Re: the Bangor Daily News of Dec. 25 and the pay raise that members of Congress recently voted themselves.

Whatever happened to the 27th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which states: “No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened”?

Is this not still a part of our Constitution, or is it simply ignored?

According to my dictionary, vary means: “to change, to alter.” So, while the Constitution says they can’t change or alter their compensation, they have changed or altered or varied their compensation without an election intervening. Is this playing with words? Remember, “It all depends on what you mean by the word ‘is'”? Also remember that Amendment 27 was one of the original 12 Bill of Rights Amendments. Originally only 10 were ratified in 1791. The 27th was ratified in 1992.

So, while the language may be a little old by today’s standards, it has the same meaning as that in Maine’s constitution found in Article IV, Part Third, Section 7, to wit: “but no law increasing their compensation shall take effect during the existence of the Legislature, which enacted it.”

They can vote themselves a pay raise but it can’t take effect until after the next election.

Bob Briggs

Bucksport