To bad it was not on Invaders.


Dear Ms. P:

Thank you for contacting me regarding your opposition to a pay raise for Members of Congress this year. I appreciate hearing from you and would like to respond to your concerns.

Throughout American history, Congress has relied on three different methods in adjusting Members' salaries—stand alone legislation, automatic adjustments, and recommendations from the President based on the findings by the Citizen’s Commission on Public Service and Compensation.

In January 2006, Members of Congress received a 1.9 percent annual pay adjustment based on an annual adjustment formula. According to this formula, Members were scheduled to receive a 2.0 percent pay adjustment in January 2007. Despite this recommendation, Congress voted to prohibit this adjustment and Member's pay has remained at the 2006 level.

I am against granting a pay raise for Congress in 2009. Although the Senate has not yet considered this measure, rest assured that I will oppose any increase in Members' salaries this year.

Again, thank you for sharing your views with me. If you have any further questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me. In addition, for more information about issues and activities important to Florida, please sign up for my weekly newsletter at http://martinez.senate.gov.

Sincerely,

Mel Martinez
United States Senator