Pay-raise spat in U.S. House race

Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson has been running a TV ad that talks about how fiscally conservative he is, pointing out that he yearly opposes Congress giving itself a pay raise and that he gives his pay raise to charity.

But GOP 2nd Congressional District challenger LaVar Christensen says the ad is deceptive because it does not mention that Matheson accepts the yearly pay raises one year later.

While Matheson says he gives his raise to charity, it is not a cumulative gift. He may not be accepting the automatic raise of $3,300 this year — giving it instead to charity — but he takes last year's congressional salary (which includes a 2005 pay raise) of $165,200.

"He's just taking it a year late," says Christensen, who is a Utah House member from Draper. "But he's not saying that in his ad."

While not mentioned in the ad, Matheson says there have been a number of newspaper stories over the last two years that explain how he defers his pay raise one year and then yearly donates any increase to charity. The TV spot, which is now being replaced by a new television campaign ad, has Matheson surrounded by kids. He says that federal spending is out of control, indebting the next generation of Americans.

Matheson goes on to say that yearly he speaks against Congress taking the automatic raise. Congressmen would have to vote down their pay raise to reject it, which they yearly refuse to do.

Matheson says it is "morally wrong" for Congress to spend so much, placing repaying the national debt on our children.

Every year since he's been in Congress, Matheson has tried to stop the automatic pay raises.

Back when he first came into office in 2001, Matheson would run an amendment denying the pay raise. Every year he was the only House member to speak on the issue on the House floor, although a number of representatives would then vote with him. Still, his no-pay-raise amendments would fail 2-to-1 or more.

But recently House GOP leaders — who decide which amendments can even be debated by the whole 435-member House — have not allowed Matheson's straight pay-raise amendment vote. With the help of both Republicans and Democrats, leaders have seen to it that Matheson's amendment is not debated, instead killed in a procedural vote.

Matheson said he's given to multiple charities over the years, including Quarters for Christmas, Boys and Girls Clubs, YWCA, the Canyon Creek Women's Crisis Center in Cedar City, the food bank in Cedar City and others.

Matheson said he is not misleading anyone, either in his TV ad or previous no-pay-raise statements.

"I've been very upfront about" taking the pay raise a year late. "I've been very clear about that," the congressman said. "I've not tried to mislead anyone."