Tester rejects pay raise for Congress

While Montanans ‘struggle to make ends meet,’ Senator votes to kill pay hike

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Senator Jon Tester is again pushing members of Congress to join him in rejecting a Congressional pay raise.

After voting in the Senate to kill an automatic pay increase next year, Tester joined a bipartisan group of Senators urging Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the House of Representatives to also shoot down the idea.

“Common sense isn’t always in ready supply in Washington,” Tester said.  “Folks in Washington need to take a lesson from the hardworking, middle-class families and small businesses across Montana that are tightening their belts in these tough economic times.  That’s just common sense.”

Members of Congress receive automatic yearly cost-of-living pay increases, unless members vote to stop the increase.  Tester voted against and helped kill the pay raise for this year.

Text of the letter Tester cosigned to the House of Representatives is available below.

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi        
Speaker of the House
H-232, US Capitol
Washington, D.C., 20515

Dear Speaker Pelosi:

We urge you to promptly bring up for a vote S. 3244, legislation passed by the Senate last week to prevent members of Congress from receiving a pay increase next year. 

We hope you will agree that, with so many Americans still looking for work or struggling to pay their bills, now is not the time for members of Congress to give themselves a $1,600 pay increase.  We appreciate your efforts to prevent members of Congress from receiving a pay raise in 2010, and we urge you to ensure the same is true for 2011.

Thank you for considering our request.

Sincerely,
(s)
Jon Tester, et al