The media goes wild after the news of a politician receiving a pension for life. Most people react badly to this news because they see it as unwarranted and undeserved. However, the other side of the coin is that these ultra-rich politicians are hard workers who make amazing sacrifices in order to affect change in the world around us. The media rarely depicts this side of the psyche, and thus most people feel resentment towards our government representatives.

INTRODUCTION

If a politician does something good, their salary is increased by 50%. The salary increase should be immediate. If a politician does something immoral like rape or steal, then the salary should be decreased by 80% immediately. It’s not fair that they get paid for the rest of their life when they disgrace our profession.The sun was shining brightly as I strolled along the beach. The water was calm and rolling gently onto shore. A few yards in front of me a woman was walking with her two kids; they were laughing and looking in rocks trying to find seashells. The beach seemed blander than usual today, but I hadn’t done much research on it so didn’t know if it was always like this or odd for this time of the year.

Congressional Salaries and Allowances: In Brief

Updated December 30, 2019 (RL30064)

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Contents

• Compensation, Benefits, Allowances, and Selected Limitations
• Compensation
• Outside Earned Income Limits
• Prohibition on Honoraria
• Tax Deductions
• Health and Life Insurance Provisions
• Social Security Participation and Other Retirement Provisions
• The Members’ Representational Allowance (MRA): Supporting Personnel, Office Expenses, Travel to the District, and Mail for Members of the House
• Limitation on Number of Employees Hired by the MRA
• Online Publication of House Disbursement Records
• Government Publications and Recent Limitations
• The Senators’ Official Personnel and Office Expense Account (SOPOEA): Supporting Personnel, Office Expenses, and Mail for U.S. Senators
• Other Allowances
• Office Space in States, Including Mobile Office Space
• Furniture and Furnishings in Washington, DC
• Furniture and Furnishings in State Offices
• Office Equipment in Washington, DC, and State Offices
• Government Publications
• Online Publication of Senate Disbursement Records
• Compensation of Members and Selected Congressional Officers and Officials: Tables

Tables

• Table 1. Members, Officers, and Officials of the House: Selected Salaries in 2019
• Table 2. Members, Officers, and Officials of the Senate: Selected Salaries in 2019

Compensation, Benefits, Allowances, and Selected Limitations

This report provides basic information on congressional salaries and allowances and recent developments.

First, the report briefly summarizes the current salary of Members of Congress; limits or prohibitions on their outside earned income, honoraria, and tax deductions; options for life and health insurance; and retirement benefits.

Second, the report provides information on allowances available to Representatives and Senators to support them in their official and representational duties. These allowances cover official office expenses, including staff, mail, travel between a Member’s district or state and Washington, DC, equipment, and other goods and services. Although the House and Senate allowances are structured differently, both are determined by formulas based on variables from the district or state (i.e., distance from Washington, DC).

Third, the report lists the salaries of Members, House and Senate officers and officials, and salary limits for staff of committees and Member offices.

Additional information on many of these topics may be found in reports referenced throughout.

Compensation

The compensation for most Senators, Representatives, Delegates, and the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico is $174,000.

The only exceptions include the Speaker of the House (salary of $223,500) and the President pro tempore of the Senate and the majority and minority leaders in the House and Senate (salary of $193,400).¹

These levels have remained unchanged since 2009. Subsequent scheduled annual adjustments were denied by P.L. 111-8 (enacted March 11, 2009), P.L. 111-165 (May 14, 2010), P.L. 111-322 (December 22, 2010), P.L. 112-175 (September 28, 2012), P.L. 112-240 (January 2, 2013), P.L. 113-46 (October 17, 2013), P.L. 113-235 (December 16, 2014), P.L. 114-113 (December 18, 2015), P.L. 114-254 (December 10, 2016), P.L. 115-141 (March 23, 2018), P.L. 115-244 (September 21, 2018), and P.L. 116-94 (December 20, 2019).²

Article I, Section 6, of the U.S. Constitution authorizes compensation for Members of Congress “ascertained by law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States.” Adjustments are governed by the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 (2 U.S.C. §4501) and the 27^th Amendment to the Constitution. They generally take effect in January.³

Member pay has historically been the subject of considerable debate and discussion, as well as occasional confusion. Members of Congress receive salaries only during the terms for which they are elected. They do not receive salaries beyond their terms of office. Members of Congress do not receive additional compensation for service on committees, and they are not eligible for housing or per diem allowances for expenses incurred in Washington, DC. Finally, neither Members of Congress nor their families are exempt from the repayment of student loans. Although both the House and Senate have established student loan repayment programs for employee recruitment and retention purposes, these programs are subject to a number of regulations—including service agreements and annual and lifetime benefit maximums—and Members of Congress are not eligible to participate.⁴

Outside Earned Income Limits

Permissible “outside earned income” for Representatives and Senators is limited to 15% of the annual rate of basic pay for level II of the Executive Schedule. According to the House Ethics Committee and the Senate Ethics Committee, the 2019 limit is $28,440.⁵

Certain types of outside earned income, however, are prohibited.⁶

Prohibition on Honoraria

Representatives and Senators are prohibited from accepting honoraria.⁷ The acceptance of honoraria by Representatives was prohibited effective January 1, 1991.⁸ The acceptance of honoraria by Senators was prohibited effective August 14, 1991.⁹

Tax Deductions

Previously, Members were allowed to deduct, for income tax purposes, living expenses up to $3,000 per annum, while away from their congressional districts or home states. The deduction was established with the enactment of the FY1953 legislative branch appropriations act and not increased or adjusted for inflation.¹⁰ It was eliminated with the enactment of P.L. 115-97, the 2017 tax revision, on December 22, 2017.¹¹

Health and Life Insurance Provisions

Prior to the enactment of Section 1312(d)(3)(D) of P.L. 111-148, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Members were eligible to participate in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHB).

P.L. 111-148 states that the only health plans available to Members of Congress and certain congressional staff are those plans created under the act or offered through an exchange established under the act. Pursuant to the regulations implementing this section, effective January 1, 2014, Members may elect to be covered through the DC Health Link.¹²

In addition, the Office of the Attending Physician provides emergency medical assistance for Members of Congress, Justices of the Supreme Court, staff, and visitors. Additional services are offered to Members who choose to enroll for an annual fee ($626.89 in 2019).¹³ The office is led by a medical officer from the U.S. Navy, a tradition begun in 1928.¹⁴

Members also are eligible to participate in the Federal Employees Group Life Insurance Program. The amount of coverage for personal insurance is determined by a formula based on the coverage elected.¹⁵

Social Security Participation and Other Retirement Provisions

Since January 1, 1984, participation in Social Security has been mandatory for all Members of Congress.

Various options are available to Members regarding participation in the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), depending on when the Member was first elected.¹⁶ The amount of any benefit and required retirement contribution varies depending on retirement plan, age, and length of service (with a minimum of at least five years of service for any benefit).

The Members’ Representational Allowance (MRA): Supporting Personnel, Office Expenses, Travel to the District, and Mail for Members of the House

The Members’ Representational Allowance (MRA) is available to support Representatives in their official and representational duties.¹⁷

The MRA may be used for official expenses including, for example, staff, travel, mail, office equipment, district office rental, stationery, and other office supplies.

The MRA is also subject to a number of restrictions. For example, the MRA may not be used to defray any personal or campaign-related expenses. A Member is also prohibited from using campaign funds (except where authorized by the Committee on Ethics) or committee funds to pay for expenses related to official representational duties; using an unofficial office account; accepting funds or assistance from a private source for an official activity; or using personal funds to pay for franked mail.

A Member is responsible for personally paying for any expenses that are in excess of the authorized MRA level or that are not reimbursable under regulations of the Committee on House Administration.¹⁸

The MRA for each Representative is calculated based on three components, including

• personnel, which is the same for each Member ($944,671 for each Member in 2019);
• official office expenses, which varies among Members due to variations in the distance between a Member’s district and Washington, DC, and the cost of General Services Administration office rental space in the district;
• official (franked) mail, which varies among Members based on the number of nonbusiness addresses in the district. Requirements on the use of franked mail, including mass mailings, are established in statute, Rules of the House, and regulations of the Commission on Congressional Mailing Standards (also known as the Franking Commission).

The three components are combined and result in a single MRA authorization for each Representative that can be used to pay for any type of official expense. For example, each Representative can choose how much to allocate to travel versus personnel or supplies.

The MRA for each Member is authorized from January 3 of each year through January 2 of the following year. These allowances are authorized in statute and regulated and adjusted by the Committee on House Administration.

The individual authorized MRA levels decreased for three consecutive years, including¹⁹

• a 5% reduction from 2010 to 2011;
• a 6.4% reduction from 2011 to 2012; and
• an 8.2% reduction from 2012 to 2013.

Subsequently,

• in 2014, each Member’s MRA increased by 1% from the 2013 level;²⁰
• individual authorized MRA levels were not increased for 2015;²¹
• in 2016, each Member’s MRA increased by 1% from the 2015 level;²²
• in 2017, each Member’s MRA was equivalent to that “Member’s 2016 amount … increase[d] … by approximately 3.9% of the average MRA. In June 2017, all MRAs were increased by $25,000 in response to heightened security concerns;”²³
• in 2018, each Member’s MRA was increased by $25,000;²⁴ and
• in 2019, each Member’s MRA increased by 1% from the 2018 level.²⁵

In 2019, MRAs ranged from $1,320,585 to $1,498,546, with an average of $1,382,329.

The MRA is funded in the House “Salaries and Expenses” account in the annual legislative branch appropriations bills. As with the individual authorized levels, the overall appropriations account decreased for a number of years, from $660.0 million in FY2010, to $613.1 million in FY2011, to $573.9 million in FY2012. The FY2012 funding level was continued in the FY2013 continuing resolution (P.L. 113-6), not including sequestration or an across-the-board rescission. The FY2014 level of $554.3 million was continued in the FY2015 act (P.L. 113-235) and the FY2016 act (P.L. 114-113). This level was slightly less than the $554.7 million provided in FY2007, not adjusted for inflation. The FY2017 legislative branch appropriations act (P.L. 115-31) increased MRA funding to $562.6 million (+1.5%), a level continued for FY2018 (P.L. 115-141). The FY2019 level of $573.6 million represented an increase of 2.0% (P.L. 115-244). The FY2020 House-reported legislative branch appropriations bill (H.R. 2779) recommended, and the FY2020 Further Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 116-94) contained, $615.0 million, an increase of 7.2%. This funding is separate from an allowance for interns in Member offices that was first funded in FY2019 ($8.8 million in FY2019 for up to $20,000 per Member office; $11.025 million in FY2020 for up to $25,000 per Member office and $365,000 for interns in leadership offices).

Limitation on Number of Employees Hired by the MRA

Each Member may use the MRA to employ no more than 18 permanent employees, a level that has remained unchanged since 1975. A Member may employ up to four additional employees if they fall into one of the following categories:²⁶

• 1. part-time employees,
• 2. shared employees,
• 3. interns receiving pay,
• 4. employees on leave without pay, and
• 5. temporary employees.

Online Publication of House Disbursement Records

All MRA expenditures are reported in the quarterly Statement of Disbursements of the House. Statements (SOD) issued since November 2009 are available at http://disbursements.house.gov/. Beginning with disbursements covering January-March 2016, this website provides SOD information in a CSV (comma-separated values) format.

Government Publications and Recent Limitations

Representatives may receive certain government publications and printed products.²⁷

Provisions in legislative branch appropriations acts in recent years have aimed to reduce the delivery of certain printed documents that are also available online, including copies of legislation, the Congressional Record, the U.S. Code, the Statement of Disbursements, the Daily Calendar, and the Congressional Pictorial Directory.

The Senators’ Official Personnel and Office Expense Account (SOPOEA): Supporting Personnel, Office Expenses, and Mail for U.S. Senators

The Senators’ Official Personnel and Office Expense Account (SOPOEA) is available to assist Senators in their official and representational duties.²⁸

The allowance is provided for the fiscal year. The preliminary list of SOPOEA levels contained in the Senate report accompanying the FY2020 legislative branch appropriations bill (S. 2581, S.Rept. 116-124), shows a range of $3,436,535 to $5,421,200.²⁹ The average allowance is $3,738,775.³⁰

The SOPOEA for each Senator is calculated based on three components, including

• the administrative and clerical assistance allowance, which varies by state population. The preliminary figures in the FY2020 Senate report (S.Rept. 116-124), show this allowance varies from $2,798,783 for a Senator representing a state with a population under 5 million to $4,448,075 for a Senator representing a state with a population of 28 million or more;³¹
• the legislative assistance allowance, which is the same for all Senators. According to the FY2020 Senate report (S.Rept. 116-124), the legislative assistance component of the SOPOEA is $508,377;³² and
• the official office expense allowance, which varies by state depending on the distance between Washington, DC, and the home state, the population of the state, and the official (franked) mail allocation. According to S.Rept. 116-124, the FY2020 office expense allowance component ranges from $129,375 to $464,748.

The three components result in a single SOPOEA authorization for each Senator that can be used to pay for any type of official expense. For example, each Senator can choose how much to allocate to travel versus personnel or supplies, although additional limits pertain to spending on franked mail. Mass mailings may not exceed $50,000 per fiscal year,³³ and additional official mail regulations may be established in statute, regulations and rules of the Senate, the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, and the Senate Ethics Committee.³⁴

The SOPOEA is funded within the “Contingent Expenses of the Senate” account in the annual legislative branch appropriations bills. This appropriations account decreased for a number of years, from $422.0 million in FY2010 to $390.0 million in FY2014, a decrease of 7.6%. The FY2014 level was continued in FY2015, FY2016 and FY2017. This level represented the lowest funding since the $373.5 million provided in FY2008.

The FY2018 enacted level of $424.0 million represented an increase of 8.7%. The FY2019 enacted level of $429.0 million represented an increase of 1.2%. The FY2020 Senate-reported legislative branch appropriations bill (S. 2581) recommended, and the FY2020 Further Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 116-94) contained, $449.0 million, an increase of 4.7%. This funding includes agency contributions for benefits provided to employees paid by the SOPOEA. This funding also includes an allowance for interns first included in FY2019 ($5.0 million in FY2019; and $6.0 million in FY2020).

The SOPOEA is available only to support each Senator’s official duties and may not to be used to defray any personal, political, or campaign-related expenses. Senators are responsible for the payment of any expenses that exceed the allowance.

Other Allowances

Office Space in States, Including Mobile Office Space

Each Senator is authorized home state office space in federal buildings. In the event suitable office space is not available in a federal building, other office space may be secured. The cost of private space is not to exceed the highest rate per square foot charged by the General Services Administration (GSA).³⁵ The aggregate square footage of office space that can be secured for a Senator ranges from 5,000 square feet, if the population of the state is less than 3 million, to 8,200 square feet, if the state’s population is 17 million or more.³⁶ There is no restriction on the number of offices.

Each Senator may lease one mobile office for use only in the state he or she represents, subject to limitations on the terms of the lease, the maximum annual rental payment, and reimbursable operating costs. No payment may be made for expenses incurred during the 60 days preceding a contested election.³⁷

Furniture and Furnishings in Washington, DC

Each Senator is authorized furniture and furnishings from an approved list. Furniture and furnishings are supplied and maintained by the Architect of the Capitol (for spaces in Senate office buildings) and the Senate Sergeant at Arms (for offices in the Capitol). Additional furnishings can be purchased through the Senate stationery store.

Furniture and Furnishings in State Offices

Each Senator is authorized $40,000 for state office furniture and furnishings for one or more offices, if the aggregate square footage of office space does not exceed 5,000 square feet. The base authorization is increased by $1,000 for each authorized additional incremental increase in office space of 200 square feet.³⁸ Pursuant to the FY2000 Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, this allowance automatically increases at the beginning of each Congress to reflect inflation.³⁹ The aggregate dollar amount is the maximum value of furniture and furnishings to be provided by GSA for state office use at any one time. Furniture and furnishings remain GSA property.

Office Equipment in Washington, DC, and State Offices

Each Senator may use certain basic office equipment allocated in accordance with the population of the state he or she represents and other criteria established by the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration.⁴⁰

Government Publications

Each Senator is entitled to receive certain government publications and printed products. These include, for example, copies of the daily Congressional Record, one copy of Deschler’s Precedents, various manuals and directories, and public document franked envelopes.⁴¹

Online Publication of Senate Disbursement Records

All SOPOEA expenditures are required to be published in the semiannual Report of the Secretary of the Senate.⁴² The report is available at http://www.senate.gov/legislative/common/generic/report_secsen.htm.

Compensation of Members and Selected Congressional Officers and Officials: Tables

The salary of Members of Congress has been frozen since 2009, and the maximum annual salary for many categories of congressional staff remained unchanged from 2009 until the enactment of the FY2020 Further Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 116-94).⁴³ A general provision in Division E (legislative branch) increased the maximum annual salary for certain categories of congressional staff to $173,900.⁴⁴

Table 1 and Table 2 list the compensation for Members of Congress, officers elected by the House and Senate, and officials appointed by House and Senate leadership in 2019.

Table 1. Members, Officers, and Officials of the House: Selected Salaries in 2019

Speaker of the House	$223,500 per annum
Majority and Minority Leaders	$193,400 per annum
All other Representatives (including Delegates and Resident Commissioner From Puerto Rico)	$174,000 per annum
Chief Administrative Officer	$172,500 per annum
Clerk of the House	$172,500 per annum
Sergeant at Arms	$172,500 per annum
Chaplain	$172,500 per annum
Legislative Counsel	$172,500 per annum
Law Revision Counsel	$172,500 per annum
Parliamentarian	$172,500 per annum
Inspector General	$172,500 per annum
Director, Interparliamentary Affairs	$172,500 per annum
General Counsel to the House	$172,500 per annum

Source: For salaries of Members of Congress, P.L. 115-244 and Executive Order 13866; for salaries of officers and officials of the House, Order of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, implementing a pay increase for House employees, effective January 9, 2009, issued January 9, 2009 (contained in 2 U.S.C. §4532). Estimates may also be obtained by examining the quarterly Statement of Disbursements of the House.

Table 2. Members, Officers, and Officials of the Senate: Selected Salaries in 2019

President pro tempore	$193,400 per annum45
Majority and Minority Leaders	$193,400 per annum
All other Senators	$174,000 per annum
Secretary of the Senate	$172,500 per annum
Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper	$172,500 per annum
Legislative Counsel	$172,500 per annum
Legal Counsel	$172,500 per annum
Parliamentarian	$171,315 per annum
Chaplain	$160,787 per annum46

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, a politician’s retirement package should be cut significantly from the 13 million dollars that it is now. The benefits are no longer justifiable when times are tough for most working stiffs. There has to be other ways to dole out the money and benefits that politicians receive, so that they don’t treat serving as their jobs as a get rich quick scheme. This will go a long way in cutting the deficit and helping to create a better environment for the middle class.