WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, December 22nd, 2020, Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01) and Jared Golden (ME-02) announced that they successfully defied party leaders and secured a provision to block a pay raise for members of Congress in the government funding bill that passed Congress last night.

“Hardworking Americans across the country do not receive automatic raises every year, and neither should Congress. Congress needs a reality check, not a raise,” said Fitzpatrick. “For far too long, Congress delayed bipartisan relief during a pandemic to score political points. Gridlock on major issues must not, and will not, be rewarded. We need to be working to help our constituents and fix real issues, not give ourselves a pay raise.”

“If representatives find it difficult to live on $174,000 a year, they should try supporting a family on a third of that or less, as many of my constituents do,” said Golden. “No one should be in Congress to make money; it’s about public service, not a paycheck. I’m proud to work across the aisle with Congressman Fitzpatrick to block the scheduled pay raise for Congress. Rather than being outraged that we blocked this pay raise, I encourage party leaders to join me in calling out irrelevant and unnecessary provisions that benefit the wealthy —  like tax exemptions for corporations’ three-martini lunches — that were allowed to become part of this bill.”

Earlier this year, Fitzpatrick and Golden formally requested their language be included in the Fiscal Year 2021 appropriations bill. They also jointly testified in favor of the provision before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Legislative Affairs, which writes the funding bill language that covers congressional pay. The exact language Fitzpatrick and Golden advocated for can be found in Section 7 of the final bill text.