[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 6, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E9]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  STOP THE CONGRESSIONAL PAY RAISE ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. HARRY E. MITCHELL

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, January 6, 2009

  Mr. MITCHELL. Madam Speaker, earlier today my colleague Dr. Ron Paul 
and I were joined by more than 50 Members of Congress from both sides 
of the aisle to introduce the Stop the Congressional Pay Raise Act of 
2009.
  As you may recall, I introduced similar bills the last two years, 
seeking to prevent an automatic pay raise for Members of Congress from 
taking effect in 2008 and 2009. Unfortunately, despite the support of 
34 cosponsors, last year's bill failed to reach the floor. As a result, 
every Member is now receiving $174,000 this year, a $4,700 increase 
since last year.
  Madam Speaker, our economy is in a recession, hundreds of thousands 
of U.S. troops are fighting overseas, and our national debt exceeds $10 
trillion. Unemployment figures are on the rise, home values are 
falling, and markets around the world are suffering from a devastating 
loss of credit and consumer demand. The American people aren't getting 
a $4,700 pay raise this year. I do not know how in good conscience we, 
as their Representatives in Congress, can accept one.
  In the last year, jobless rates increased in 49 States and the 
District of Columbia. Unemployment was up 2 percentage point from a 
year before. In my home State of Arizona, unemployment rose by over 50 
percent, leaving nearly 200,000 workers unemployed.
  Compounding the situation, economists estimate that nearly $7 
trillion of investor stock wealth was lost in 2008, and Standard & 
Poor's 500 and the Dow Jones industrial average experienced their worst 
years since the Great Depression.
  When Members of Congress accept this pay raise, we send the wrong 
message. We should be tightening our belts along with the men and women 
we represent. Americans are suffering and instead of feeling that pain, 
Congress is quietly approving pay raises to further insulate us from 
it. If you want to know why people hate Washington and feel that it is 
out of touch, it is precisely because of moves like this.
  If we are going to talk the talk of fiscal discipline, I believe we 
need to walk the walk of self-restraint. I will be donating my 2009 pay 
raise to charity, just as I did with my 2008 pay raise. I encourage my 
colleagues to do the same, and join me in stopping the next automatic 
pay raise from taking effect by supporting the Stop the Congressional 
Pay Raise Act.

                          ____________________