According to the official reports, the U. S. House voted Tuesday to block a scheduled $1,600 annual pay raise for members of Congress next year, while one member called for a 5 percent pay cut.

The Washington Post has reported that the bill passed by the House on Tuesday is similar to a measure the Senate approved in a unanimous vote last week.

The newspaper further said that it would maintain congressional pay at its current level of $174,000 per year, saving taxpayers about $1 million annually.

The report also said that congressional pay raises are triggered automatically if Congress does not vote to reject them, a step that is not uncommon in election years.

The Post further reported that Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Ariz., and a bipartisan group of colleagues have called on Congress to take a 5 percent pay cut and Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., has called for eliminating the current system of automatic pay raises. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., has proposed denying members of Congress any more pay raises until the federal budget is balanced. (With Inputs from Agencies)