Congress and its automatic pay raise

The fact that Congress doesn't even seem to want to take up the issue of foregoing its annual automatic pay raise is impressive. Thankfully, there are a few in Congress who realize that all Americans should tighten their belts. Even those who have contributed to the current financial mess.

(All emphases below are mine).

Matheson again fights automatic pay hike

"Despite the country's economic meltdown, Congress is about to receive an automatic $4,700 pay raise on Thursday — a 2.8 percent increase over the current $169,300 salary for most members.

Rep. Jim Matheson says that is unconscionable, and he's vowing to renew his annual fight to stop such automatic raises. He says the bad economy might just help him win this year, and a government watchdog group is joining his battle to say the raise is a bad idea in such times.

'In a situation where there aren't many people in this country who are seeing their salaries go up, and in fact a lot of people are losing their jobs, the notion that Congress should be having an automatic pay raise without even a vote just doesn't pass the smell test,' Matheson said earlier this month.

Agreeing is Tom Schantz, president of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste — which also issued a call for Congress to stop its automatic pay raise.

'While thousands of Americans are facing layoffs and downsizing, Congress should be mortified to accept a raise,' Schantz said.

Worse, Schantz said Congress hasn't earned a raise because it allowed the deficit to balloon while Congress was 'plagued with corruptions allegations.' So, Schantz said, 'If congressional leaders believe that the taxpayers should give pay raises to this rogues' gallery of ineptitude and venality, they ought to step away from the spiked eggnog.'"

Congress doesn't deserve a raise? I concur.

I have to hand it to Matheson as he has been attempting to force a yearly vote on annual Congressional pay raises instead of leaving them as automatic, "Since Matheson entered Congress, he has attempted every year to force Congress to vote on whether to accept a raise rather than receive it automatically. He has always failed on procedural votes that would lead to such a straight up-or-down vote."

Congress gives itself a raise, part 2

While we are all struggling economically, Congress decides its worthy of a pay raise. What crap.

CCAGW OPPOSES CONGRESSIONAL PAY RAISE

'The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) today urged lawmakers to make their first order of business when they reconvene in the nation’s capitol in January to introduce legislation to freeze congressional salaries at current rates. All Members of Congress are slated to get an automatic pay raise in January, 2009 unless they vote to block it. Each rank and file member of Congress is poised to see another $4,700 in his or her paycheck over the next year, an increase of 2.8 percent over their current $169,300 annual salary.

“Members of Congress don’t deserve one additional dime of taxpayer money in 2009,” said CCAGW President Tom Schatz. “While thousands of Americans are facing layoffs and downsizing, Congress should be mortified to accept a raise. They failed to pass most of their appropriations bills, the deficit is on pace to reach an unprecedented $1 trillion, and the national debt stands at $10 trillion. In addition, this Congress has been ethically challenged, plagued with corruption allegations, convictions, and sex scandals.”

“House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) probably rues the day she so blithely promised that Democrats would ‘lead the most honest, most open and most ethical Congress in history.’ Instead, there has been a relentless degradation of the ethics rules. While Congress has sat in judgment of everyone from oil company executives and financial services industry executives to domestic automaker CEOs, it has failed spectacularly to police itself.”

In a sad continuation of the unprincipled character of the 109th Congress, the 110th has also been riddled with examples of malfeasance. Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) faces years in jail for his conviction on seven counts of failing to report more than $250,000 in improper gifts he received from 1999 to 2006. Alaska Rep. Don Young (R) reportedly has spent $1 million on defense attorneys related to a federal investigation into allegations of bribery. There are two investigations underway of House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) over alleged tax improprieties. Former Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) has been indicted and is awaiting trial on alleged bribery charges. The Senate Ethics Committee is looking at both Sens. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) over sweetheart mortgage deals they may have received from Countrywide Financial. Rep. Vito Fosella (R-N.Y.) was convicted of drunk driving. And there have been a number of inappropriate sexual peccadillos surrounding Sens. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) and David Vitter (R-La.), and Rep. Tim Mahoney (D-Fla.).

“If Congressional leaders believe that the taxpayers should gives pay raises to this rogue’s gallery of ineptitude and venality, they ought to step away from the spiked egg nog,” concluded Schatz.'

The wasting of OUR tax money

Citizens Against Government Waste releases a yearly report called the Congressional Pig Book. This report details how the people which we elect (and often reelect) waste OUR tax money on pet projects and earmarks. You can buy the complete report on their website here. I am going to purchase a copy. They do have a summary file, the 2008 Congressional Pig Book Summary, which is in .pdf form and can be downloaded for free. It is OUR money, its taken from us at the point of a gun and we have very little say as to where or how OUR money is spent.

From the free version:
"The 1,188 projects, totaling $2.8 billion, in this year’s Congressional Pig Book Summary symbolize the most egregious and blatant examples of pork. As in previous years, all of the items in the Congressional Pig Book Summary meet at least one of CAGW’s seven criteria, but most satisfy at least two:
• Requested by only one chamber of Congress;
• Not specifically authorized;
• Not competitively awarded;
• Not requested by the President;
• Greatly exceeds the President’s budget request or the previous year’s funding;
• Not the subject of congressional hearings; or
• Serves only a local or special interest."

I will concur that a select few of the projects listed may be worthwhile and I may not have included them in my list of pork. However, there are some real "doozies" in there and I think taxpayers should know where THEIR money is going.

Interestingly it appears that the presumptive republican nominee, John McCain, requested ZERO earmarks. Hmmmm.....I am beginning to like him more and more each day.

However, 2 of the biggest porkers aren't pleased with the public knowing where OUR money is being spent. From the free summary version:
'"Those peckerwoods don't know what they're doing. They don't. They're not being realistic.' The King of Pork, Senator Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.) on National Public Radio, July 19, 2001......'All they are is a bunch of psychopaths.' CAGW 'Oinker' Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) Associated Press, December 26, 1999."

I guess wanting to know where MY tax money is being spent makes me a "peckerwood" and a "psychopath." Fine, I can live with that. I've been called worse things by better people than Robert K.K.K. Byrd and Ted Stevens. I was surprised to see that Robert KKK Byrd didn't have an earmark for "sheet" cleaning.