A House spending panel voted unanimously on Wednesday to freeze the pay of lawmakers in fiscal 2017.
House lawmakers earn $174,000 annually. The House has voted to freeze pay every year since 2010 as part of the House Legislative Branch spending legislation.
The salary freeze language is part of a legislative branch appropriations bill that was approved by a House Appropriations subcommittee. The bill would spend $3.48 billion on legislative operations for the House, including funding for the U.S. Capitol Police, the Library of Congress, the Government Publishing Office and Government Accountability Office.
Republicans in the past half-dozen years have vowed to reduce Capitol spending.
Subcommittee Chairman Tom Graves, R-Ga., said the current bill is $152 billion below President Obama’s request. Graves said spending on House operations has been cut by 14 percent since Republicans retook the majority in 2011.
“This legislation will target funds to critical operations to ensure effective representation of our citizens, while keeping a close eye on every tax dollar,” Graves said.
