Posted by
Boris Tiraspolsky on Friday, December 12, 2008 4:41:26 AM
"President and Congress are obligated to the best of their ability, "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States" and not to insult our intelligence." - Boris Tiraspolsky
When the U.S. Constitution says "no Senator... be appointed"
Congress lowers the salary in order to appoint Senator Clinton
A section of the latter called the Emoluments Clause states that no member of Congress can be appointed to a government post if that job's pay was increased during the lawmaker's current term.
Mrs Clinton, a New York senator, might have been ineligible to serve as secretary of state because she was serving in Congress when Miss Rice's salary was raised to its current level of $191,300.
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives and Senate dealt with the issue by putting the secretary of state's salary back to $186,600, its level in January 2007 when Mrs Clinton began her second Senate term.
Even at the lower rate, it is more money than her Senate salary.
Senators now make $169,300 and are expected to receive a raise to $174,000 next year."
Comment by rtwngprof on Lucianne.com News Forum:
"The emoluments clause of the Constitution says that a member of Congress cannot take a job for which a pay raise was voted while said member was in Congress.
It doesn't say she can't take the raise, it says she can't take the job.
"No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased during such time ..."