Jim Matheson: “As so many people in this country continue to struggle to find work, let alone receive a pay raise, I am glad Congress…”

“As so many people in this country continue to struggle to find work, let alone receive a pay raise, I am glad Congress has chosen to highlight this issue. Now, last year Congress recognized how inappropriate it would be to accept the stealth salary increase and passed a measure to block a congressional pay raise for the current fiscal year. This past week the Senate continued the freeze on congressional pay without a single dissenting vote. And now I urge my fellow House Members to follow suit and pass this commonsense measure. The need for this bill also underlines another significant problem with the congressional pay raise system because every year, unless both the House and the Senate actually vote against a pay raise, like we are talking about doing right now, we automatically receive a pay raise. In almost every profession, salary increases are dependent on performance, experience, tenure, or any number of factors other than really showing up to work every day. This system which shrouds the congressional pay increase in arcane procedures deters a healthy, open debate of the issue. This legislation is a straightforward measure to stop the pay increase for fiscal year '11 and has been widely supported in a bipartisan manner.”