CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Gas money? The Senior League says a $4,100 raise ups the 2008 pay of a Member of Congress to $169,300. The money starts showing up in checks this month and puts the Capitol Hill crowd in the upper 6% of American households. But Congress people are hardly in the financial bracket of the CEO class, where paychecks can look like lottery jackpots. Details about the congressional pay hike were published in the Jan. 8 Federal Register, an official publication that announces government rules, regulations and administrative actions. Have any members of the Ohio delegation turned down the raise?
Meanwhile, the Senior League says 48 million elderly Americans on Social Security each will receive an average of $288 in cost-of-living-adjustments (COLA) this year. That takes the SS checks to $12,948 per year. It contends Congress should have passed up its raise, or adopted some kind of pay for performance plan. Said Senior League Chairman Daniel O'Connell:
"It's outrageous that these elected officials continue to reward themselves with larger pay raises while they allow millions of seniors to go without basic necessities. This is yet another example of Congress delivering the best for themselves on the backs of our most vulnerable citizens."
Senior League officials complain that Congress "automatically receives a raise each year -- even if they're at an all-time law in public opinion."
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