Executive Order Gives Pay Raise to Vice President, Members of Congress and Federal Workers-Truth!

Executive Order Gives Pay Raise to Vice President, Members of Congress and Federal Workers-Truth!

Summary of eRumor:
Allegations went viral on the Internet saying that as President Obama and legislative leaders worked to avert the “fiscal cliff” the President handed out pay raises by means of an Executive Order.

The Truth:

The Executive Order was signed by President Obama on December 27, 2012 and can be found on the White House website.
According to a December 28, 2012 article by The Weekly Standard, Vice President Biden earned $225,521 last year and after the pay raise he is expected to net $231,900.  The article went on to say that, “Members of Congress, from the House and Senate, also will receive a little bump, as their annual salary will go from $174,000 to 174,900. Leadership in Congress, including the speaker of the House, will likewise get an increase.”


Chart from Weekly Standard article

The executive order will increase rates of pay for federal workers half of one percent, which have been  frozen since 2010.  In an update to the article the Congressional Budget Office told the Weekly Standard that the “President’s pay raise for federal workers will cost $11 billion over ten years.”

Updated 1/3/2013