WASHINGTON — The Senate on Tuesday voted to scrap the system that awards members of Congress an automatic cost- of-living pay raise every year.
The Senate’s move to abandon the annual increase came on a voice vote, but it doesn’t mean the pay raise is dead. Earlier Tuesday, the No. 2 Democrat in the House came out in opposition to the bill. “I’m not for it, so I’m not going to commit to bringing it to the floor,” said Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md.
Still, with the economy in a recession, pressure is certain to build on the House to vote on the measure.
A 1989 law provides for annual cost-of-living adjustments unless Congress votes otherwise. Lawmakers voted to skip annual pay raises for several years in the 1990s and in 2007. They voted to forgo next year’s pay hike because of the recession. The latest raise, in January, brought congressional salaries to $174,000.
