A federal judge gave a House Republican and some congressional alumni the green light to sue for back pay.
The news: Arkansas Rep. Rick Crawford and a group of former members of Congress are seeking to recoup cost-of-living adjustments from their time in office, arguing they were unconstitutionally withheld. The Department of Justice's effort to dismiss their lawsuit was rebuked, which means the case will proceed.
At issue: The plaintiffs allege Congress and the president have violated the 27th Amendment, which says lawmaker compensation cannot be varied between House elections. A 1989 law created a formula for annual cost-of-living adjustments to lawmaker salaries, but subsequent bills have kept salaries frozen since 2009 while civilian federal employees have received a dozen cost of living raises.
Big picture: While the plaintiffs were likely seeking millions in back wages, Judge Eric G. Bruggink said they cannot litigate claims prior to March 2018 while dismissing other claims, narrowing the scope. He also wrote that Congress itself is responsible for the issue, as it wrote laws that interfered with established legislation.
