Matheson seeks to halt automatic pay hikes

Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, introduced a bill Wednesday that would eliminate automatic annual pay raises for members of Congress. That comes a day after the Senate quietly passed an identical bill.

Matheson for years has pushed Congress to vote on pay raises, and personally donated his annual raises to charity. He had little success in halting raises until this year, when congressional leaders amended an omnibus appropriations bill to dump any automatic pay raise in 2010 amid the current recession.

At that time, Matheson said, "This is totally the right thing to do. Members of Congress are already so much better off than most of the families dealing with this economic crisis. As I have for the past eight years, I'll continue to fight for an open, up-or-down vote by House members on the issue of the pay raise."

On Tuesday, the Senate by voice vote passed a bill by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., that would force Congress to vote on its raises every year, but its future in the House was uncertain.

Sen. David Vitter, R-La., who has pushed similar legislation also, urged Senate Democrats to pressure House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to hold a House vote on it also.

Matheson helped create some of that pressure by introducing his own identical bill.

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