Congress Gets A Raise...Again

December 19. 2008

After awarding themselves a raise a few months ago, Congress has done so again, after failing the nation and the world in so many critical issues. I thought people only got a raise when they do well.

As I wrote a few days ago when Congress failed to help the U.S. auto industry, if it was about saving their salaries, they would approve the funds. Well, fast-forward to today and Congress has now approved a raise for a job poorly done, when the nation is going broke.

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.”

http://thehill.com