Boehner doesn't agree to House paycuts

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WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- Taxpayer groups are urging future speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to lead by example and cut House salaries as a symbolic gesture of cutting spending.

To groups expecting Republicans who ran on the smaller-government-by-cutting-spending program it's a kind of "put up or shut up" prospect.

"There has to be a visible gesture that people can immediately relate to," said Pete Sepp, the executive vice president of the conservative National Taxpayers Union.

"And cutting pay would be one of the best symbols, because unlike virtually anything else the federal government does, when Congress spends money on its own salaries and benefits, people can make a direct comparison to their own situation," Sepp said.

Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said there hasn't been any decision about cutting back on salaries specifically, but he did bring up promises the GOP made September in its "Pledge to America."

"The Pledge to America calls for cutting Congress' budget, but no specific decisions have been made about how that will be done at this time," The Hill reported Friday.