The Nation : Wright Surveys House on Pay Raise Vote

House Speaker Jim Wright (D-Tex.), in an attempt to show that avoiding a vote on a 50% pay raise for members of Congress is a “collective decision,” said he is conducting a secret survey of House members to ask their views on the controversy. He also promised to schedule a vote if a majority of House members demand to go on record for or against the proposed pay increases--from $89,500 to $135,000 a year. But Rep. Tony Coelho (D-Merced), the Democratic Whip, predicted that there would be no vote despite widespread public criticism. Wright and other Democratic and Republican leaders earlier had decided to let the raise--for members of Congress, federal judges and top officials of the executive branch--go into effect without a vote. In a vote likely to come this week, the Senate is expected to reject the raise, which must be turned down by both houses of Congress or it will take effect automatically.