Posted on 12/08/2001 8:52:29 AM PST by Bad~Rodeo
WASHINGTON (AP) - Members of Congress are on their way to a $4,900 pay raise in January as the Senate used a midnight vote to thwart lawmakers who tried to block it.
After a debate that lasted five minutes late Friday night, the Senate used a 65-33 procedural vote to defeat an effort by Sens. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., to stop the increase from taking effect. Under a 1989 law, legislators get an annual cost-of-living raise unless the House and Senate vote to block it, a mechanism that often lets the increases take effect with little notice. .
The latest boost is for 3.4 percent and will raise members' annual salaries to $150,000. .
Feingold questioned the timing of a congressional pay boost when "our economy is in a recession and hundreds of thousands of workers have been laid off." He also noted that the string of four straight budget surpluses is now expected to end. .
Fourteen of the 30 senators running for re-election next year voted against the pay raise. Two who will retire in January - Sens. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, and Strom Thurmond, R-S.C. - voted for the increase, while a third retiree - Jesse Helms, R-N.C. - did not vote. .
Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., and Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., voted not to block the increase. .
The House has already passed legislation opening the door for the pay increase. .
The January increase will be the third congressional pay raise in the last four years. Before this period, lawmakers increased their salaries less frequently, but the political risk faded as the economy boomed and federal surpluses soared in the late 1990s. .
By tradition, the annual spending bill for the Treasury Department is the battleground for congressional pay raises. .
The final version of that bill, which lacked language blocking the pay raise, overwhelmingly passed the House and Senate this fall and was signed into law by President Bush on Nov. 12. .
Feingold was blocked from trying to stop the pay raise earlier this year. The vote Friday came as the Senate debated the defense spending bill. .
That's less than $3,000,000. It's 8738 $300 tax rebates. That's 1% of the population of ONE congressional district. Surely you have better things to worry about.
Take off your clown shoes. Keep the red rubber nose. You'll still be entertaining.
Bad~Rodeo = Bad~Policy
Bad~Policy = Bad~for~America
Bad~Rodeo = Bad~for~America.
Strategically engineered to permit the Liberal Dems to come away from this smelling quite clean; never mind the Dashole's running the show.
And that MISERABLE SOB Lott & just enough of his boys on the Right to swing this larceny simply went along for the ride.
...god am I ever sick to death of this kinda crap.
Given your statements on here, I thought Hillary was your favorite blonde.
And here's my statement on another thread --- "Remember when the huge pay raise was implemented some years back? The one that moved "Public Service" out of the equation and made it a valid "Career"? We were forced to listen to how this would be of benefit to us tax paying peons because the Quality of Politician would improve. More average joes could afford to be in Congress.
They've got a sense of humor."
There you have it folks. Stealth legislooting.
State | Party | Senator | Vote |
AK | R | Murkowski | Nay |
AK | R | Stevens | Nay |
AL | R | Sessions | Yea |
AL | R | Shelby | Nay |
AR | R | Hutchinson | Yea |
AR | D | Lincoln | Yea |
AZ | R | Kyl | Nay |
AZ | R | McCain | Yea |
CA | D | Boxer | Nay |
CA | D | Feinstein | Nay |
CO | R | Allard | Yea |
CO | R | Campbell | Nay |
CT | D | Dodd | Nay |
CT | D | Lieberman | Nay |
DE | D | Biden | Nay |
DE | D | Carper | Nay |
FL | D | Graham | Nay |
FL | D | Nelson | Nay |
GA | D | Cleland | Yea |
GA | D | Miller | Yea |
HI | D | Akaka | Nay |
HI | D | Inouye | Nay |
IA | R | Grassley | Yea |
IA | D | Harkin | Nay |
ID | R | Craig | Nay |
ID | R | Crapo | Nay |
IL | D | Durbin | Yea |
IL | R | Fitzgerald | Yea |
IN | D | Bayh | Nay |
IN | R | Lugar | Nay |
KS | R | Brownback | Yea |
KS | R | Roberts | Yea |
KY | R | Bunning | Yea |
KY | R | McConnell | Nay |
LA | D | Breaux | Nay |
LA | D | Landrieu | Nay |
MA | D | Kennedy | Nay |
MA | D | Kerry | Nay |
MD | D | Mikulski | Nay |
MD | D | Sarbanes | Nay |
ME | R | Collins | Yea |
ME | R | Snowe | Yea |
MI | D | Levin | Yea |
MI | D | Stabenow | Yea |
MN | D | Dayton | Nay |
MN | D | Wellstone | Yea |
MO | R | Bond | Nay |
MO | D | Carnahan | Yea |
MS | R | Cochran | Nay |
MS | R | Lott | Nay |
MT | D | Baucus | Yea |
MT | R | Burns | Nay |
NC | D | Edwards | Yea |
NC | R | Helms | Not Voting |
ND | D | Conrad | Nay |
ND | D | Dorgan | Nay |
NE | R | Hagel | Nay |
NE | D | Nelson | Nay |
NH | R | Gregg | Nay |
NH | R | Smith | Yea |
NJ | D | Corzine | Yea |
NJ | D | Torricelli | Nay |
NM | D | Bingaman | Nay |
NM | R | Domenici | Nay |
NV | R | Ensign | Yea |
NV | D | Reid | Nay |
NY | D | Clinton | Nay |
NY | D | Schumer | Yea |
OH | R | DeWine | Yea |
OH | R | Voinovich | Nay |
OK | R | Inhofe | Nay |
OK | R | Nickles | Nay |
OR | R | Smith | Yea |
OR | D | Wyden | Yea |
PA | R | Santorum | Nay |
PA | R | Specter | Yea |
RI | R | Chafee | Nay |
RI | D | Reed | Nay |
SC | D | Hollings | Nay |
SC | R | Thurmond | Nay |
SD | D | Daschle | Nay |
SD | D | Johnson | Yea |
TN | R | Frist | Nay |
TN | R | Thompson | Nay |
TX | R | Gramm | Nay |
TX | R | Hutchison | Yea |
UT | R | Bennett | Nay |
UT | R | Hatch | Nay |
VA | R | Allen | Nay |
VA | R | Warner | Nay |
VT | I | Jeffords | Not Voting |
VT | D | Leahy | Nay |
WA | D | Cantwell | Nay |
WA | D | Murray | Nay |
WI | D | Feingold | Yea |
WI | D | Kohl | Nay |
WV | D | Byrd | Nay |
WV | D | Rockefeller | Nay |
WY | R | Enzi | Yea |
WY | R | Thomas | Nay |
They do a lot less damage to. Our congress people are not undercompensated by any means. There is probably good economic reason why people are willing to spend millions to sit in congress. We could slash the pay and still get qualified people to run.
*We* already have, br.
The body is very sick, indeed.
So much so in fact, all that's left looks to be death.
...if this seedy move is indicative of our health.
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