To: President Donald Trump, Rep. Debra Haaland (NM-1), Sen. Tom Udall (NM-1), and Sen. Martin Heinrich (NM-2)
Pay Cuts for Congress and the President
Any across-the-board pay cuts for federal employees must include the same pay cuts for all members of Congress and the President of the United States.
Why is this important?
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 hardworking 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 family member of several government employees, I am seeing firsthand the devastating impact these cuts have on our local communities. Why should our congressional representatives and our President not make the same sacrifice, if they're really representing the best interests of their constituents?
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 ten 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.
If hardworking 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 family member of several government employees, I am seeing firsthand the devastating impact these cuts have on our local communities. Why should our congressional representatives and our President not make the same sacrifice, if they're really representing the best interests of their constituents?
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 ten 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.