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Subscribe to RSSPresident Obama's Interior secretary is due for a raise, but Louisiana GOP Sen. David Vitter threatened to block that pay increase unless the Interior Department opens more access to Gulf drilling. Democrats say that Vitter's opposition amounts to coercion.
This morning, aides to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar say he asked the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to withdraw any effort to address Salazar's planned salary increase over a rare and personal dispute launched by Vitter. Salazar wrote to Reid, that Vitter's demand is "wrong" and called it "attempted coercion."
Vitter is demanding Salazar take action to open more drilling permits in the Gulf of Mexico, an issue important in his home state after last year's spill. In a letter, Vitter threatened to use a procedural move that would allow him to block Salazar's pay adjustment.
Vitter wrote, "[W]hen the rate of permits issued for new deepwater exploratory wells reaches pre-moratorium levels (so 6 per month), I will end my efforts to block your salary increase."
Salazar is entitled to a raise of $19,600, elevating his salary to that of other cabinet posts now that his original Senate term has expired. In long-standing rules, senators appointed to executive branch jobs cannot be paid at the higher rate until their elected terms expire. Secretary Clinton also is under this rule until 2012.
Salazar aides say the secretary had not requested the salary raise himself, and does not want the salary related vote to occur because of Vitter's action.
Vitter's office says he will not withdraw his objection to the raise at this time and Vitter says in a written statement, "It's just my way of keeping the 'boot on the neck" of Interior until they get job the done. Surely, the secretary can appreciate that approach." That is a reference to Salazar's use of the boot-on-the-neck phrase during oil spill hearings last year.
Today Vitter responded, "I'm glad the secretary has dropped his push for a pay raise; it was truly offensive to Gulf energy workers who are struggling under his policies. Now I hope he starts earning what he already makes and properly issues new permits for much needed drilling in the Gulf."
Aides say Salazar is in Colorado today. Reid's office says he plans to work with Republicans to get Vitter to drop his opposition.
Senate Majority Leader Reid just issued this statement:
"I have worked with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on this issue for weeks and it is wrong for Sen. Vitter to try to get something in return for moving forward on a matter that the Senate has considered routine for more than a century."Ken Salazar is extremely well-qualified, hard-working cabinet secretary, and deserves better than to be strong armed while trying to do an important job for the American people."
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I'd send his office $19,800 worth of diapers.
By the way, what happened to the President's federal employee pay freeze? Guess personal appointees don't have to worry about that?
JJMurray - It is not raise, as such; rather, it is a pay increase to bring up his salary to the salary of other secretaries, now that his original Senate term has expired. You really should read the entire article before commenting. I pasted the pertinent passage from the article below.
"Salazar is entitled to a raise of $19,600, elevating his salary to that of other cabinet posts now that his original Senate term has expired. In long-standing rules, senators appointed to executive branch jobs cannot be paid at the higher rate until their elected terms expire. Secretary Clinton also is under this rule until 2012."
LOL....got that JJ.....it is an increase not a raise.......come you know the difference
instead of raisng his pay to equal the others.lower thiers to equel his
JJ Muuray let's say you got promoted from sorting mail (which I do BTW), to programming the computers in your office, but you had to stay at your mailroom pay for two years while doing more skilled work, because of company rules. Then, imagine the office manager threatened to block an increase in your pay to programmer level, if you didn't lower the firewall so he could watch porn at work. Get now?
Amy
not an accurate description.......more like..... when he started the programming job he screwed everyones computer up and put everyone out of work and STILL thinks he deserves the job and the raise...........he is either incompetent or following a bad agenda. Got it now!!!!!
They should freeze all raises, haven't they heard that we are in debt over our head.
Cut the spending.
Down south--haven't you heard? it's a revenue problem. Republikkkans can't even cut 2 billion a year from the tax "incentives" given to big oil who are having the biggest profits in the history of the world to date (bigger to come I predict). Are you able to know what your own economic self-interest is? Perhaps you are a millionaire, billionaire, big oiler? If not , why are you supporting those who take it from you and give it to them? The only people paying their "fair share" are the middle and lower class economically. the big boys are sucking us dry and you can't see it???Puhleeez!
Reading the Craigslist item of Mr. Priebus--one is wondering if it's real or a put up job. AND that it sounds quite a bit like the ads posted by "Mistress-Will-Whip-You"???
Good, if he can't fully do his job he shouldn't be fully paid. Issue permits, get the drilling companies back to the US and turn on the spigot, in the gulf, in the mid-west, in the west, and in Alaska and then after your boss gets spending under control and the value of the dollar increases, unemployment is cut drastically, then you government bureaucrats can ask for a raise. Who the he!! does a pi$$ poor job day after day and then expects a raise. No one in this cabinet should be getting a raise, as a matter of fact they should be taking a pay cut. As for Vitter, who cares if he cheated on his wife, except maybe his wife and kids? What does that have to do with governing in Louisiana and why are all of you in places other than Louisiana even worried about what or how he does things in his state? Sounds like a little too much time on your liberal hands.
Jim,
Please try to read the article before making anymore stupid comments. Did the Repubs get rid of the good teachers in your state? It shows!
Hugh, do you really have a point to make? If so, make it, becuase your statement maybe makes sense in your homeland but here in the US it's not making a lot of sense. You jump from reading the article to republicans to teachers....I understand being a liberal keeps you from being focused, but try....come on, put down the Huffington Post, think before you post and you can do it....that's it..
so, Jim. If Salazar grants more permits in order to make more money, isn't that what is called a BRIBE?
did not vote for david but he is correct that the gulf should be open for drilling along with the east coast and west coast or where ever voters elect to do it. he is a numnuts
Guess you're not in the seafood industry.
Hey Vitter: stop whining like a baby and put on a clean diaper and get a life! We're all getting a little tired of your childish antics. Doesnt a president have a right to have whoever he wants in his cabinet??? How did this guy EVER get re-elected???? Opppsss.... Louisiana! Explains everything!
( did I mention diaper?? ooopppsssss , my bad! )
Why is this guy getting a pay raise when our government is telling (lying to us) us we have no inflation? Why are we giving a raise of this huge amount when this country is being driven into bankruptcy? Why is this guy even being considered for a raise when we are producing less oil now that when Obama 1st came into office? Perhaps he is being considered because he is helping with Barack hussein Obama's OIl war in Libya.
Time4aPurge
let's say you got promoted from sorting mail (which I do BTW), to programming the computers in your office, but you had to stay at your mailroom pay for two years while doing more skilled work, because of company rules. Then, imagine the office manager threatened to block an increase in your pay to programmer level, if you didn't lower the firewall so he could watch porn at work. Get now?
Time... Why did the GOP add almsot $1T to the national debt by demanding the extension of the bush tax cuts and other perks??
were is Obama on these matters, Bush would have used the office of president to give the pay raise for national security reason, come on Obama where are you.
In most circles don't they call that extorsion? Oh, I forgot anything goes in the congress.
Get a pay raise for putting and keeping thousands out of work......just what he deserves!! I love it when people say the Democrats care more for the American workers....one of the best Cons going!
In any other profession, that would regarded as highly unethical.
1Hiram
It's not a pay raise Vitter is threatening to hold up. It's a threat not to pay Salazar salary commiserate with his position. Say you stock vending machines for a living. One day, you get a promotion to manager of the vending machine stocking division. But you have to stay at the lower pay for two years because of company rules. Then, HR holds up your salary increase until you agree to order the stocking of chocodilles in the breakroom. Would that not be extortion? Get it know?
Salary should be equal to the value provided. In this case Salazar should be paying to be in the position.
More drilling? I would think that Vitter had drilled enough!
The whore-monger is now attempting extortion.
Geez Louisiana.
Reminds one of Chicago......
Vitter (who is not my favorite) may have a justifiable bone to pick with Salazar (who is not my favorite, either), but he is going about it the wrong way. Cabinet secretaries serve at the pleasure of the President, not individual Congressmen. If Vitter thinks Salazar is asleep at the switch, he needs to put together a case of mismanagement and take it to the President. If the President fails to act, he can take it to Harry Reid or to the public. He could even file a lawsuit, I guess. But pulling a backdoor tactic like this is pretty juvenile and does smack of extortion. "Unless you do what I want, I'm going to hold up your scheduled increase!" Nice.
The three words that most describe Washington these days are as follows, and I quote: STINK. STANK. STUNK.
Salazar ISN'T entitled to anything. All cabinet officials should take a 20% paycut.
Vitter's always screwing somebody! Maybe if Secretary Salazar diapers him....?
Make sure that's BABY powder, not itching powder!!
NEWS FLASH!! Full grown babies roaming the halls of congress. I think it's called Blackmail, not coercion.
Isn't this sort of like two years ago when Reid held up the military budget and servicemember's pay raises until his pork barrel spending bill went through?
The He** with Salazaar he is getting enough in kickbacks for all of his private property seizures under eminent domain.
I am sorry, but I disagree with the pay increase to get them more in line with others.
Many people don't make a year what it will take to bring him in line with others. Wouldn't the right thing be that they humbly decline the increase until the economy recovers a bit? They are already making six figures, correct?
Wow, that is blatant. Vitter needs to be immediately removed from office, and criminal charges should probably be filed. What he is doing amounts to blackmail, or bribery depending on how you look at it. Trading money for a vote is a crime. This type of behavior by an elected official is nauseating.
If this is the behavior officials will do publicly, how far are they going in private?
Taziar How soon you forget Obamacare and the votes that had to be bought to pass that monstrosity. Nelson, Landrieux. Oh wouldn't more drilling permits bring more jobs to the state and thus reduce their unemployment rate. Seems like he wants jobs for his constituents.
Kind of like Eric Cantor withholding disaster relief funds for Joplin, MO until they get the debt ceiling ironed out.
Funny how the "Entitled" Legislatures lord dominion over the disastered, eh?
and by funny I mean the exact OPPOSITE of funny.
I thought there was a moritorium on federal pay raises. Oh yea, not for the elite.
Make them work for what they get now.
Look! Up in the sky America! It's an elephant? It's a "Super Spewer?" It's a GOP/RNC Clown? NO! It's Diaper Man Vitter! It's getting poltically "Bitter With Vitter!" Hey! How come it smells like rotten tea? Oh! It is just "Bitter Vitter's" smelly diaper. This "Gross Odd Person" (GOP) just committed the crime of blackmail! He needs to be charged for blackmailing another Government Official. This is illegal! "Bitter Vitter" has Carnival Music ringing in his ears.
Pay Raise????? All the crooks in Washington need a pay CUT, not a pay raise. From odumbo, his cabinet and all in congress should have a 50% pay cut for every month our budget is not passed and there is a deficit. Only in the months were we have a working budget and spending within our means should they receive full pay.
Pay Raise...HA for what.