Democrats vow to block Congressional pay raises until minimum wage increased

CNN ^ | http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/06/27/congress.wage.reut/index.html | Reuters

[rface]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Democrats ratcheted up their election-year push for an increase in the federal minimum wage Tuesday by promising to block a congressional pay hike unless some of the lowest-paid hourly workers get their first raise in nearly a decade.

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada refused to spell out exactly how he will block a $3,300 pay raise scheduled for January 1 for members of Congress, who currently earn $165,200 annually. He said with 40 Senate Democrats backing the maneuver, "We can stop anything they (Republicans) try to do with a congressional pay raise."

[rface]

Raising the Minimum wage is not a good idea ..... and a Congressional pay raise is also not a good idea.

My God!! I support Senator Reid!!!!! I hope every single Republican stands in solidarity with The Democraps on this issue.....

[weegee]

Works for me. No raises for either!

[CremeSaver]

Good! I hope both of them stick to their guns.

[sgtbono2002]

This is great No Minimum wage raise and no Congressional Pay raise . Whats not to love.

Reid is too stupid to realise what he is doing.
Thank you, you stupid POS, hang in there.

[Lekker 1]

My God!! I support Senator Reid!!!!!

Don't you feel like you need to go take a shower now?

[NonValueAdded]

Holy gridlock, Batman, what's the down side?

[zerosix]

Absolutely fabulous.

I'll fo Reid even one better, CUT Congression pay until they secure the borders!!!

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

Great, never raise the minimum employability bill which has no basis in the constitution.

[The Blitherer]

Yes, lets raise minimum wage so employers are forced to either outsource more jobs to India or hire illegals below minimum wage.

[Paleo Conservative]

What's the catch?

[AD from SpringBay]

Never increase them again. I second your motion.

[cotton1706]

Good. No minimum wage increase and no congressional pay raise. It's win-win. However, if the 27th amendment says that any increase in pay will not go into effect until the next congress sits anyway. So this is grandstanding.

[The Blitherer]

sorry, I forgot the /sarc tag.

[Cinnamon]

oh my gawd senador reed is my hombre! /end sarc

[blaquebyrd]

If employers are "forced" to hire illegals the state should be "forced" to enforce American law and lock their asses up. Increasing the minimum wage shouldn't be used as an excuse to break the law.

[austinaero]

Democrats are still the MINORITY party, right?

[b4its2late]

Works for me too. I can have my cake and eat it too!

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

REID 2008!!!

[AppyPappy]

The Democrats are pushing the pay increase. What a strange statement.

[Ben Mugged]

Someone explain how the framers of the constitution and states rights ever allowed a federal minimum wage? The federal Government should be concerned about what it pays federal workers not what industry pays workers.

Smacks of socialism......

[The Blitherer]

I agree, but either way (hiring illegals and prosecuting or not hiring illegals and paying a higher minimum wage) it'll hurt the economy.

[conservative physics]

wow the democrats actually are doing something I support :)

[threeleftsmakearight]

Republicans would be stupid to clamor for a pay raise.
160k looks like a fine salary to me...especially for a job that requires one to work less than 40 weeks a year.
The problem with Congresspeople (D & R) is they resent the money lobbyists make. Many of those same lobbyists used to work for THEM.

[Red Badger]

I have no problem with that.............

[WhiteGuy]

The true wonders of GRIDLOCK!

[Prokopton]

"Democrats are still the MINORITY party, right?"


Not in the Senate.

[meyer]

Democrats ratcheted up their election-year push for an increase in the federal minimum wage Tuesday by promising to block a congressional pay hike unless some of the lowest-paid hourly workers get their first raise in nearly a decade.

Good - a win-win situation.

[KoRn]

Great news! Hopefully now neither will happen.

[Racer1]

I'm afraid I'm going to have to break ranks here and say I disagree with half of this. No pay raises for Congress, but I think the minimum wage should be raised. Why? Well a lot of reasons. One being that if big corporations and contractors are going to push for this amnesty/guest worker program, lets at the least make them pay for it. There are not that many places that pay minimum wage anymore, except for complete cheapskates. Try to buy gas to drive to work and make minimum. I wouldn't want to be in that position.

[Recovering_Democrat]

fine with me. don't let either go up. :)

[Sgt_Schultze]

But it would be such fun to watch a fight. What if Republicans gave the dems their minimum wage hike - to $160K, the same as a congressman. Republicans could all vote against such a stupid idea, but the dems would be left having to argue that such a wage would destroy jobs - and they would finally be on record as stating the obvious.

[thompsonsjkc]

Amazing! You'd think that there are no cities or states that have set their minimum wage above the federal level. No, that's not good enough, we need a FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE.

[patton]

The catch is, GS-16 (SES) and above, and general officers, have their pay limited to what a congressman makes.

So...a General that is winning the war, saving lives, etc., leaves service for a beltway-bandit job, at twice the pay.

happens everyday.

even discounting that boeing thing. (ethics training! LOL)

[ibheath]

YES!!! Keep up the pressure senator Reid!!

[OldFriend]

THAT IS GREAT NEWS!!!

[jw777]

that's a win win if i ever heard one.

[FreedomNeocon]

Good, now the next thing they should do is stop being such JERKS with the time off.

Did you know that congress will be in session a TOTAL of 90 days this YEAR... yes I said YEAR.

[leenie312]

CUT Congressional pay until they secure the borders!!!

Hey now....THERE'S a novel idea!!!

[BulletBobCo]

I hope they go on a hunger strike as well.....oh...wait a minute...The Swimmer would outlast them all.

[steve-b]

The catch is, GS-16 (SES) and above, and general officers, have their pay limited to what a congressman makes.

Of course, the correct solution is to remove that linkage. There's no rational reason for it (some of the upper-level professional jobs genuinely require high salaries to compete with private employers).

Equally obvious is the fact that Congress isn't going to give up its hostages.

[Publius6961]

I support this without qualification.
Only good idea the Democrats have had in 40 years!

[patton]

LOL - on the ironic side, SES'ers make a percentage of their max pay in retirement - even if they were never paid it, and not limited by the "congressional" rule.

I know generals, who retired for the pay raise!

[yellowdoghunter]

I have to agree with the Democrats on this one.

How dare the Republicans vote to give themselves a pay raise, yet refuse to offer a raise in the minimum wage. It is disgraceful! If a raise is good enough for Congress, it should be good enough for the working folks also.

And please don't bother with the tired, old arguments of it hurting the economy, etc...etc...we hear those arguments everytime a wage increased is offered and they NEVER pan out. A person who puts in an honest 40 hours a week should be able to live a modest lifestyle.

[pgyanke]

Wow... they're doing something useful...

[newcthem]

Gosh.......this man sure knows how to threaten America..........don't know if I will be able to sleep at night knowing the cheap whores in Congress might not get a raise.

[Thom Pain]

Yes, let's continue to pay Congress-critters about 10% of what a typical CEO makes and continue to attract the top caliber execs into Government service!

[Celtjew Libertarian]

Works for me!

[domenad]

Tell you what Reid, you promise never to raise Congressional wages, we promise never to raise the minimum wage. Sounds like a win-win, I'd say!

[Seruzawa]

Yeah, well they are going to raise their own pay after the election. Bank on it.

[Captain Rhino]

Senator Reid,

All I can say is ...be my guest!