Ministers don’t let MKs give up salaries

The Ministerial Committee on Legislation voted on Sunday to reject a proposal by Likud MK Nir Barkat to enable Knesset members to not take all or part of their salary.

The bill would have also allowed MKs to volunteer to give up on benefits and the large allocation they receive for maintaining ties with their voters. It would have also allowed legislators to contribute their salaries to specific allocations of the government to the needs of the public.

Barkat, who is the wealthiest MK in the Knesset, worth as much as NIS 500,000, has succeeded in not taking a salary only by refusing to give the Knesset his bank account information. But he wanted to institute a system that would allow all MKs to formally decline all or part of the money they are given by the state.

MKs from Likud, Shas and Yamina co-sponsored the bill.

But Ministerial Liaison to the Knesset David Amsalem, the Likud’s representative on the committee, rejected the idea.

“Those who want can contribute to hospitals or the needy,” Amsalem said.

A spokesman for Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn (Blue and White), who heads the committee, noted that all Blue and White MKs donate part of their salaries.

Barkat said he was disappointed by the vote. He said he would continue to refuse a salary.

“The trust of the public in their elected officials must start with a personal example,” Barkat said. “This could have been an opportunity to show socioeconomic solidarity, especially at this difficult time.”

The ministers did vote to advance a bill by United Torah Judaism MKs Moshe Gafni and Uri Maklev that would prevent people’s credit rating from being lowered due to defaulting on loans during the crisis over the coronavirus.