{"id":18222,"date":"2023-04-30T20:28:08","date_gmt":"2023-05-01T00:28:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/?p=18222"},"modified":"2023-04-30T20:28:08","modified_gmt":"2023-05-01T00:28:08","slug":"n-y-post-congress-unconstitutional-pay-scam-gets-members-34k-raises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2023\/04\/30\/n-y-post-congress-unconstitutional-pay-scam-gets-members-34k-raises\/","title":{"rendered":"N.Y. Post: Congress\u2019 unconstitutional pay scam gets members $34K raises"},"content":{"rendered":"

New York Post, May 1, 2023\"\"<\/a><\/h3>\n

Congress\u2019 unconstitutional pay scam gets members $34K raises<\/a><\/h1>\n

by James Bovard<\/p>\n

Washington, DC, needs an emergency supply of snazzy sandwich boards announcing, \u201cWill Legislate for Food.\u201d<\/p>\n

A hunger crisis on Capitol Hill gave congressional leaders no choice but to trample the Constitution.<\/p>\n

Thanks to a backroom deal, House members can now claim automatic reimbursement of $258 a night for lodging expenses and $79 a day for meals in DC \u2014 even if they don\u2019t spend a dime.<\/p>\n

But though House members can pocket up to $34,000 a year in additional tax dollars, it\u2019s not a pay raise <\/a>because politicians are entitled to use false labels for everything they do.<\/p>\n

There is a pity party in Washington: You weren\u2019t invited, but you\u2019ll pay the bill.<\/p>\n

Members of Congress are whining that they receive only $174,000 a year \u2014 more than triple the average US salary and higher pay than 93% of Americans pocket.<\/p>\n

And it is a part-time job: The House of Representatives will be in session just 117 days this year.<\/p>\n

That didn\u2019t stop Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from moaning<\/a> that \u201cCongress structures itself to exclude and push out the few working class people who *do* get elected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Congressional salaries are far higher than average Americans\u2019 pay in part to cover the extra cost of spending time in Washington. But House members wanted more.<\/p>\n

After Republicans captured the House majority in November<\/a>, the Democrat-controlled House Administration Committee rushed through a provision in December to boost members\u2019 pay.<\/p>\n

The Constitution\u2019s 27th Amendment, ratified in 1992, though, prohibits any law \u201cvarying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives\u201d from taking effect \u201cuntil an election of representatives shall have intervened.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new windfall was labeled \u201creimbursements\u201d and took effect thanks to a tweak in the Members\u2019 Congressional Handbook.<\/p>\n

There was no debate or vote on the House floor; neither the Senate nor the president had a say in the matter.<\/p>\n

Former Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) denounced the \u201cclandestine secrecy\u201d of the process.<\/p>\n

In a press conference Friday, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn), House Democratic leader, denied any pay raise occurred: It was just \u201creimbursement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeffries used the word \u201cbipartisan\u201d five times in one minute to sanctify the new measure.<\/p>\n

Inside the Beltway, \u201cbipartisan\u201d bestows instant absolution. House Republican leaders did not oppose the windfall.<\/p>\n

Congress wouldn\u2019t dare openly hike its own pay because only 20% approve of how Congress is handling its job (78% disapprove).<\/p>\n

So congressional leadership is portraying the new windfall as practically a typo on W-2 forms.<\/p>\n

The up-to-$34,000-a-year benefit is part of a budget boost to \u201cprovide a \u2018living wage,\u2019\u201d according to a summary from House Appropriations Committee Democrats.<\/p>\n