
The House of Representatives decided it was worth keeping this whole America thing going, and passed a temporary spending bill while lawmakers hammered out the usual long-term budgets. The new funds will help keep the Postal Service afloat and expand House office budgets by 8 percent.
The average House staffer isn’t exactly raking it in, and assuming this expanded budget isn’t going toward a cushier chair for the big cheese, perhaps a raise is in order.
But then again, if a global economic meltdown isn’t an occasion for belt-tightening, what is? —PS
AP via Yahoo:
The underlying House-Senate compromise on the congressional operations budget was non-controversial. All told, Congress is rewarding itself with a 6 percent budget boost, though the $51 million increase for the House office budget account represents an 8 percent increase.
The Senate rewarded itself with a 6 percent boost for its office accounts.
The financially struggling Postal Service would be allowed to delay $4 billion in payments due next month to a health care fund for retirees. Some $5.4 billion is supposed to be paid into the Retiree Health Benefits Fund, but Postal officials say they don’t have enough money to make the payment.
Flickr / gregwest98
The rotunda of the U.S. Capitol.
|
A Progressive Journal of News and Opinion. Editor, Robert Scheer. Publisher, Zuade Kaufman.
Copyright © 2012 Truthdig, L.L.C. All rights reserved. |