Senate Stops Automatic Pay Raises

Senate stops automatic pay raises; Politico.com

Remember David Vitter’s omnibus amendment scrapping automatic pay raises in the Senate?

The one that was shot down to avoid a House-Senate conference so the $410 billion package could pass the House?

Well, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) fulfilled his promise to pass a stand-alone pay freeze on a quick unanimous voice vote Tuesday night. And Reid took a shot at Vitter when the bill quickly passed.

“Regrettably, the junior senator from Louisiana not only chose to vote against the omnibus bill, which froze the cost of living adjustment for 2010, but also chose to stand in the way of my efforts to have the Senate consider and ultimately pass a permanent end to the automatic adjustment,” Reid said. “The overwhelming bipartisan majority of senators are undeterred by this obstruction. Passing this legislation to permanently end the automatic cost of living adjustment for members is the right thing to do.”