Deficits soar, and so does Congress’ budget for itself
EmailABC News’ Z. Byron Wolf reports:
Times are tough out in the country and the world, but on Capitol Hill, lawmakers are poised to give their own budgets significant increases. While the unemployment rate continues to rise and President Obama made a big deal of giving most federal workers only a 2 percent raise this year, lawmakers play by a different set of rules. In the House of Representatives, Congressmen’s “representational allowances and expenses” are set to get an 8.4 percent kick up over last year. The full Congressional budget – part of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill that will get a final Senate vote at 4:30 – would rise by 5.8 percent – 3.5 percent for the Senate to $926 million and 5.2 percent for the House to $1.37 billion. The House members are giving themselves $600 million for “representational allowances” to, among other things, raise the salaries of their younger staff members. Capitol Police Senate employees are getting a 3.5 percent raise. And while local emergency services are taking a hit nationwide, the Capitol Police are getting a 7.38 percent budget uptick. The lists go on. Here’s a report put together by Republicans on the bill, which also includes a stop-gap, month-long check to keep the Congress from shutting down when the fiscal year ends tomorrow. And the Senate Democrats’ version, here.
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Budgets,cutbacks and wage and hour
reductions are only for the little
people. Recession….what recession?
If their wages were based on
performance, all taxpayers would be
getting a refund in the mail. These people like their friends on Wall Street
don’t get it.
Posted by: wis134 | September 30, 2009, 2:26 pm 2:26 pm
Any government raise should not be more than our military receives. Tell me who in DC works as hard as they do? Our government is full of hypocrites. We all need to hunker down, unless you work for the government I guess.
Posted by: lfrichar | September 30, 2009, 2:35 pm 2:35 pm
It is time to take away congress’ ability to give themselves raises. They have been abusing that privilege for far too long.
The WH needs to ask the Justice Department to file a lawsuit with the Supreme Court, to curtail this practice, as a conflict of interest, and make such raises require the approval of the executive branch.
Posted by: Rick McDaniel | September 30, 2009, 4:43 pm 4:43 pm
Disgusting, everyone who votes for it Rep or Dem should be voted out of office. They live off us like parasites. Imagine being able to give yourself a raise? Our government should be pay for performance.
Posted by: Hegel321 | September 30, 2009, 4:48 pm 4:48 pm
Congress raises their budget,so they can give their wives and children pay raises and call it expenses. Pelosi pays her Husband $100,000.00 a year for advice.
Posted by: marion | September 30, 2009, 5:55 pm 5:55 pm
Time to stop all new spending until the debt is reduced by 50%. We as citizens in our lives don’t get $0.50 of evry dollar we spend by borrowing it. We may borrow for a large purchase but then we pay both the pricipal and interest each month until the debt is paid off. The idiots in DC have been doing this for decades and it has to stop, if we can live our lives in a responsible manner then why can’t they do the same with the governments money (our tax dollars). We don’t have funds to spend on a new health care program or any other new program in our present financial situation. With the unfunded liabilities which exsist in such programs as Medicare and Social Security any new expenditure at the present time is financial suucide for the country.
Posted by: Sandcrab1612 | September 30, 2009, 6:19 pm 6:19 pm
Gee.. whatever happened to “shared sacrifice”…. You would think that in this time of uncertainty… as a show of good faith and shared sacrifice… these self absorbed politicians would say “we can go without a raise this year”.. and maybe even take a pay cut… most of them are what most would consider ultra-wealthy anyway. But no… I guess the saying is true…
Some pigs are more equal than others
at least in their own minds. They want SENIORS to bear the brunt of the pain for “universal insurance” …. This is just an incredible time we live in… an incredible “its all about me” generation.. I have a novel idea.. why don’t we clean the budget slate completely.. every last item… and authorize only that spending with is ABSOLUTELY 100% essential until we get our national debt and budgets under control… (EDUCATION, DEFENSE….) and show how each senator / congressmen vote on each INDIVIDUAL spending proposal… now that would be transparency. I know it is a pipe dream of mine… A responsible government would review LINE BY LINE each non-essential spending item… but we all know that it will NEVER happen until the population is so sick of being taxed.. that they stand up and continually challenge them.
But some of these cowards wont even face the voting public in town hall meetings. Gee imagine that… No one in Washington has any priorities when it comes to getting the budget under control… it is just PAYOLA as usual… political payback… corporate payback… and the little guy gets scr*wed with ever higher taxes. When has the average person seen an even 3.5 percent pay raise! No one has the stomach to cut the pork and non essential spending on either side of the aisle… and the fact they are giving themselves pay raises is infuriating and insulting… The fact that that they have the ability to vote themselves a pay raise is even more infuriating… we should all be so lucky!
Posted by: Jeff | September 30, 2009, 7:27 pm 7:27 pm
Why doesn’t Obama and all the Dems just say, “Everyone needs to sacrifice except us.” They spend like drunken sailors, and he flies everywhere he can think of at our expense. I think we need to bill Chicago for the 3 Air Force One planes for him, and the 2 757′s for Michelle. This is not Presidential business! Before someone say it is only 2 AF1′s, 1 for him, 1 decoy, and 1 to keep up communications over the ocean.
Posted by: wheresmymoney | September 30, 2009, 9:39 pm 9:39 pm
Why not?
They each accept hundreds of thousands from insurers, or big pharma, or banks.
And we the people do NOTHING.
They place their wives on the boards of banks and yet serve on Senate committees overseeing them.
And we the people do NOTHING.
They’ve long ago abandoned any serious idea of representing us or listening to us – and they know they can blame the other party – whichever one it is – and get enough haters to follow them blindly.
So why should they worry what we think of them getting raises when, for example, Maryland’s teachers unions voluntarily took a pay cut that probably won’t be restored until two years after the recession ends (which is what usually happens)?
Posted by: The_Mick | September 30, 2009, 9:58 pm 9:58 pm
Any government raise should not be more than our military receives. Tell me who in DC works as hard as they do? Our government is full of hypocrites. We all need to hunker down, unless you work for the government I guess.
Posted by: lfrichar ….They are not even worth what little our military get , Pay them less alot less , Because most of them do nothing.
Posted by: candobetter | October 1, 2009, 1:53 pm 1:53 pm
This has got to stop..time to start calling these blood suckers and lodge a complaint! In the meantime change your deductions on your W-4 at work to 10 deductions and when you have to file and you owe..tell them you want the same deal Geithner got..after all he is the head of the IRS!! He paid no penalty and no interest. What is good for him should be good for everybody!
Posted by: ross | October 1, 2009, 2:35 pm 2:35 pm
If this doesn’t show everyone the true character of Washington, I don’t know what would. Why do these same people keep getting voted back in?
Posted by: deanbob | October 1, 2009, 2:37 pm 2:37 pm
Members of congress state that their aides need a cost of living adjustment. Officials at the Social Security Administration won’t give an increase to those who get SS. They stated that there wasn’t any inflation to merit an increase. So who is lying: officials at the SSA or members of congress?
Posted by: Bob Davis | October 11, 2009, 2:54 pm 2:54 pm