Hall Backs 5 Percent Pay Cut For Congress

Statement

U.S. Representative John Hall (NY-19) announced his support today for a measure that would enact a pay cut for him and every other member of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. Congressman Hall became a co-sponsor of the Taking Responsibility for Congressional Pay Act, which would reduce the salaries of House and Senate members by 5 percent.

The last time Senators and Representatives voted themselves a pay cut was in 1933 -- in the midst of the Great Depression. "Some people call the period we're in now "The Great Recession,'" Hall said. "Regardless of what you call it: millions of Americans are looking for a job. Millions more who have jobs are struggling to make ends meet. It's appropriate that we who are privileged to represent these people in Congress show solidarity with them now by voting to cut our pay."

The act would also block any automatic increase in congressional salaries for the next year. Congressman Hall has opposed pay raises before. In 2007, six months after he took office, Hall voted against a $4,400 pay raise, and when Congress passed it, he donated his raise to charity.

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