Steve Pearce (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
Earlier this week, the director of the state Democratic Party accused Republican Steve Pearce of “happily” accepting pay raises during his previous tenure in Congress.
“Pearce’s six years as a Washington insider taught him that it is going to take a lot of money to convince the voters of the 2nd Congressional District to forget about his record… and the $14,600 in congressional pay raises that Steve Pearce happily accepted as he helped the federal debt grow by over $2 trillion during his years in Washington,” Executive Director Josh Geise said.
The accusation came in a statement about Pearce’s fundraising for his attempt to unseat U.S. Rep. Harry Teague, D-N.M.
But a look at the congressional record reveals that, while Pearce did receive pay raises during his time in Congress, it’s because the majority of his colleagues voted to give themselves a raise while he voted against getting a raise.
Pearce voted four times against pay raises – in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 – while the was the representative of Southern New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District, Pearce Campaign Manager Paul Ciaramitaro said. The pay raises were approved anyway, and Pearce received them along with everyone else.
The difference in Teague’s case is that, when he tried to stop the pay raise, he and those siding with him were successful.
Harry Teague (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
The day Teague took office in January, he signed on as a cosponsor of a bill that would have eliminated the automatic pay raise that was scheduled for next year. The House never voted on the bill – there was no need – because the work of Teague and others resulted in Democratic leadership instructing the Appropriations Committee to strip the cost-of-living increase from the 2010 appropriations bill, according to Sara Schreiber, communications director in Teague’s government office.
Teague voted for that bill after the House took out the pay increase, she said.
Teague went a step further while he was fighting to stop the pay increase, Schreiber said: “Although he didn’t publicize it, Congressman Teague did pledge at the beginning of the year that he would return to the U.S. Treasury any pay raise given to members of Congress – including the $4,700 pay raise that was approved last year for 2009.”
Regardless, Ciaramitaro said it’s inaccurate to say that Pearce “happily accepted” pay raises.
“The willful misstatements from the Democrat Party are almost as mind-blowing as Harry Teague’s irresponsible vote for the job-killing cap-and-trade bill,” he said. “The simple and indisputable fact is that Steve Pearce never voted for a congressional pay raise. Not once. Harry Teague’s minions are trying to create a smokescreen to distract from Teague’s failure to create economic opportunity and new jobs for the families of Southern New Mexico.”
Sparring comes as finance reports released
The sparring comes in the context of the candidates filing quarterly reports that shine light on how each campaign is doing financially. Pearce raised more than $500,000 in the last quarter for his campaign, while Teague raised a little more than $250,000. But Teague ended September with nearly $300,000 more on hand than Pearce.
In announcing his fundraising total, Teague said he had focused less on fundraising and more on “staying in touch with constituents and doing the work I was elected to do — like turning our economy around, ending our dependence on foreign oil so we can build the energy economy here at home in New Mexico, and fighting for our veterans who have been neglected for far too long.”
Teague also said he is “committed to raising the resources necessary to get our message out and defend against the extreme partisan attacks already underway.”
When Pearce released his report, Ciaramitaro said it “not only signals the high level of grassroots support for Pearce and his conservative principles, but it also serves as a repudiation of the liberal job-killing policies that Harry Teague is actively supporting in Washington.”