With little debate, House lawmakers on Tuesday included themselves as part of a pay raise that all federal employees will receive next year.
The cost-of-living raise would be the sixth straight for members of the House and Senate, boosting the salaries of lawmakers, now $158,100, by about $4,000 in the new calendar year.
The raise is part of an $89.9 billion Transportation and Treasury Department spending bill that the House is expected to pass Wednesday.
The Senate Appropriations Committee approved its version of the spending bill Tuesday, and it, too, opened the door for lawmakers’ salaries to rise.
By a 235-170 vote, the House rejected an attempt by Rep. Jim Matheson (D-Utah) to get a direct vote on the pay raise. In 1989, Congress decided to make annual cost-of-living pay increases automatic unless the lawmakers voted otherwise.
The pay raise would also apply to the vice president–who is president of the Senate–and Supreme Court justices.
This year, Vice President Dick Cheney and Chief Justice William Rehnquist receive $203,000. Associate justices get $194,300.
