Republican Sen. Rob Portman is urging President Obama to rescind a recent executive order granting pay increases to Congress and other federal officials, saying the move doesn’t exactly jibe with the country’s debt crisis.<\/p>\n
Obama signed an executive order last week that will lift a ban on pay freezes for federal employees.<\/p>\n
Rank-and-file members of Congress would all see a $900 bump next year — up from $174,000. Congressional leaders will receive a slightly higher raise, with the House speaker receiving a $1,100 salary increase to $224,600. The top two Senate leaders will see pay rise $1,000, to $194,400.<\/p>\n
Vice President Biden, meanwhile, will see his pay increase from $225,521 last year to $231,900 after his raise goes into effect March 27, 2013.<\/p>\n
But the pat on the back came as a surprise to some, given the lack of progress all year toward a deal to head off the looming fiscal crisis — which includes $600 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts. Even if that is resolved, Washington has still done relatively little to address the more than $16 trillion debt.<\/p>\n
Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., introduced legislation Monday that would rescind the pay raises.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am calling on my colleagues in the House and Senate to rescind President Obama\u2019s executive order that gives members of Congress a pay raise,” she said in a statement. “This executive order was not requested by Congress and we should reject it. We have a spending problem in our country and we should be looking for areas to cut spending. At a time when families across the country are cutting back we should not increase government spending and add to the debt burden by giving members of Congress a pay raise. We need to begin with ourselves and I urge my colleagues to join me in this effort.\u201d<\/p>\n
Portman said now is not the time for bigger salaries in Washington — at least not until the country can deal aggressively with its debt and deficit problems.<\/p>\n
“At a time when our country is facing record debt and trillion-dollar deficits, the last thing Washington should do is reward itself with a pay increase,” the Ohio senator said. “I am calling on President Obama to withdraw his recent executive order raising federal salaries — including for members of Congress. Until a long-term deficit reduction agreement is reached, we should not consider increasing the pay for Congress.”
\nObama also OK’d raises for circuit and district court judges<\/p>\n
Courtesy Fox News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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