Frank Pallone: “I think that they are very far removed from the realities here. Our constituents, in my opinion, oppose efforts by…”

“I think that they are very far removed from the realities here. Our constituents, in my opinion, oppose efforts by Congress to carve out special treatment for themselves, for example, subsidizing activities here or perhaps special services that other Americans do not receive. But I think that they understand the concept of a COLA. It is an inflation factor. It is a cost-of-living adjustment. It is the same type of COLA or inflation factor that other Federal employees get, that members of the judiciary get, that Social Security recipients get, and many others get. In fact, it is a little less, a half percent even less than those. I think that we are really not relaying, if you will, to the American people what is really going on here if we continue to talk about it as somehow something privileged or something very special. It is not. That is the difference. I know that when I talk to my constituents, if I told them that we were going to vote ourselves a 15,000 or 20,000 or $25,000 pay raise, they would say, that's outrageous. You don't deserve it. But when we tell them that we are just giving ourselves a COLA and we proceed in the fashion just like other Federal employees, just like Social Security, just like so many other Americans, I think they understand that.”