Senator blocks Salazar pay hike in drilling battle

The Anchorage Daily News ^ | May 25th, 2011 | ANDREW TAYLOR / Associated Press

[DBeers]

WASHINGTON - Democrats are crying foul after a GOP senator blocked a pay raise for Interior Secretary Ken Salazar in an effort to pressure him into approving more deepwater oil and gas drilling permits.

At issue is a move by oil state Sen. David Vitter, R-La., to not only block the almost $20,000 raise for Salazar last week but then offer to allow the raise to go forward if the Interior Department issues six new deepwater permits a month.

Salazar responded with a letter accusing Vitter of employing strong-arm tactics and of trying to coerce him into approving new drilling permits in order to get the raise.

Salazar said Vitter's move amounted to "attempted coercion of public acts here at the Department" and asked that efforts to give him a pay raise be halted.

[DBeers]

Good!!!!!

[pnh102]

GOOD!!!!! FIGHT DIRTY!!!!!!

[jospehm20]

Salazar is a party hack thug, he should be standing in the unemployment line. He definitely does not deserve a raise.

[rockinqsranch]

SO! The Left wants to give one of their team players a $20k raise for screwing things up for us.

Good for La. Sen Vitter.

Those Leftist asshats play hardball. Sen. Vitter has joined the game. It’s about time a Republican realized the game isn’t softball.

[hosepipe]

Better...... reduce his salary by $20,000

[Old Teufel Hunden]

"At issue is a move by oil state Sen. David Vitter, R-La., to not only block the almost $20,000 raise for Salazar last week"

This at a time when the Secretary of Defense is talking about cutting back pay and compensation for our military. Nice, very nice. More leading from behind by this administration I see...

[Buckeye McFrog]

it’s scary that a guy who appears to need $20,000 this damned badly is in a position where he wields SO much power

[mountainlion]

Salazar you were not elected into a position to stop oil production. Your rich communist Serra club supporters have bought and sold you but that does not make you right. You have locked up first Colorado's resources and now you want to stop our rights to natural resources in all states. The natural resources of this country are not yours or Serria club's. You are no better than a run of the mill tin hat dictator of a communist country and you will not succeed.

[JPG]

Of all the nasty people that Obama has surrounded himself with, Salad Czar is one of the nastiest.

[jwalsh07]

Well good on Vitter.

[circlecity]

"GOOD!!!!! FIGHT DIRTY!!!!!!"

I don't see this a "dirty" at all. This is exacly the kind of oversight Congress is supposed to exercise over runaway corrupt executive branch bureaucrats.

[Paladin2]

Why isn’t Salazar just donating ALL of his “MILLIONAIRE” pay to support the US “on the financial ropes” gov’t - as an example of “sharing the sacrifice”?

[ABQHispConservative]

My problem is Salazar getting a pay raise, especially in our current fiscal position. It is simply not justified, other than to keep his real wage constant. But even then, he needs to sacrifice just like workers in the private sector have.

[grumpygresh]

“Salazar responded with a letter accusing Vitter of employing strong-arm tactics and of trying to coerce him into approving new drilling”

Strong arm tactics should be the order of the day. Dem pols are subhuman creatures unworthy of consideration.

[RJL]

Well Sen Vitter!

If Salazar is determined to take money out of every American’s pocket by denying us abundant cheap energy then it's only fair that we take money out of his pocket.

[thackney]

Salazar you were not elected into a position to stop oil production.

No, but he was appointed for that reason.

[DManA]

An even better way to pressure him is to eliminate funding for his whole worse than worthless department.

[Right Cal Gal]

Hey Kenny! Why don’t you ask the private sector what kind of raises THEY’VE gotten in the last two years?

[FlingWingFlyer]

I don’t know how much we (yes, we) pay this moron, Salazar, but if it’s more than minimum wage, it’s way too much!

[FroggyTheGremlim]

DEFUND the whole damned Interior Department.

Defund EPA too!

And the Department of Education,

and all those Czars!