WASHINGTON, DC—U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) today joined twelve bipartisan Senate colleagues in introducing legislation to prevent Congress from getting an automatic pay raise each year. The legislation would end the annual cost-of-living adjustment provided to members of Congress, which results in an automatic pay raise each year.
“The system of automatic pay raises for Congress has to stop,” said Senator Casey. “This legislation would stop pay raises by default and require Congress to cast a vote if they want a raise.”
In recent years, Congress passed individual bills to eliminate the pay raise for 2010 and 2011. However, those bills did not permanently remove the automatic pay raise as would be the case under the legislation introduced today.
Senator Casey supported legislation passed by the Senate in 2009 that would have ended automatic pay raises. After the House failed to act, Senator Casey signed a letter to Speaker Pelosi in June 2010 urging the House to take up legislation passed by the Senate to end the system of automatic, annual pay raises for Congress. The House did not pass the bill.
Senator Casey is an original cosponsor of the legislation introduced today by Senator Claire McCaskill. The bill is also cosponsored by Senators John McCain (R-AZ), Jim Webb (D-VA), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Patty Murray (D-WA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Daniel Akaka (D-HI), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Jon Tester (D-MT).
A copy of the legislation is available here.
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