Dear Answer Man, did Congress just vote itself a cost-of-living increase forever and ever? — Kay
Kay knows how to get her questions answered: She caught my boss while he was having lunch at Perkins recently and asked him to get me to answer this.
So here I am! And the answer is no. There's a lot of bad information in the world these days, much of it spread by bogus e-mails and websites. One that made the rounds before the election was that House members and senators voted themselves fat pay increases. The truth? In May, Congress passed legislation to freeze its pay again in 2011, as it did in 2010. President Obama signed the bill into law in May.
Congressmen and senators do get an automatic cost-of-living increase unless they vote to freeze it. That's what they did. How come so many people believe otherwise? Because it often takes the truth longer to saddle up.
Kay's husband also gave my boss a question to answer, but ladies first — Gary's question will have to wait a few days.
