"What gets people upset, and rightfully so, is [Congressmen] being rewarded for failure. Especially when those rewards are subsidized by U.S. taxpayers," he said. ...
"For [members of Congress] to award themselves these kinds of compensation packages in the midst of this economic crisis is not only bad taste -- it's bad strategy -- and I will not tolerate it as president," he said.
Members of the House get an automatic pay raise every year through the passage of the Treasury bill UNLESS a majority votes to block the raise. As you can imagine, a direct vote on the pay raise rarely happens or passes.
There are few groups less deserving of pay raises than members of Congress. As I wish Obama had said, they are rewarding themselves for failure, in the midst of an economic crisis, with taxpayer money. Members got a pay raise of $4,700 at the beginning of the year, but it's not too late for them to vote to stop the pay increase for next year.
