SC Delegation Backs Congressional Pay Raises

Not a single member of South Carolina’s Congressional delegation tried to block the automatic pay raises that members of the U.S. Congress are set to receive this coming year.

The controversial raises – which will take effect at a time when millions of Americans are losing their jobs and millions more face severe financial constraints and depressed income levels – have been the subject of much debate in recent days.

Well the subject of much “discussion,” more like it, because there’s really no debate as to whether Congress deserves a raise or not.

It doesn’t.

Anyway, none of South Carolina’s six Congressmen (pictured above) seem to have a problem taking one, though.

Jim Clyburn and John Spratt? No surprise there.

Joe Wilson and Henry Brown? Well, they’re “Bush Republicans,” so again, not a big shock.

Bob Inglis? We’re still trying to figure out what planet that guy is from.

But Gresham Barrett? We figured somebody running for governor of South Carolina in two years would have a bit more political awareness. But once again, it appears we were mistaken on that front.

Anyway, not a single one of these tone-deaf lawmakers signed onto a bill introduced by first-term Arizona Congressman Harry Mitchell, a Democrat, which would block these automatic pay raises (ranging from $4.700 to $6,100) and force lawmakers to vote for them instead.

In one of the best quotes we’ve seen on the issue, Council on Citizens Against Government Waste executive director Tom Schatz had this to say about the pay raises:

“Members of Congress don’t deserve one additional dime of taxpayer money in 2009 … if Congressional leaders believe that the taxpayers should gives pay raises to this rogue’s gallery of ineptitude and venality, they ought to step away from the spiked egg nog.”

Damn straight. And South Carolina’s six Congressmen need to step away from that same egg nog as well.

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