I mean, people look at the performance of Congress and say, why should we give them more money? What about the media? Think about that for a second. - We're not paid. - By public money. I know you're not, but I mean, half of your listeners are not there anymore. You're still getting the same paycheck. I got to admit, that was a sick burn. It really was. [00:00:17] So the person you just heard from was Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat. He didn't like the line of questioning coming from CNN reporter Manu Raju. And at the center of this, you know, little tiff that you saw on camera [00:00:32] is the bill that is at least attempting to fund the government. It doesn't seem like it's going to go anywhere, though. So I want to give you that update real quick. But basically, congressional leaders decided to include a provision [00:00:47] in the initial iteration of the government spending package, and it would give lawmakers their first pay raise since 2009. Now, look, if you're a private sector worker, you haven't gotten a raise since 2009. [00:01:03] You're going to be real upset. You're going to be real upset. Okay, but this story is complicated because we're talking about members of Congress who trade individual stocks to enrich themselves based on insider information. There is no law banning them from doing that. [00:01:19] Really. Okay. And a lot of members of Congress end up getting real rich as they're, you know, in the halls of power, and they're only supposed to be collecting a $174,000 salary. [00:01:35] Where's the rest of that money coming from? How do you guys become, like, multi-millionaires? So we'll get to all of that in just a minute. But first, some of the details about this provision. So language blocking an automatic pay increase that has been included [00:01:51] in past government funding bills is now absent from this stopgap bill. Again, the stopgap bill is the the government funding bill that would at least keep the government funded and running for a limited period of time. [00:02:08] But for 15 years, lawmakers have included language in spending bills and CRS continuing resolutions to explicitly ban member pay increases tied to cost of living increases that would otherwise be automatic under a previous law. [00:02:24] It was a 1998 statute. So if they were to pass the government funding bill, the continuing resolution with the provision allowing for a raise for members of Congress, what would that look like? What would that raise look like? [00:02:39] Well, look, we don't have the initial bill in front of us. They're obviously still negotiating it. And in fact, Donald Trump and Elon Musk looked at the continuing resolution and felt that it spent too much money. And so it appears that now House speaker Mike Johnson [00:02:57] is going to scrap that CR bill. But what they had initially wanted to do with this particular provision, meant to give members of Congress a raise, was rank and file. Lawmakers in both chambers currently earn $174,000 in annual salary, with those [00:03:15] in leadership earning a little more. The maximum potential member pay adjustment in January of 2025 under the stopgap spending bill would be 3.8%, which would result in a salary of $180,600. [00:03:31] It would be an increase of $6,600 for their yearly salary. So I just want to stop here and say the way that this is being written about in the media, in like legacy media outlets, [00:03:47] bothers me because they seem to be siding with the members of Congress, and they seem to make the case that that salary is not enough money for people to survive. And so they make arguments about, well, housing is very expensive. And, you know, members of Congress have to split their time between their district [00:04:06] and Washington, D.C., so they need two different places to live. That's you know what? That's a legitimate argument to make. But I'm pretty sure you can find an apartment to rent. I'm pretty sure. You know what? You especially Democrats, right? [00:04:22] Democrats never like to attack their colleagues. They're all buddy buddy. So why don't you guys find roommates amongst yourselves? Why don't you do what the American people have been forced to do in finding a one bedroom apartment building? [00:04:37] These, like, makeshift walls. So, like, 5 or 6 people can live in the same space and save money because rent is too damn high. Like hearing members of Congress whine about the cost of housing is infuriating, [00:04:52] because guess who has the power to do something about the cost of housing. They can't be bothered to pass a single bill banning private equity firms from buying up residential real estate in our incredibly limited supply of housing. [00:05:11] And they're going to sit here and they're going to whine and cry about the cost of housing, please. So look, I have so little sympathy for Congress because they haven't been working on behalf of the American people. Right. So that's where the frustration comes from. And the frustration also comes from the fact that they are making a lot more money [00:05:29] than the vast majority of American workers, and they have the audacity to whine about the cost of housing. Again, something that they have the power to do something about but aren't doing something about. Now, again, this bill that the provision would be in is known [00:05:46] as the continuing resolution or CR, and it funds the government. So there will be a government shutdown if something isn't passed by Friday. And currently things aren't looking good. All right, it's Wednesday. Friday is two days from now, and it appears that they have scrapped [00:06:03] this version of the continuing resolution based on the pressure that they've received from Donald Trump and Elon Musk. And so not every lawmaker, by the way, is in favor of a pay raise. They don't think it's a good idea. And it's specifically lawmakers in competitive districts [00:06:19] who are worried that giving themselves a raise would make them look bad. So, Democratic Congressman Jared Golden argues this members of Congress earn more than 90% of Americans. If any of my colleagues can't afford to live on that income, [00:06:38] they should find another line of work. And by the way, a few other details about the generous compensation that our members of Congress get. They don't have to worry about health care, their public sector job, right, that they've been elected to. Of course, gives them health care. Real nice benefits. [00:06:58] How many Americans out there are cobbling together multiple part time jobs? And as a result of having nothing but part time jobs, because stable, full time work that pays well and has good benefits isn't as available as the Biden administration would like you to think. [00:07:15] But because they're working a bunch of a bunch of part time jobs, they don't get health insurance in some cases. In a lot of cases, they don't get the same benefits as a full time employee. And so that takes us back to Dick Durbin and his confrontation [00:07:33] with CNN's Manu Raju. Because, look, I think there is a case to be made that media figures have failed the American people as well. But I'm really not digging the fact that Senator Durbin seems aloof when it [00:07:49] comes to the failures of our lawmakers. Let's watch. Do you guys deserve a pay raise? Well, that's news to me. It's good news, you know. What has it been, ten years or 14 years and no cola? No change at all. I think it's about time something's done. [00:08:07] You support getting giving yourself some payments. How would I not know about a pay raise? But I mean, but I mean, people look at the performance of Congress and say, why should we give them more money? - What about. - The media? - Think about that for a second. - We're not paid by public money. I know you're not, but I mean, half of your listeners are not there anymore. [00:08:23] You're still getting the same paycheck. What's going on? Well, I mean, your taxpayer money. I mean, you guys deserve a raise. Look, I got to say, it would have been a perfect, perfect insult to Manu Raju [00:08:38] if members of Congress weren't enriching themselves while in office. You know, and I would make a deal. I would make a deal with members of Congress, I think. Yeah, sure. You can definitely Include a provision in the government funding bill [00:08:55] that, you know, every year adjusts your pay with inflation. I'm okay with that. If and only if they pass legislation banning members of Congress and their immediate family members from trading individual stocks [00:09:14] if they're willing to pass that bill, which, by the way, hilariously, Joe Biden came out and said he would be in favor of that. Oh, nice. I'm glad that you're saying that, like super late in the game, but okay, thanks. But if they pass that kind of legislation, then I justify it. [00:09:29] The pay raise for members of Congress. But right now, I'm not buying for a second that our lawmakers are destitute. If anything, their inaction and their lack of concern for the American people has led to countless Americans finding themselves destitute. [00:09:50] And that's where the shame really lies.