Maybe elections have consequences after all.
Bolstered by the populist uprising against bloated and wasteful government, politicians in Washington actually defended the interests of taxpayers yesterday. Not just once, but twice.
Our first bit of holiday cheer comes from the Washington Post, which reports that the House of Representatives (still controlled by Democrats) voted to freeze pay for bureaucrats.
The House approved legislation Wednesday that freezes base pay for federal employees at current levels for two years. …The pay freeze is projected to save a total of $28 billion over five years, a fraction of a $1.3 trillion budget shortfall. The legislation now goes to the Senate.
The second item is even more remarkable. Politicians actually resisted the AARP crowd, refusing to approve a $250 handout for senior citizens. The L.A. Times reports.
A proposal to provide a one-time payment of $250 to Social Security recipients failed in both the U.S. House and Senate on Wednesday. Under the formula used to calculate cost-of-living adjustments for the retirement safety net, seniors will otherwise see no rise in their payments in 2011. Advocates for the plan argued in part that the formula used to calculate inflation fails to accurately reflect costs. Though a majority supported the approval in the House, the final margin was short of the supermajority required under a suspension of the rules. In the Senate, the final tally of 53-45 was short of the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster.
