjustment scheduled to take effect in 2009.
Sponsor: Rep Mitchell, Harry E. [AZ-5] (introduced 1/22/2008) Cosponsors (34)
Related Bills: H.R.5091, H.R.6417
Latest Major Action: 1/22/2008 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned. COSPONSORS(34), ALPHABETICAL [followed by Cosponsors withdrawn]: (Sort: by date)


Rep Altmire, Jason [PA-4] - 2/6/2008
Rep Bartlett, Roscoe G. [MD-6] - 2/19/2008
Rep Boyda, Nancy E. [KS-2] - 1/23/2008
Rep Carney, Christopher P. [PA-10] - 2/14/2008
Rep Chabot, Steve [OH-1] - 2/12/2008
Rep Cohen, Steve [TN-9] - 1/23/2008
Rep DeFazio, Peter A. [OR-4] - 1/29/2008
Rep Donnelly, Joe [IN-2] - 3/4/2008
Rep Edwards, Chet [TX-17] - 1/28/2008
Rep Ellsworth, Brad [IN-8] - 2/26/2008
Rep Foster, Bill [IL-14] - 9/8/2008
Rep Giffords, Gabrielle [AZ-8] - 1/28/2008
Rep Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [NY-20] - 1/28/2008
Rep Goode, Virgil H., Jr. [VA-5] - 2/25/2008
Rep Graves, Sam [MO-6] - 2/25/2008
Rep Hall, John J. [NY-19] - 2/14/2008
Rep Hill, Baron P. [IN-9] - 1/23/2008
Rep Holt, Rush D. [NJ-12] - 1/23/2008
Rep Kagen, Steve [WI-8] - 1/29/2008
Rep Kind, Ron [WI-3] - 2/14/2008
Rep Lampson, Nick [TX-22] - 1/23/2008
Rep LoBiondo, Frank A. [NJ-2] - 2/12/2008
Rep Mahoney, Tim [FL-16] - 2/14/2008
Rep Marshall, Jim [GA-8] - 2/6/2008
Rep Michaud, Michael H. [ME-2] - 2/7/2008
Rep Miller, Jeff [FL-1] - 1/28/2008
Rep Murphy, Patrick J. [PA-8] - 1/23/2008
Rep Paul, Ron [TX-14] - 1/22/2008
Rep Sali, Bill [ID-1] - 4/2/2008
Rep Sestak, Joe [PA-7] - 2/6/2008
Rep Shuler, Heath [NC-11] - 1/29/2008
Rep Udall, Mark [CO-2] - 2/25/2008
Rep Walberg, Timothy [MI-7] - 1/29/2008
Rep Walz, Timothy J. [MN-1] - 2/6/2008

[Wild Bill Klinton]

chris carney is a D

[billamj]

A lot, if not all, of the cosponsors of that bill were Ds. It was a ploy to use during the election cycle if things got tight. Take a look at the last action dates also the disclaimer:

Referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Bottom line is that either Pelosi by herself or in conjunction with the committee chairmen could kill the bill and that is exactly what they did by not bringing it to the floor.

[625]

You know things are bad in Washington when I have more respect for the mayor of Philly. Nutter actually took a pay cut. It's the first decent thing I can think of that he has done as mayor.

[SilentRage]

kinda funny how we got a vote on this one isn't it ?

just goes to show , ballot box doesn't mean shit !!!!!