Posted on 11/22/2002 10:35:12 PM PST by Hillarys Gate Cult
Future Candidates for the U.S. House and Senate may be allowed to dip into their campaign treasuries to pay themselves salaries while they're running for office if the Federal Election Commission (FEC) acts on proposals that would O.K. the practice.
And if one of the proposals on the table at the six member FEC is approved, the hopefuls would be able to pay themselves the same salary they would receive if they won election to the office they are seeking.
That would mean a presidential candidate could pay himself the same annual salary he'd get as the nation's Chief Executive - $400,000, while candidates for congress would be allowed to collect the $150,000 salary earned by members of the House and Senate.
Acting on a desire to help encourage more people to run for federal office, FEC Commissioner Michael Toner sponsored the idea, saying that if approved the proposal would allow candidates to make up for salaries lost while on the campaign trail.
"Why should the only people -- or the vast majority of people -- running for office in this country be incumbents or multimillionaires?" Toner asked his fellow commissioners at a meeting Thursday, CNN reported.
According to CNN, one proposal would allow non-incumbent candidates running for Congress or the presidency to supplement their earnings from their regular jobs with campaign funds until they reached the pay level of those in the office they are seeking.
Another proposal would let candidates pay themselves with campaign funds to cover only the income they lose from their regular jobs while running for office.
Several FEC members expressed concerns about the idea. Commissioner Danny McDonald who CNN says has opposed the idea in the past, is concerned that candidates could personally profit from their campaigns, noting that a candidate with a regular salary of $50,000 a year would suddenly be making a tidy profit while being paid a congressional salary of $150,000 - putting the individual in what he called "... a pretty good situation."
Another Commissioner, Karl Sandstrom said he had constitutional concerns about the proposal. The FEC plans to vote on the proposals Monday. CNN says the outcome is uncertain.
LOL!!
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