Originally published January 2 2006
House and Senate accept latest pay raise
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Members of the U.S. House and Senate will see their salaries boosted by $3,100 in January, bringing the yearly salary to $165,200, a move that has drawn criticism from some branch members who believe the legislature is failing to control federal spending.
Members of the U.S. House and Senate will get a pay raise after all, boosting their salaries to $165,200 in January.
Some lawmakers, mostly senators who tend to be wealthier than their House colleagues, had eagerly showcased their willingness to freeze their own salaries to help pay for hurricanes and the war in Iraq.
But they've quietly accepted the $3,100 pay raise after it was approved by a closed-door House-Senate conference committee meeting, then approved by both chambers before President Bush signed it into law last week.
Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., a critic of the soaring federal budget deficit, said it was hard to justify a pay raise for Congress "when we can't get a handle on federal spending."
"In fact, if this was the private sector, rather than getting a raise, we'd get fired," Flake said.
Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, who also fought unsuccessfully to block the automatic pay raise for lawmakers, said Congress had missed an opportunity to control spending.
"If there was ever a time for shared sacrifice, this is it," Matheson said.
Lawmakers were squeamish about discussing the subject, but congressional aides --- speaking on condition that their names be withheld --- said House Republican leaders had pushed for the pay raise in the conference committee.
Under a federal law enacted in 1989, the pay raise is automatic for all 535 members of Congress unless it is blocked by a vote of both chambers.
Members of Congress have accepted cost-of-living increases in seven of the past eight years.
Their salaries were raised last January to the current $162,100 level.
The last time the lawmakers turned down a raise was in 1998.
This year's increase was embedded in a $65.9 billion spending bill that covered several federal agencies.
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