After taking the global economy hostage to secure painful cuts to aid programs and other federal spending, House Republicans are proposing a pay raise for themselves and other members of Congress for the coming fiscal year.
Roll Callreported Thursday that under spending legislation approved by the Republican-controlled House Appropriations Committee last month, members of Congress “would stand to receive a 4.6%, or $8,000, pay increase” in 2024. Most members of Congress currently make an annual salary of $174,000, putting them in the top 10% of U.S. earners.
“Lawmakers last received a cost-of-living increase in 2009,” the outlet noted, “but House Republicans left out the traditional language blocking a cost-of-living increase for members from this year’s Legislative Branch bill.”
Pulling themselves up by our bootstraps.
how about a cost of living increase for the rest of us? I haven’t gotten a significant raise in 10+ years.
Maybe try switching companies? That’s usually the best way to increase your income.
We should tie minimum wage to congressional salaries
Hard disagree. We should tie congressional salaries to median salaries though. That would constantly remind them that they represent us and only stay in power as long as they are working for our benefit.
shameless and revolting
I willing to give them the same cost of living increase I got this year. It was about $800. I think that’s fair.
Give them mine… zip.
If they think they deserve cost of living raises every year, then they should mandate every american gets the same COL raise every year.
With how many times they go on vacation a year, I’m lucky if I get to take a week off let alone months our of the year.
The money they get comes from taxes.
So… You are paying for their holidays. Isn’t that fun to know?
Yeah and they have to take them every other month VS making any decisions so they don’t lose them cuz how terrible would it be to make a decision that could possibly support any of the people who voted them into office.
Vacations are meant to talk to their constituents. So I think they should be required to spend all of that time in their home district otherwise their “vacation” gets cancelled.
Lawl, destroying human rights and making bank for it. That’s the American way.
I came here to argue this was good from a corruption standpoint, but decided to do some research first and changed my view. https://blogs.worldbank.org/africacan/higher-salaries-can-worsen-corruption
This is about petty corruption. You cannot compare police officers in Ghana to US congress people.
Or can you? …
We need to pay people in Congress enough to live comfortably in their district and to have a place in DC. If we don’t, the only people that can afford to be in Congress are rich already…which is generally what we have now.
But we do provide them enough to be comfortable. They get six figs and I think a bunch of comps, so they’re doing pretty well.
I do agree that they need to be comfortable, but their income shouldn’t rely on whatever the previous Congress decided to pass, it should rely on how well the average person is doing. So I think we should tie Congressional salaries to the median household income. If the median household income goes up, their income should go up, which would hopefully encourage them to pass laws that benefit the poor and middle class instead of the wealthy.
I make about what a congress critter makes and live in the DC suburbs in a transitioning neighborhood in a house slightly below median value (probably about 500k). It is comfortable but tight with a kid and wife who makes 57k - less than our nanny but thankfully we only pay half of her salary. We save for retirement but nothing for her college until she’s out of daycare. I can’t imagine doing all that, AND trying to have a second home, even in a cheap district, and going to functions and charity events and needing to pay for a sitter plus weekend care. Plus a congressperson isn’t going to live in a cheap area like we do, or plan on public school, and private is even more than childcare in the area. With all the incidentals I’d have to do speaking gigs just to make ends meet, and that leads to close relationships with industry groups, aka lobbyists, and whoops there I am in exactly the same situation we find most lawmakers in.
Look, common dreams is a rag, so everyone should always take anything from it with a barrel of salt. And like often, in this case, it is dead wrong - congress should make significantly more money. Not passing legislation to help poor people is a separate issue, and somehow relating them is actually the opposite of the real relationship. Not helping the poor is exactly the type of thing independently wealthy congress critters do because they don’t know what it’s like to struggle. They don’t need the salary in the first place.
Comfortably? Nah. They should live in barracks just like the military. Public Service requires public servants.
Legislators compensation should be directly tied to their districts average single earner income. They want to make more, they should be enriching their constituents.
Oh, the GOP, the party “of the people”
The list of things the Democrats should raise hell over is endless. Unfortunately raising hell is never enough. They need to legislate and govern. Plus, let’s be honest, I’m pretty sure the democrats will appreciate the pay raises for themselves too.
