EMERSON TO BATTLE CONGRESS' PAY HIKE

U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson wants to cancel Congress' automatic pay raise.

Emerson is among 27 lawmakers who are pushing a bill that would terminate automatic cost-of-living adjustments for Congress.

If passed by Congress and signed by President Clinton before Jan. 1, the Congressional Pay Integrity and Accountability Act would prohibit any automatic salary increases.

It would also eliminate the automatic pay raise scheduled to take effect at the start of the year.

In the real world, pay raises aren't automatic for American workers, said Emerson. "They just don't magically slip into their paychecks," she said.

But Emerson said she and like-minded lawmakers probably only have a 50-50 chance at blocking a just-approved, automatic cost-of-living increase.

The Cape Girardeau Republican voted on three separate occasions against an automatic pay raise for Congress in recent weeks.

But with the backing of both the Republican and Democratic leadership, the House narrowly approved legislation that includes a $3,000 cost-of-living increase for lawmakers.

It passed the House for a final time by a vote of 220-207 on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the Senate approved the measure by a 55-45 vote.

The legislation is a $26 billion funding measure for the Department of the Treasury and other federal agencies.

Since 1993, Congress has annually excluded itself from the cost-of-living increases. But this year's measure lacked such a prohibition.

"I just think it is wrong for Congress to slip in a COLA increase or a pay increase secretly," Emerson said by car phone on a visit to St. Francois County Thursday.

She said the pay hike is unethical and a "stupid" move on the part of Congress.

"I don't think when we are trying to balance the budget, streamline the federal government and make government smaller that we ought to be lining our own pocket with extra money," Emerson said.

Emerson said a cost-of-living increase amounts to a pay raise.

Lawmakers don't need a pay raise, she said. The annual salary currently is $133,600.

"When you run for Congress, you know what the salary is and that's that," she said.

If Congress wants a pay raise, it should vote on such a measure instead of hiding an automatic raise in other legislation, Emerson said.

"It is just wrong not to have a straight up or down vote," she said.

Emerson said neither House Speaker Newt Gingrich nor Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt considered the 2.3 percent COLA a true pay hike.

"That is just the same old, sorry argument," said Emerson. She said the bottom line is that lawmakers will receive higher salaries.

Emerson said lawmakers who favored the automatic pay raise could find it tough to explain to voters when they run for re-election.