Congressional Leadership Agrees to Pay Freeze; Calls from Members like Peters Cited as Reason

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Gary Peters today applauded Congressional leadership’s decision to act to halt a pay raise for Members of Congress.  Rep. Peters publicly called for a congressional pay freeze last month and co-sponsored H.R. 156, the Stop the Congressional Pay Raise Act of 2009, to prevent Members of Congress from receiving a pay increase until at least 2011. 

Speaker Nancy Pelosi told a caucus of Democratic Members yesterday that she would direct the House Appropriations committee to act to freeze Member pay.  An article posted last night on Politico’s website suggested it was calls like those from Peters and other rank-and-file Democrats that led the House leadership to make its decision (article below, passage highlighted).

“I am pleased that Congressional leadership has heard our calls to stop the congressional pay raise,” said Rep. Peters.  “The U.S. has lost 3.6 million jobs so far during this recession, the largest 13-month drop ever recorded.  It just wouldn’t be right for Members of Congress to receive a pay increase while so many others are taking pay cuts or losing their incomes altogether.”

Congressional pay raises are determined by a formula known as the Employment Cost Index, which is computed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  This formula provides Members of Congress with a cost of living adjustment based on average cost of living increases in the private sector.  The congressional pay increase occurs automatically each year, and would result in a pay raise if legislative action is not taken this year to freeze Member pay.  Both Houses of Congress will still need to pass, and President Obama would be required to sign, legislation to make the pay freeze a reality. 

House Dems to give up pay raise
By: Patrick O'Connor
February 10, 2009 04:57 PM EST
With the economy in deep decline, members of the House will also feel some of the pain, forgoing their annual pay raise next year.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told Democrats in their closed-door caucus meeting on Tuesday that party leaders would tell members of the Appropriations Committee not to include a cost-of-living increase in members' salaries for 2010. Lawmakers will make about $174,000 a year in 2009 – but congressional leaders like Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid make more than that.

In a further bid to shore up the exploding debt, the speaker said leadership has asked committee chairmen to hold hearings on how federal funds are being spent – a priority of President Barack Obama.

"We'll be looking at everything from entitlements to defense spending, student loans to every dollar that the federal government spends," she told reporters afterward.

Rank-and-file Democrats had been making noise about blocking the annual pay raise in next year's spending bills had leaders not made their recommendation.

"It would not be appropriate for us to do COLA next year," said House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.), who typically advocates for the annual pay raise.

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