Pay Cuts for Congress

Petition Background

The across-the-board cuts set to go into effect at the end of the week will hurt the economy, and they should be stopped. But if Congress insists on cutting anyone's salary, they should cut their own paychecks first.

In fact, they have proposed a 20% across-the-board pay cut for 800,000 federal employees - all while leaving their salaries safely intact. If hard working employees will see an unexpected pay cut because Congress can’t get its own job done, shouldn’t our Congress members also see a pay cut?

After all, we pay their salaries.

As a state politician in Maine, I am seeing first-hand the devastating impact these cuts will have on our local communities. Why should our Congressional representatives not feel some of the pain, if they're so convinced that cuts are the answer? The least they can do is cut their own salaries first.

Because of the 27th amendment, Congress can't change their salaries until 2014, but if the sequester happens, it'll cut public services for the next 10 years. So Congress needs to make sure that the next Congress, and every one after that, also feels the cut. Instead, they specifically exempted their own salaries.