Pain from forced spending cuts is a week away and lawmakers are preparing their aides for the fallout that could hit them like other government workers.
"We've actually budgeted with a 10% cut in mind," Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Illinois, told CNN last week.
Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Florida, reorganized his office in December.
"We had to let people go then because we were anticipating at least a 16% cut," he said.
But members of Congress, the very people who voted to put the automatic spending cuts in place, won't see any change to their annual salary of $174,000.
Why?
Because Congress can only change its pay by passing a law to do so.
