Rank-and-file members of both the House and Senate are paid $174,000 a year.
That probably seems like a decent amount of money, and it is: The median household income in 2022 was $74,580, according to the US Census.
But consider that members of Congress generally have to maintain two residences — one in Washington, DC, and one in their home state — and that they haven’t gotten a raise since 2009.
Inflation, meanwhile, has eaten away at the value of that salary over time: If lawmakers’ salaries had kept pace with inflation, they would be paid over $250,000 today.
Rep. Patrick McHenry, a North Carolina Republican who served as the interim speaker of the House following Kevin McCarthy’s ouster, told The Dispatch that congressional pay needed to be raised in order to attract “credible people to run for office.”
I am completely down with paying Congress a shit ton of money, but we’re going to need a zero tolerance policy on bribery and lobbying.
You’re not going to get CEO payment and tips.
Fuck yeah.
What about just the tips?
Nah that’s what the American people get. Repeatably and vigorously every day
It should also be tied to a multiplier on minimum wage or median income in their home state. You want a pay increase, you better be making life better for the majority of your constituents.