Nye proposes Congressional pay cuts

WASHINGTON (WAVY) - U.S. Rep. Glenn Nye, D-Virginia Beach, is cosponsoring a bill to cut Congressional pay for the first time since the Great Depression.

The Taking Responsibility For Congressional Pay Act aims to cut the salaries by 5 percent by January 2011 and prohibit automatic pay increases the following year. Nye is one of 26 representatives cosponsoring the bill.

“Small businesses and families across Virginia have had to cut back, and Congress should do the same,” said Nye. “I don’t know a single industry that has not had a pay cut in the last 77 years. I hear from small business owners in Hampton Roads who are cutting their own pay in order to stay afloat and pay bills, and it’s time for Washington to make the same commitment.”

According to the U.S. Government information page of About.com, the 2010 salary for rank-and-file members of the House and Senate is $174,000 per year. A 5 percent cut off of that salary would be $156,600.