The Nation - News from Feb. 6, 1987

Consumer advocate Ralph Nader and legislators in 21 states urged ratification of a constitutional amendment, first submitted to the states in 1789, to bar Congress from increasing its own salary. The pay amendment, authored by James Madison, says that salaries cannot be raised “until an election of representatives shall have intervened.” House leaders postponed a vote on a $12,100 annual salary increase until Wednesday, when they voted against it, but the raise had already taken effect at midnight Tuesday.