Congress Proposes Cutting Own Salaries

In an interesting twist, lawmakers have introduced close to 20 pieces of legislation during this Congress that aim to cut or freeze their own paychecks for 2013, reports The Hill.

Their six-figure salaries have drawn harsh criticism from constituents who are battling an anemic economy and their own financial challenges.

“In this economy, Americans across the country are out of work, and those who are working are certainly not getting annual raises,” said Sen. Claire McCaskill. The democrat from Missouri is a proponent of eliminating automatic pay increases for lawmakers.

“There’s no reason Congress should be getting a pay raise each year. We hear a lot of talk about cutting back, and the automatic pay raises should be the first item on the chopping block,” she said.