Last week I posted a blog about the pay increase congress is getting. Bad information. I stand corrected. See below the response I received from my Congressman, Mr. Michael McMahon of Staten Island. I think we may have someone worth keeping.
Dear Mr. Cole,
Thank you for writing to me to express your views about government spending.
We need to return to a path of fiscal responsibility and reduce the size of the federal deficit. While the government needs to act and help jumpstart our economy now, we must get control over our spending in the coming years. I look forward to working with my colleagues in Congress to find bipartisan, commonsense solutions to getting the nation's fiscal House in order.
That is why I am an original cosponsor of H.R. 2920, the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2009 (PAYGO). H.R. 2920 was introduced in the House by Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD) on June 17, 2009 and was passed by the House on July 22, 2007 by a vote of 265-166. I am proud to have voted for this bill. The purpose of this bill is to force Washington to live within its means by requiring any new spending or new tax cuts to be fully paid for by cutting spending in other areas of the budget. These mandatory PAYGO rules helped bring our budget into balance in the late 1990s, but were allowed to expire in 2002.
I have two children and we cannot in good conscience pile more and more debt on them and mortgage the future of the next generation. The good hardworking people of Staten Island and Brooklyn, New York balance their checkbooks at the end of each month - and they expect nothing less from their leaders in Washington.
In February 2009, we in Congress eliminated our annual pay raise this year. With so many families struggling to make ends meet, it would not be appropriate for Members of Congress to accept a raise. I applaud this move and will continue to work with my colleagues to cut wasteful spending.
Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me regarding this important issue. Please feel free to get in touch with my office in the future if I can be of any assistance to you on this or any other matter of concern. I hope you will find my website - www.mcmahon.house.gov - a useful resource for keeping up with events in Washington and the 13th District of New York.
Sincerely,
Michael E. McMahon
Representative for the 13th District of New York
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