U.S. Rep. Chris Lee, R-East Amherst, signed on as a co-sponsor of his first legislative bill Tuesday.
He’s one of 59 House members to signal support for the Stop The Congressional Pay Raise Act, a bill introduced on the opening day of the 111th Congress to block an automatic pay raise for members in 2010.
The raise, handled as a cost-of-living adjustment, was provided for by a 1989 law, according to Lee spokesman Andrea Bozek.
“With unemployment on the rise and workers foregoing wage increases ... it is an outrage for this Congress to support a pay raise for itself,” Lee said. “(It) sends the message that Washington is completely out of touch with the struggles of working families.”
This year, the average member’s salary is $174,000. A $4,700 raise kicked in when Congress did not act last year to stop it.
Congress last agreed to freeze its pay in 2000. According to thehill.com, stop-the-raise bills have been introduced annually for the past 14 years but frequently don’t make it through vetting committees for full House and Senate voting.
Sponsors of the current bill are both Republicans and Democrats, Bozek said. The measure is endorsed by fiscal watch groups including National Taxpayers Union, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste and Taxpayers For Common Sense.
Local News
January 7, 2009
CAPITOL HILL: Lee signs on to no-raise measure
- Local News
-
-
Anchors aweigh
- Expect delays on Millersport Highway
-
Helping Hands lift spirits
- Election boils down to question of fairness
-
Mongielo granted stay
Auto shop owner's sentence for sign ordinance violation pushed to September
-
Hot save for firefighters on Orchard Drive
No injuries reported in midday blaze.
-
Second suspect pleads
Man admits to first-degree manslaughter as an accomplice to murder.
-
A day to remember
Memorial Day ceremonies, parades planned for Tonawandas
- State AG warns of invoice scam
- No Headline Provided
- More Local News Headlines
-
UN Blames Syrian Forces for Shelling Houla
Raw Video: Gay Protest Blocked in Moscow
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
