CNN
Members of Congress, along with more than 1 million other civilian government workers, are in line for a 4.1 percent pay raise next year under legislation moving through the House Thursday.
The legislation, if approved by Congress and signed by the president, would mark the fourth straight year that lawmakers have included themselves as part of annual pay raises for federal employees. It would boost salaries for representatives and senators to about $158,000 a year from the present $154,700.
The 4.1 percent raise more than doubles the 2 percent recommended by President Bush, who cited the costs of the war on terrorism in seeking a lower rate.
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Opppssss.....girlfriend and soon-to-be wife just informed me after writing the above, that this 'pay-raise' is an automatic done thing....this true?
Boston Globe
The House yesterday agreed to a 2.2 percent pay raise for Congress, slightly less than the average wage increases in private business but enough to boost legislators' annual salaries to about $158,000 next year. The House members decided to allow themselves a fifth straight cost-of-living raise after rejecting them for several years during the 1990s. Their annual pay has risen from $136,700 in 1999 to about $158,000 in 2004, if the legislation clears Congress and is signed by the president. Their salary this year is $154,700.
Only one House member -- Representative Jim Matheson, Democrat of Utah -- expressed objections to the congressional increase during the debate. "We are fighting terrorism on numerous fronts and our economy is in serious trouble, unemployment is at record high levels, and our future budget deficits are predicted to be the highest in the history of this great nation," he said. "Now is not the time for members of Congress to be voting themselves a pay raise."
Reuters
The White House said on Friday it saw "promising" signs of economic growth despite an unexpectedly bleak report showing Americans are struggling to find jobs.
"There are a number of positive signs in our economy. There are a number of promising signs in the economy. ... "
