A crumbling economy, more than 2 million constituents who have lost their jobs this year, and congressional demands of CEOs to work for free did not convince lawmakers to freeze their own pay.
Instead, they will get a $4,700 pay increase, amounting to an additional $2.5 million that taxpayers will spend on congressional salaries, and watchdog groups are not happy about it.
Currently the average lawmaker makes $169,300 a year, with leadership making slightly more.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (pictured) makes $217,400, while the minority and majority leaders in the House and Senate make $188,100.
Dec 19, 2008
Congress gets pay raise while others get the boot
Corporations all around the country are laying off workers and state governments are cutting programs and raising taxes.
A picture of my cave
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