House Opens the Way for Fourth Straight Raise in Pay

Associated Press ^ | Jul 18, 2002 | Jim Abrams

[tomball]

WASHINGTON (AP) - House lawmakers cleared the way Thursday to give themselves a pay raise for the fourth straight year, increasing their salaries about $5,000.

If that raise goes into effect, rank-and-file members of Congress would receive $155,000, an increase of more than $20,000 over the past decade.

Under a 1989 law, congressional pay raises, determined by a complicated formula that includes a measure of private industry employment costs, go into effect automatically unless lawmakers vote to block it.

Showdowns over pay raises traditionally take place during debate on the annual spending bill for the Treasury Department and related agencies, but a 258-156 procedural vote at the opening of that debate effectively prevented lawmakers from offering an amendment to kill the raise.

The only lawmaker to speak against the raise was Rep. James Matheson, D-Utah. "We can't afford it, last year's government surpluses are long gone, we are swimming in red ink, we are fighting a war. We shouldn't be asking the taxpayers to pay us more," he said.

The congressional raise is estimated to be about 3.3 percent. The Treasury bill for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1 includes a 4.1 percent cost-of-living increase for civilian federal employees, equal to a raise approved for military personnel.

The 3.3 percent pay raise, which would go into effect in January, would also apply to more than 1,000 top executive branch officials, including the vice president, and members of the congressional leadership. The vice president, like the Speaker of the House, now gets $192,600 while House and Senate majority and minority leaders receive $166,700.

The president's salary of $400,000 a year is unaffected by the congressional increase.

America's first members of Congress received pay of $6 a day. In 1855, compensation was set at $3,000 a year. It hit $10,000 in 1935, $60,000 in 1979, and went above $100,000 in 1991. The pay level stalled at $133,600 during the mid-1990s with lawmakers wary of giving themselves a raise when the federal budget was in deficit, but has risen steadily since then.

[zoyd]

"Yes, we may MAKE a lot of money as lawmakers, but we SPEND a lot of money as lawmakers, so it all works out!"

[AdamSelene235]

rank-and-file members of Congress

The author doesn't seem to know much about the English language.

They aren't rank and file, they are government supremacists.

[mewzilla]

You're half right. They're definitely rank.

[LostTribe]

Forget the corporate leaders, here is the TRUE criminal class.

[Moonman62]

All that spending is hard work.

[Blue Screen of Death]

Well, the arugment usually goes something like this..."if we don't pay more, we will not be able to attract talented people to run for congress". Which brings up the question of the talent of the incumbent making that argument. It seems if this argument is true, then the ones voting to increase the pay (remember they ran for office under the old pay scale that would not attract talented people) are not qualified to make the decision.

[Mo1]

Here is a question ...

HAS CONGRESS FUNDED THE MILITARY YET????

OUR MEN & WOMEN IN THE SERVICE DESERVE A PAY RAISE .. NOT THESE MORONS IN CONGRESS THAT CAN ONLY WORK 3 DAYS A WEEK

OUR MEN & WOMEN SERVE OUR COUNTRY AND PUT THEIR BUTTS ON THE LINE SO THAT WE CAN BE FREE

AND ... THESE MOROONS BEST NOT RAISE MY TAXES .. BECAUSE IF I HAVE TO TAKE A PAY CUT .. SO DO THEY

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Thank you for my rant

[Tacis]

Their GROSS incomes have decreased as many corporations have ccut back on congressional bribes. Sure, the labor unions are still paying the democrats ubder the table, but even that revenue stream is dropping. No, these folks have a life style that demands more cash and since they can just pass a bill that increases their own pay and the resultant pensions that their salaries drive, why not? Wouldn't you?

[IronJack]

Nothing's too good for the hired help, eh?

In an election year, you would think a pay raise would be political suicide, wouldn't ya? But they'll sneak it through in the middle of the night or by appending it onto an ag subsidy bill for Burkina Faso, or by phrasing it so that it passes by default.

If you tried to cheat like the Congess does, you'd be in jail.

[AngrySpud]

I'm a county government employee. I have no problem with a cost-of-living increase (2% this year). Anything beyond that ought to be a MERIT pay increase. Lotsa guvmint employees are on such a system, myself included.

It's been many, many years since Congress was entitled to anything other than cost-of-living increases.

[IronJack]

a 258-156 procedural vote at the opening of that debate effectively prevented lawmakers from offering an amendment to kill the raise.

Never mind. Passage by default.

[Boonie Rat]

Congress critters make more than ninety-five percent (95%)of their constituents make. And that doesn't include bribes, theft, haircuts, junkets to all parts of the globe, et. What's wrong with this picture? Get a rope.

Boonie Rat

MACV SOCOM, PhuBai/Hue '65-'66

[ATOMIC_PUNK]

If you tried to cheat like the Congess does, you'd be in jail

BINGO BUMPS JACK

CMON over paljunk and lets raise some he^^

[timydnuc]

They want a raise to conduct "business as usual" that wastes, in an audit, of the NEA amounting to 500 Million....MILLION dollars. The NEA can't find it, as so many other government agencies, just can't find it. That is my money, and it's your money, but they don't care, AND they want a raise? Sick, diluted, power obsessed elitists. Then they attack private business. You want a shining example of pi$$ poor corperate management, look to the federal government.

Any congress critter that votes for this should be recalled....PERIOD!

[altair]

Under a 1989 law, congressional pay raises, determined by a complicated formula that includes a measure of private industry employment costs, go into effect automatically unless lawmakers vote to block it.

How convenient.

[Lazamataz]

Presidents used to get $150,000 a year not so long ago.

Sure pays to be the king(s).

[NativeNewYorker]

I have a modest proposal:

Every lawmaker's pay should be pegged to the stock market.

The broadest measure of stocks' value is the Wilshire 5000, which includes essentially 100% of the traded equities in the US. As such, it suffers from little sector or capitalization bias.

The Wilshire closed at 8365 today (7/18). Times 20 is 167,300.

Set each lawmaker' pay at 20 times THE PRIOR YEAR'S AVERAGE.

They'll have every incentive to keep taxes and interest rates low, with no incentive to ramp things up just in time for the elections.

[brat]

Don't you wish we could do that? Must be nice.

[WyldKard]

Wow..this must be the only truly bipartisian issue out there. :(