Press Releases

Congressman Glenn Grothman (R-Glenbeulah) today released the following statement on the defeated attempt to raise pay for members of Congress. Last week, during discussions on funding levels for FY2020, a group of lawmakers pushed for pay raises for members of Congress. This agreement came amidst comments made by Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) about the need to boost members’ $174,000 per year salary.

Congressman Grothman was one of 20 lawmakers to cosponsor an amendment to stop this pay increase.

“The 116^th Congress is reaching new heights of irresponsibility.” Said Grothman. “We are aiming at record levels of spending everywhere except for our border patrol and a physical barrier at our Southern border, which actually need more funding.

That Congress would consider this a fitting time for a raise is inappropriate. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Progressive Caucus Co-Chair, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, have shown just how strong the radical left wing of the party has become. Ocasio-Cortez goes so far to claim that a $174,000 salary can ‘punish members who rely on a straight salary, and reward those who rely on money loopholes and other forms of self-dealing.’ To me, it is absurd to think that she is being ‘punished’ with a salary that puts her in the top eight percent of earners and will force her to rely on illicit activities to survive.

Each interview Jayapal gives on this issue, which has been a lot, there is a different answer to why she wants more money. This media darling has pointed to everyone but herself to justify the pay increase, when the fact is, she wants a pay raise. Her constituents sent her to Washington to fight to increase their pay, not her own.

Ocasio-Cortez burst onto the national stage little more than a year ago and now, six months into her new job, is demanding a raise. She and Jayapal have three years of service between them and boast initiatives such as publicly-funded elections, lowering the voting age to 16 and the “Green New Deal,” an environmental plan that would bankrupt the county.

It's a little nutty to think that this issue is the one that the progressive Democrats are taking a stand on. During my recent trip to our Southern border, border patrol agents told me that many of their colleagues were actively looking for other jobs due to the low pay. It is beyond belief that rather than focusing on raises for the men and women protecting our country, these Democrats are concerned with their own paychecks.”

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U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman is serving his third term representing Wisconsin’s 6th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.