WASHINGTON — New York City and Long Island lawmakers lavished their staffs with more than $500,000 in taxpayer-funded bonus pay at the end of 2012 — some of the most generous sums in the nation, according to a Post analysis of payroll data.
Rep. Tim Bishop (D-LI) was the most generous with your money among the region’s current members of Congress, bumping office pay by more than $73,000 from the third quarter to the fourth.
The extra pay ranged from $1,000 for a junior staffer to more than $12,000 for a top aide, with an average bonus of $4,888.
Last year’s bonuses were doled out as lawmakers were faced with the prospect of cutting some staffers’ pay under federal furloughs this year.
Only ex-Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-Queens), who retired last year, gave more than Bishop. As a parting gift, he dished out about $194,000 in year-end bonuses — the highest amount in all of Congress, according to a separate analysis compiled by the watchdog group Legistorm.
Other big bonuses came from Rep. Mike Grimm (R-SI, more than $43,800), Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-LI, $57,000), Rep. Pete King (R-LI, more than $44,100) and Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-Brooklyn, about $36,300).
Bishop and McCarthy were in the top 60 out of the 435 members of the US House, according to Legistorm.
Steve Ellis of Taxpayers for Common Sense called the New York delegation’s bonuses “excessive.”
“This isn’t like it is the congressmen’s own personal wealth or business. It’s taxpayer money,” he fumed.
Just three area lawmakers — Reps. Eliot Engel (D-Bronx), José Serrano (D-Bronx) and Nydia Velazquez (D-Brooklyn) — appear to have given no extra pay to close 2012.
Bonuses come out of funds remaining in Congress members’ annual office budget. Unspent dollars otherwise go back to the Treasury.
“It’s use it or lose it,” said a House aide, calling it common practice.
Written by: S.A. Miller
Original Publication URL: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/you_paid_in_bonuses_E3AGvNAT8Ltf0SXvOcP7CJ
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