Golden, Fitzpatrick Lead Group of 20 Bipartisan Members to Help Block Pay Raise for Congress

WASHINGTON — As Congressional committees moved forward with legislation that included a salary increase for members of Congress, Congressmen Jared Golden (ME-02) and Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01) introduced an amendment to block the pay raise. 20 bipartisan members of Congress joined Golden and Fitzpatrick to oppose the pay raise, contributing to House leadership's decision to pull the bill from floor consideration last night.

"A middle-of-the-road income for a household in my district is $48,000," said Congressman Golden. "Only one member of Congress lives in a district with an average household income that is greater than $174,000 per year, which is what a member of Congress gets paid. Representing your community in Congress is about public service, not how big your paycheck is – I would guess that the toxic partisanship and ugliness of American politics has more to do with people not wanting to run for Congress than whether or not the paycheck is big enough."

The Fiscal Year 2020 legislative branch appropriations bill contains a scheduled $4,500 raise for members of Congress. Golden and Fitzpatrick's provision would freeze lawmaker pay in FY 2020. Most members of Congress have an annual salary of $174,000 a year, more than approximately 90% of American households. The median household income in Maine's Second District is $48,603 according to the 2017 American Community Survey.

"Given the growing pay gap in American society and the flat wage growth that working Americans have experienced overall, I don't think that Congress should be approving a pay increase for itself," continued Congressman Golden. "Our amendment would block any pay raise in this year's budget and I believe it is the right thing to do."

The text of Golden and Fitzpatrick's amendment can be found here. Joining Golden and Fitzpatrick to cosponsor the amendment were Reps. Glenn "GT" Thompson (PA-15), Glenn Grothman (WI-06), John Rutherford (FL-04), Elaine Luria (VA-02), Doug LaMalfa (CA-01), Greg Gianforte (MT-AL), Anthony Gonzalez (OH-16), Andy Kim (NJ-03), Ann Wagner (MO-02), Anthony Brindisi (NY-22), Troy Balderson (OH-12), Abigail Spanberger (VA-07), Jeff Van Drew (NJ-02), Michael Bost (IL-12), Cindy Axne (IA-03), Phil Roe (TN-01), and Colin Allred (TX-32).