Pair of Senators Wants Congress to Pay For Its Budget Failures

Thu, March 7, 06:03pm

Written By: Brandon Ballenger

Published By: MONEY-TALK-NEWS

Last week we pointed out that Congress' pay is immune to the budget cuts they've inflicted upon the rest of the nation. Well, here's a political breath of fresh air: two senators agrees that is absurd.

Bill Nelson and Claire McCaskill plan to introduce a bill called the Congressional Overspending Pay Accountability Act, which would cut Congress' pay by either 20 percent or an amount equal to the highest percentage cut from a federal worker's pay. (Most of them weren't immune.) Here's what Nelson said…

What's good for the goose is good for the gander. You're going to dock all of these civilian employees who have lives, who have children, who have expenses, who have families. You're going to dock them their pay because of the inability of Congress to do what should have been done a year and a half ago.

McCaskill called this “an obvious step to hold Congress accountable.” If it passes, the bill would take effect at the same time worker furloughs would â€" mid-April.

Is it likely to pass? Don't hold your breath. But at least some of them realize they deserve it.

Even if it did, passage would likely start a legal battle because the new law would run up against the 27th Amendment to the Constitution, which is the reason Congress' pay wasn't cut to start with.

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