DEMS RE- EVALUATE PLANS TO HIKE LAWMAKERS’ PAY

WASHINGTON A bipartisan push to increase lawmakers’ salaries after a decade- long pay freeze is running into predictable obstacles and could be close to unraveling.

The issue has caused a ruckus inside the ranks of House Democrats, where freshmen in politically competitive districts are recoiling at the idea.

The tumult prompted Democratic leaders Monday night to delay action on annual legislation to fund congressional operations, a measure that Republicans used over the past eight years to block a yearly cost- of- living pay increase that lawmakers are supposed to get automatically. In a statement, the office of Rep. Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 House Democrat, said the measure was on hold “while we continue to discuss the issue of the cost- of- living adjustment.”

Rank- and- file lawmakers make $ 174,000 per year. Many lawmakers sleep in their offices during weeks in Washington rather than maintain two homes.

Unless lawmakers vote to block it, they will receive a $ 4,500 COLA increase in January.