Congress Gives Itself Another Pay Raise

I really think that employees in this country need to start a new trend for job performance and raises. Do a poor job, ignore your boss (us) and then give yourself a raise. Amazing our spines Congress can only seem to do two things well, go on vacation and give themselves another raise. Their last raise was in 2006, so I guess they felt they deserved yet another $4,100. Obviously Congress passed raising the minimum wage rate so they wouldn’t feel guilty when they gave themselves another raise. And this even includes Dick Cheney!

So the next time you need a raise, don’t worry about you job performance or talking it over with the boss just go to accounting and do it.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fortunately for members of Congress, their pay isn’t tied to their approval ratings.

Lawmakers in 2008 will receive salaries of $169,300, a boost of $4,100 over the pay they have lived with since January 2006.

That 2.5 percent increase is mirrored by similar raises for associate justices of the Supreme Court, who will see their pay go from $203,000 to $208,100, and Chief Justice John Roberts, whose pay will rise to $217,400 from $212,100.

The salary figures were published in Tuesday’s edition of the Federal Register.

Democrats, newly elected to the majority, had vowed to block an increase in their paychecks until Congress raised the minimum wage.

With the minimum wage increase accomplished last year, House Democratic leaders joined with their Republican counterparts to oppose a procedural vote to bring the COLA issue to the floor, leaving the way clear for their automatic raise.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., will get a pay boost from $212,100 last year to $217,400, the same as Chief Justice Roberts.

The majority and minority leaders of the House and Senate and Senate president pro tempore Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., will get increases from $183,500 to $188,100.

Dick Cheney, in his last year as vice president, will receive $221,100, up from $215,700. President Bush’s salary of $400,000 is unchanged.

Posted by nytexan January 9th, 2008 | Category: Congress, House of Representatives, Pelosi, Senate, Wage | Subscribe to comments | Leave a comment | Trackback URL

The Intellectual Redneck:
December 21st, 2008 at 5:54 am

In spite of the fact that Congress has only a 9% approval rating, they have given themselves a raise. While ordinary Americans are struggling to make ends meet, Congress continues to live the good life. They just don’t get it. Some Republicans tried to block the raise, but they failed.

Pay Raises for Lawmakers Anger Watchdog Groups
Each lawmaker is due for a $4,700 cost-of-living wage hike starting in January, which will amount to a total cost of $2.5 million for taxpayers

By Stephen Clark

FOXNews.com

Saturday, December 20, 2008

As Americans across the country grapple with one of the worst financial crises since the Great Depression, members of Congress quietly are getting a pay raise.

Each lawmaker’s annual salary is due for a $4,700 cost-of-living increase starting in January, which will amount to a cost to taxpayers of $2.5 million in 2009, infuriating watchdog groups.

“Members of Congress don’t deserve one additional dime of taxpayer money in 2009,” said Tom Schatz, president of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste.

“While thousands of Americans are facing layoffs and downsizing, Congress should be mortified to accept a raise,” he said in a written statement. Link here.

Lorraine:
May 27th, 2010 at 11:15 am

This is just great. Due to the General Motors crisis, my income has decreased approximately $200.00 per month (that’s $2400.00 a year. Plus I now have to pay my medicare premium and purchase my own insurance. I will survive. However some of my friends are living on Social Security alone, will they survive.

Meanwhile we have to pay taxes so the people in Congress can have another pay increase. How can they, with good conscience, do this?
Okay so they don’t have a conscience and they don’t care about the rest of us.

Danielle Kunkle:
May 29th, 2011 at 2:12 pm

Interesting to note that Congress had a pay raise, but for the last two years, my own clients, who are senior citizens on Medicare, have had no COLA (cost of living adjustment) in their social security checks while inflation has gone through the roof and Medicare premiums for Part B and Part D have continued to rise. Would be nice if when Congress thinks they deserve a raise for themselves, if they considered whether that’s really so fair when our retired citizens are struggling.