WASHINGTON — It’s been more than 10 days since Virginia congressman Jim Moran suggested members of Congress were underpaid, and it looks like his proposal is dead on arrival.
A few days after Moran’s comments, the House Appropriations Committee shot down Moran’s idea. Most lawmakers likely sensed that giving themselves a pay raise probably wouldn’t sit well with the voters they must face in November.
Moran says his office received thousands of angry phone calls, many laced with obscenities.
“The Congress is the board of directors for the largest free government in the world and the largest economic entity,” Moran, D-Va., told WTOP listeners on April 4.
Moran argued that lawmakers, many of them dividing time between residences in their home districts and in the Washington area, need more than $174,000 a year.
But the veteran congressman knew the proposal would be controversial. “I don’t expect I’m going to get much support for this,” he said.
The 12-term Democrat was able to make the bold proposal because he’s retiring.
Eleven candidates are vying for the chance to win his 8th District seat — 10 Democrats and one Republican.
The Republican candidate, Micah Edmond, says, “I think that Congress has done one good thing and that is rejecting Jim Moran’s request for a pay raise.”
Related story:
Moran: $174K a year is not enough for members of Congress
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