House Republicans have proposed their 10th consecutive annual spending bill that excludes pay raises for lawmakers, whose salaries have not budged since 2009.
The House fiscal 2019 appropriations measure to fund the legislative branch calls for $3.8 billion in spending, a $132 million boost over fiscal 2018. But none of the new money will be used to provide House lawmakers with pay raises, keeping with what has become a decade-long tradition.
“First and foremost, I made it a priority in this bill to reject any pay increases for members of Congress and maintain the 10 percent spending cuts on Congress we’ve had in place since 2010,” said Rep. Kevin Yoder, R-Kan., who chairs the Appropriations Legislative Branch subcommittee. “The American people want us leading by example, keeping our budgets tight, and doing more with less.”
According to the Congressional Research Service, most senators and House lawmakers earn $174,000 annually.
The Speaker of the House earns $223,500, while the president pro tempore of the Senate and the majority and minority leaders in the House and Senate are paid $193,400.
Congressional salaries have remained the same since 2009, according to CRS. With approval ratings often sinking into the teens, Congress has avoided voting itself a pay increase, even as lawmakers complain of having to maintain two residences and many end up sleeping in their offices to save money.
The U.S. Census, using 2015 data, reported the median household income was $56,516.
Rather than boosting pay, the additional money in the Legislative Branch measure will be used to bolster security and safety as well as to provide additional workforce training.
The bill provides the Capitol Police an additional $30 million, boosting the department budget to a total of $456.4 million. The Office of Compliance, which came under criticism this year over the rules for handling sexual harassment complaints, will receive $5.4 million “to ensure employees know and understand their rights and have access to a dispute resolution process that is fair and easy to navigate.”
The bill provides $642 million to the Architect of the Capitol, an increase of $31.5 million above 2018 levels and $709.8 million to the Library of Congress, an increase of $40 million that lawmakers said is needed to modernize information technology and to enhance exhibits.
