U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, joined a group of 14 senators in a letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi,D-Calif., urging her to join the Senate in blocking the 2011 Cost of Living Adjustment for members of Congress.

“Ohio workers are more productive than ever, but too many are seeing their wages cut or their hours reduced,” Brown said in a news release. “As Ohioans work to rebound from this economic downturn, the last thing we in Washington should do is give ourselves a raise.”

Last Thursday, the Senate voted unanimously to block the automatic pay raise which would increase salaries by about $1,600.

Here is the essential text of the letter:

"We urge you to promptly bring up for a vote S. 3244, legislation passed by the Senate last week to prevent members of Congress from receiving a pay increase next year.

"We hope you will agree that, with so many Americans still looking for work or struggling to pay their bills, now is not the time for members of Congress to give themselves a $1,600 pay increase. We appreciate your efforts to prevent members of Congress from receiving a pay raise in 2010, and we urge you to ensure the same is true for 2011."

-- John Arthur Hutchison, JHutchison@News-Herald.com