THIS SEEMS LIKE A WINNING ISSUE FOR 2016! Roll Call: Hoyer Supports Pay Raise for Lawmakers.

House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer, D-Md., agreed Tuesday morning that congressional salaries should increase.

Rep. Alcee L. Hastings, D-Fla., made the case for a lawmaker pay raise during a Rules Committee meeting Monday night, arguing that the high cost of living in the District of Columbia will lead to a situation where only wealthy people can afford to serve in Congress.

“I agree with Mr. Hastings,” Hoyer said in his weekly pen-and-pad briefing with reporters Tuesday morning. He echoed Hastings’ argument, noting that the current salary “dictates the only people who can serve are the rich. I don’t think that’s what the Founding Fathers had in mind.”

Hastings, the second poorest member according to CQ Roll Call’s Wealth of Congress rankings, said Monday the institution is on the road to becoming one removed from those of moderate means and that current members with children realize the salary is not sufficient to send their children to college.

Hastings and Hoyer make good faces for the Democrats.