SENATE Vice President David M. Cing will file a legislative initiative seeking to amend the Commonwealth Constitution to reduce appropriations for each lawmaker and the Legislative Bureau.
Cing said he is anticipating that his initiative would meet opposition, but stressed that the measure is needed to address problems with the government’s dwindling resources.
“We are having a hard time with the economy. (W)e have to use innovative ideas,” Cing, D-Tinian, told reporters yesterday.
Cing’s initiative proposes to reduce the over $4 million budget of the Legislature by half.
He wants the $39,000-salary cap of each elected lawmaker cut to $30,000.
This is aside from the annual appropriations that each lawmaker receives– $155,000, which Cing also wants reduced to $100,000.
“I’d like to see it trimmed down. I will explain this to my colleagues, (and) convince them that we need to pass this bill,” he said.
Cing admitted that his initiative, if ratified, would affect the operation of the Legislature.
But he said the Senate leadership can not afford to sit down and “not do something within our means.
Moreover, Cing said he wants annual reimbursement for all “reasonable expenses” incurred for office and related expenses, including travel not to exceed $100,000.
The initiative proposes that the Senate President and the House Speaker receive a ceiling of not more than $400,000 yearly to support the operation of each chamber.
