Buchanan: Let's block congressional pay raise

Rep. Vern Buchanan -- who is said to be mulling a run for the Senate seat being vacated by Mel Martinez -- says he'll introduce legislation this week to prevent Congress from getting a pay raise unless the budget is balanced.

"Congress should not get a pay raise until it shows the discipline necessary to balance the budget and reduce the debt," he said. 

Buchanan, who says he's donating his salary raise to charity, voted with a minority of lawmakers in 2007 to stop a roughly $4,400 pay raise that brought congressional salaries to nearly $170,000 a year.  This year’s pay raise is $4,700, bringing congressional salaries to nearly $174,000.

With the economy in a recession and millions of Americans losing their jobs, members of Congress are under fire to rescind the pay hike, which will increase their base salaries to $174,000, roughly a 2.8 percent raise.

Comments

[chuck]

Good for you vern