No more automatic pay raises for Congress‏

I have always been an advocate of ending automatic pay raises for members of Congress. This year we finally have the opportunity to put an end to it. Enclosed is a text of my second post on the Campaign Blog with all the important information. Down the road I'm going to need your help to put some pressure on Congress.

You can sign up here to receive updates on how to help.

Sincerely,

Russ Feingold
U.S. Senator

http://www.russfeingold.org/blog/pay-raises.html

No more automatic pay raises for Congress

I’m sure that you, and every single other person across our country, would like a job that gives you an automatic, few thousand dollar, pay raise every year. Doesn’t matter the state of your company, doesn’t matter how well you’ve preformed, you just get the pay raise every year no matter what. Sounds great right? Currently, if you’re a member of the House or Senate, that’s what happens and after years of fighting this flawed, back-door pay raise system, we’ve finally made some progress on this issue.

As you may know, I don’t take pay raises during each of my six-year terms in office, and I return such increases to the Treasury Department. And I pleased that this year during a time of major economic woes Congress voted down a 2009 pay raise for itself. But trust me, after pressing this issue for a number of Congresses, that’s usually not the case, and if we don’t act, Congress is scheduled to get another raise come 2010.

Last evening, Senator Harry Reid and I were able to pass through the Senate legislation that ends the automatic pay raise system. If this legislation makes it through the House, and is signed by the President, that means that when Congress wants to give itself a raise in the future, it must do so through legislation, in the light of day.

But this bill has to make it through the House first and while I’m hopeful that members will do the right thing, I’m concerned that far too many still don’t get it.

Now is the time, when Americans in every state are hurting economically, when we all outraged by the taxpayer funded bonuses paid to executives at AIG, to once and for all end a corrupt automatic pay raise system that only spurs distrust with people around the country.

I’m going to be doing everything I can to make sure that we end this system once and for all. Sign up here, and I'll keep you posted on ways you can help in the days and weeks to come.