Is this the same Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who a few weeks ago was whining, falsely as it turns out, that she couldn’t afford D.C. rents? And now she is offering to have her salary furloughed? Democratic colleagues in the House like Nancy Pelosi — whose estimated net worth is $29.01 million — must be positively thrilled by her suggestion.
No doubt thinking this makes her sound altruistic, the Left’s most visible dunderhead preached on Twitter yesterday:
It’s completely unacceptable that members of Congress can force a government shutdown on partisan lines & then have Congressional salaries exempt from that decision.
https://twitter.com/Ocasio2018/status/1076509651104133122
If she’s that concerned about fair play, why isn’t she rallying to shrink congressional salaries, which at $174,000 per annum, places members of Congress in the top 8% of all wage earners in the nation? Since they are servants of the people, congressmen and senators should be willing to take a hefty salary cut, with those who consider themselves “socialists” waiving their salary altogether.
As it turns out, though, Ocasio-Cortez can’t put her money where her mouth is since congressional salaries are protected under law. Via The Washington Post:
Salaries for members of the House and Senate are written into permanent law. … That’s why politicians get paid even in the event that Congress can’t agree on a bill to fund the government.
This laid out in Article I, Section 6 of the Constitution, which stipulates:
The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States.
You have to wonder if this time Ocasio-Cortez was aware that her paycheck couldn’t be touched and was merely grandstanding.
