On December 27th, President Obama signed an executive order ending a years-long pay freeze. As of March 27, 2013, federal employees will see a pay increase, ending a pay freeze that has been in place since late 2010. Congress hasn't seen a pay raise since 2009. (House Speaker John Boehner will see his salary increased to $224,500, for example.)
At the same time, this Congress is ending it's session, setting records, as the MOST UNPRODUCTIVE since the 1940s.
If I was this ineffective at my profession, as an average middle-class worker, I would not only be denied a pay increase, but I would be at risk of being FIRED.
Congress should be held to the same standards as the working people that it supposedly represents.