U.S. Representative Bob Latta (R-OH-05) reintroduced a bill this week to end automatic pay raises for members of Congress.
The congressman has proposed this measure in past sessions to force federal legislators to go on record every time they wish to raise their salaries. All seven cosponsors of the legislation were Republicans. It did not receive a vote in committee.
Under current policy, established by the Ethics Reform Act of 1989, congresspersons and senators are scheduled to receive annual adjustments in their pay based on the movement of private-sector wages as reflected in the Employment Cost Index.
Congress, however, can opt to forgo pay hikes and has done so every year after 2009. Since then, each rank-and-file member has earned $174,000 annually, up from $169,300 in 2008. The Senate President Pro Tempore and the caucus leaders of both chambers each earn $193,400, and the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives makes $223,500.
But the next time a majority of members want to see their pay rise, they need not take any action. Latta said the reality should be the other way around.
“As members of Congress, our top priority should be serving the people who elected us, not lining our pockets by increasing our paychecks,” Latta said in a statement. “The No Vote, No Raise Act is simple; the bill removes automatic pay raises for members, which is allowed under current law. If members wish to increase their pay, it should be completed through a recorded process to ensure every member’s vote is public and on record.”
If federal lawmakers accepted the increases to which the 1989 reform entitled them, they would now be earning roughly $26,000 more, or $200,100, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Neither congressional pay raises nor Congress has been remotely popular in recent memory. According to the RealClearPolitics polling average, which goes back to January 2009, disapproval of Congress’s job performance has consistently outstripped approval by at least 15 percent and often by several times as much.
Another measure Latta has championed in this policy area is a proposed constitutional amendment to deny pay to members of Congress during federal shutdowns. During the shutdown of late 2018 and early 2019, the congressman instructed the chief administrative officer to withhold his salary.
Latta’s bill abolishing automatic pay adjustments awaits consideration by the Committee on House Administration and the Committee on House Oversight and Reform.
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Bradley Vasoli is managing editor of The Ohio Star. Follow Brad on Twitter at @BVasoli. Email tips to [email protected].
