Republicans block House pay raise

House Democratic leaders Monday abandoned attempts to revive an annual pay raise cherished by rank and file lawmakers, a decision prompted by lingering GOP anger over last year's campaign.

Lawmakers' pay will be frozen at $165,200 for this year in a dispute fueled by the Democrats' use of the issue in last year's campaign, violating a yearslong understanding that the competing parties would not attack each other over pay raises.

At issue is the annual congressional cost of living adjustment, or COLA, under which lawmakers automatically get a pay hike unless Congress votes to block it. Democratic and Republican leaders had worked cozily for years to make sure an annual pay-related vote went smoothly.

Under the agreement, the annual vote came on an obscure procedural move — instead of a direct up-or-down vote — and the Democratic and GOP whips each delivered a roughly equal number of votes to shut off any move to block the pay hike.

That arrangement fell apart when Democrats announced last summer they would opt out of the pay raise until Congress acted to raise the minimum wage. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee ran ads attacking Republicans for taking pay raises while blocking numerous attempts to raise the minimum wage.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070130/ap_on_go_co/congress_pay_raise_1

both parties should be run out on pitchforks! They should make whatever the average income of Americans is...which I believe is about 36k. That would get them thinking about the middle class!

as mentioned earlier, nearly all of them are the ruling class already and could easily do without any salary, of course there are a few exceptions in the House.

thanks for the reminder.:hi:

Even if the Republics did it for the wrong reasons, the less money that a Dem congress is seen spending, the better.