Feingold Urges Colleagues to Reject Backdoor Pay Raise Offers Amendment That Would Stop the Automatic Pay Raise for Members of Congress Next Year October 23, 2003 Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Russ Feingold today offered an amendment to the Transportation-Treasury appropriations bill that would stop the automatic pay raise for Members of Congress that is scheduled to go into effect in January 2004. Under current law, members of the Senate will receive a $3,400 automatic pay raise in January of 2004 unless Congress acts to stop it. Feingold's amendment aims to stop this increase. For the last three Congresses, Feingold has introduced legislation to permanently end to the automatic cost-of-living adjustment for members of Congress. "At a time when our country is facing record annual deficits, this automatic, stealth, pay raise system is absolutely wrong," Feingold said. "The financial markets have been rocked, wiping out a large portion of the life savings and retirement accounts of many families. Thousands of workers who were laid off have not returned to work, and families face increasing financial pressures. How can Congress give itself a $3,400 pay raise while nearly 9 million people are unemployed, and 2 million have been out of work for more than half a year?" The Congressional Budget Office reports that the deficit for the fiscal year that just ended was a record $374 billion. For the coming fiscal year, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) projects a unified budget deficit of $475 billion. These figures do not include the $87 billion in additional funding that the President has requested for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Over the next 5 years, OMB projects the budget deficits to total $1.4 trillion. Unless the January 2004 pay raise is stopped, it will be the fifth pay raise for members of the Senate in as many years. That means that, as of next January, members will have received five consecutive pay hikes which together total more than $21,000. "If this pay raise goes into effect, members of Congress will have received five pay raises, in five years, that together total more than $21,000," Feingold said. "$21,000 is more than the average annual Social Security benefit for a retired worker and spouse. It is more than the average annual Social Security benefit for a disabled worker, spouse, and child. It is more than someone working minimum wage can make in a year and a half. While Congress has been receiving all of these pay raises, the rest of the country has not been so fortunate." Feingold accepts no pay increase throughout his 6-year term, accepting only the rate of pay that Senators were eligible to receive on the date on which he was sworn in as a Senator. He returns to the Treasury any additional income Senators get, whether from a cost-of-living adjustment or a pay raise voted on by the Congress.

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