Brad Ashford Thinks Congress Needs A Pay Cut-- So He's Donating 10% of His $174K Salary

Congress needs to take a pay cut.

At least, that's the opinion of Reps. Brad Ashford, D-Neb., and Dave Loebsack, D-Iowa.

Ashford has signed on to Loebsack's proposal to reduce by 10 percent the salaries of members of Congress -- now set at $174,000.

"The last four years in Congress have been some of the least productive in our nation's history," said Ashford, who was elected in November. "The partisanship and gridlock have reached an all-time high, and when I travel around the 2nd District, Nebraskans tell me they want accountability."

Both congressmen acknowledged that the legislation is unlikely to go anywhere. Loebsack has introduced the bill previously -- in the last Congress, it attracted a grand total of four co-sponsors. But he and Ashford said it sends an important message.

In the meantime, Ashford said, he will make good on his pledge to donate 10 percent of his own salary each year until the bill passes. Members actually are not allowed to refuse any part of their salary, but they can give it away.

Ashford has scheduled a press conference Friday morning in Ralston to announce that he will be devoting that 10 percent -- $17,400 -- to create scholarships for Nebraska students.

"It's something that I've always wanted to do," Ashford said of the scholarships.

The money will go to a specific fund within the Omaha Community Foundation. The details are still being worked out, but an independent panel will be responsible for selecting the recipients without input from Ashford.

The press conference also will highlight the bill to cut congressional pay.

Besides the pay cut, the legislation also would eliminate automatic annual pay increases for lawmakers. Those automatic raises were intended as a way to take the politics out of congressional pay -- although in practice, Congress has stepped in to stop them for the past five years.

Since 2009, rank-and-file members of the House and Senate receive a $174,000 annual salary, with higher pay for those in top leadership.

"While millions of Americans are still recovering from the Great Recession, members of Congress haven't seen their pay decrease since the Great Depression in the 1930s," Loebsack said. "I believe that those elected to serve shouldn't be in it to line their own pockets, which is why it is time to cut members' pay and stop the automatic increases that take place."

Ashford said voters sent a message last year that they want lawmakers tackling tough issues, and he doesn't see that happening.

"It seems to me like we're wasting valuable time when we could be doing immigration reform or whatever it is," he said. "We're never going to be the (Nebraska) Unicameral, but I think I do believe there's a better way to govern."

Until the situation changes, it's appropriate to give lawmakers "a little bit of a kick in the behind" by docking their pay, Ashford said.

"If at some point in the future we actually start passing things that are meaningful, we can re-evaluate it," he said.

Other lawmakers from Nebraska and Iowa had a mix of reactions to the idea.

Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., said in a statement: "I would take it more seriously if the bill were proposing cuts across the federal government. We need to get our fiscal house in order and everything should be on the table for review."

Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., told reporters that she hadn't had a chance to read the actual legislation but that "everybody needs to look at making cuts."

A spokesman for Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., pointed out that the legislation's exact language had yet to be released. The spokesman did not address the idea of a pay cut or eliminating the automatic increases but did say that Sasse opposes raising congressional salaries when American incomes are falling.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, didn't weigh in on the idea of a pay cut, but he has been a longtime proponent of eliminating the automatic annual increases.

"Congress has agreed to block any increase in congressional pay since the increase in 2009, which I also opposed," Grassley said in a statement. "I'm glad that in recent years my colleagues have come around to the view that Congress should not increase its pay when so many Americans are making do with less, and I hope we'll be able to do away with the automatic increases once and for all."

Source