(To learn more about Congress, see our Congress in a Nutshell course.  More detailed information about Congress can also be found in the Congressional Deskbook.  See especially Chapter 5, "Supporting Congress: Allowances and Staff": Section 5.10, "Pay and Allowances of Members", Section 5.30, "House Allowances for Staff, Office and Other Expenses", Section 5.40, "Senate Allowances for Staff, Office and Other Expenses", and Section 5.50, "Franking Privilege".)

For information about numbers in Congress, see Congress by the Numbers.

Congressional Pay and Perks Informed Citizen Series Audio Course

(1) Percentage increases in congressional salaries are generally rounded to the nearest $100. The 1979 increase was not rounded because of specific language in the enacting legislation.

(2) In 1984, actual increase amounted to less than $270, because members started paying Social Security in 1984.

(3) Executive Order December 21, 2006 (11-page pdf ) "The rate of pay for the Vice President is effective on the first day of the first applicable period beginning on or after January 1, 2007, and the rates of pay for Members of Congress are effective February 16, 2007".  Also see OPM Memo, CPM 2006-19, December 21, 2006.  However, Section 115 of H.J.Res. 20, the Revised Continuing Appropriations Resolution for FY2007, as signed into law by the President on February 15, 2007, denied a pay adjustment in 2007 to the Speaker of the House, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the Majority and Minority Leaders of the House and Senate, and the Senators and Representatives.  

(4) Executive Order 13454:"Adjustments of Certain Rates of Pay," Federal Register, Vol. 73 No. 5, page 1486, January 8, 2008 (14-page pdf )

See "Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Officials: Process for Adjusting Pay and Current Salaries," by Barbara Schwemle, CRS Report RL33245, November 14, 2007 (18-page pdf )

The top six leaders of Congress receive additional pay. The figures below reflect an upward adjustment on January 1 of the indicated year for a cost of living increase.  However, see note (3) above for 2007.
 

Sources: Congressional Deskbook Chapter 5, "Allowances and Staff"; CRS, CRS Report 98-53 (pdf) ; CRS Report 97-1011 (pdf) ; House Sergeant at Arms; Senate Disbursing Office; Congressional Budget Office; Office of Personnel Management; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts; Executive Order 13454:"Adjustments of Certain Rates of Pay," Federal Register, Vol. 73 No. 5, page 1486, January 8, 2008 (14-page pdf ); and CQ.

Also see

• "How Much Is Enough? Setting Pay for Presidential Appointees," by Gary Burtless, The Brookings Institution, March 22, 2002.

• "How to Pay the Piper: It's Time to Call Different Tunes for Congressional and Judicial Salaries," by Russell R. Wheeler and Michael S. Greve, Issues in Governance Studies, The Brookings Institution, April 2007

• "Should Federal Judges be paid the same as Members of Congress," Hobnob Blog, May 8, 2007
   

Retirement Benefits for members are available through the Civil Service Retirement (CSRS) and the newer Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS). FERS was enacted in 1986 to provide retirement benefits for all civilian employees and postal workers hired after Dec. 31, 1983. FERS consists of three major parts: Social Security, a required basic plan to supplement Social Security and an optional tax-deferred savings plan similar to private 401(k) plans. More senior workers who are covered by CSRS were allowed to join the new system between July 1, 1987, and December 31, 1987.

• Under CSRS, a member becomes eligible for benefits upon retirement from Congress if he or she is 62 years old with five years of congressional service; 60 years old with 10 years of service; or 50 years old with 20 years of congressional service.
  
• Under FERS, a member becomes eligible for benefits upon retirement from Congress if he or she is 62 years old with five years of congressional service; 50 years old with 20 years of service; or any age with 25 years of congressional service.

• Also see
  • "Retirement Benefits for Members of Congress," by Patrick Purcell, CRS Report RL30631, Updated February 9, 2007 from the Congressional Research Service  (16-page Adobe pdf )
  • "Federal Employees: Pay and Pension Increases Since 1969," by Patrick Purcell, CRS Report 94-971,  Updated January 8, 2008 from the Congressional Research Service (12-page Adobe pdf )

Personal Staff Allowances enable members to hire aides for clerical, administrative, legislative and media support.  (See Congressional Deskbook, Section 5.60, "Personal Staff")

• Representatives' staff allowances can be used to hire up to 18 permanent and four non-permanent aides divided between the members' Washington and district offices. Up to $75,000 of a representative's staff funds can be transferred to his or her official expense account for use in other categories, such as computer and related services. The maximum salary allowed House personal staffers in 2005 was $156,848 (2001: $140,451).

• Senators' personal staff allowances vary with the size of the members' states. Senators may hire as many aides as they wish within their allowance; typically this ranges between 26 and 60, depending on the size of the state and the salary levels offered to the staffers.
  • The maximum salary allowed to Senate personal staffers in 2003 was $150,159 (1999: $132,159); for Senate legislative staffers the maximum salary in 2005 was $153,599.

• In addition to their personal staffs, senators and representatives are assisted on legislative matters by staffs of the committees and subcommittees on which they serve.
   
• Congressional salary information is available from LegiStorm.

Expense Allowances for members, kept separate from personal staff allowances, cover domestic travel, stationery, newsletters, overseas postage, telephone and telegraph service, and other expenses in Washington and in the members' state or congressional districts.

The Franking Privilege, a valuable perquisite, allows a member to mail official letters and packages under the members' signature without charges for postage. (See Congressional Deskbook, Section 5.50, "Franking Privilege")

• Regulations limit the franking privilege to correspondence "in which the member deals with the addressee as a citizen of the United States or constituent."
  
• Among the major categories of mail permitted under the franking privilege are mail to any individual or agency and to officials at any level of government regarding programs and proposed legislation; newsletters and news releases; questionnaires, nonpartisan voter registration or election information and assistance; mailings that consist of federal laws and regulations; government publications and publications of general interest.
  
• The use of the frank is prohibited for mail that is purely personal, mail that is "laudatory and complimentary" to the member, or mail related to a political campaign.
  
• In 1989, the franking privilege came under strong attack - and even appeared endangered at one point. The attack focused on incumbents' use of mass mailings, particularly newsletters about a member's activities and notices of town meetings, to raise name identification in an election year. Runaway costs of such mailings also were a point of concern.
  
  • In legislation considered in 1989, both the House and Senate voted at different points to eliminate the franking privilege for mass mailings. However, in the end, members only cut in half, from six to three, the number of such mailings a member is allowed to send each year. (Mailed announcements for town meetings were not included.) The final provisions of the legislation limited the amount of newsletters and set up separate funding accounts for the House and Senate to make it clear which chamber is exceeding its limits.
  • The Senate in 1989 changed its internal rules concerning franked mail to allocate funds among senators and to prevent use of campaign funds to pay for franked mass mailings - a practice House rules already barred.

• The fiscal year 1991 Legislative Branch Appropriations Act also imposed new restrictions on franking privileges. The act gave each House member a mail budget and required public disclosure of how much each member spends on mailings. The act also limited a senator's ability to transfer funds into their mail accounts from other accounts.
  

Foreign Travel by members for the conduct of government business is financed through special allowances. These funds can come from various sources.

• Money is appropriated by Congress through the Mutual Security Act to pay travel and other expenses of congressional committees for routine and special investigations.
  
• Members traveling abroad are allowed to use American-owned counterpart funds. These are foreign currencies held by U.S. embassies and credited to the United States as part of various foreign assistance programs; they can be spent only in the country of origin.
  
• American Ambassadors overseas are allocated sums for official entertaining. These funds may be used for the same purpose by members of Congress when traveling overseas.
  
• Members may use the funds of various government agencies when they speak on foreign policy issues at overseas posts.
  
• Members may travel on military aircraft, including cargo planes, at no charge.
  
• The 1989 Ethics in Government Act set restrictions on foreign travel paid by lobbyists and other special interests.
  • For both the House and Senate, special-interest paid foreign travel is limited to seven consecutive days, excluding the days spent traveling.
  • Domestic travel funded by special-interest groups is limited to four consecutive days on the House side (including travel time), and three consecutive days on the Senate side (excluding travel time).
  • One relative per trip also may accept special interest-paid travel expenses, and the ethics committee may grant an extension in exceptional circumstances.

Outside Employment Income is generally limited to 15% of member pay. There are, however, certain prohibited categories: Members may not receive compensation for employment in real estate, insurance sales, the practice of law, the practice of medicine, or service as an officer or board member. 

Domestic Travel (to and from District/State)
House:  Included in office expenses is a minimum amount of $9,700 (2003), with additional funding based on a formula that uses the distance from Washington, DC to the farthest point in the Congressional district from Washington.

Senate:  The official expense allowance is based overall on population and distance, and includes travel.

For more information on Congressional pay and perks, see 

• CQ's "Guide to Congress" 6th ed., 2007

• Compensation Policy Memoranda, from OPM

• LegiStorm - Congressional salary information

• Executive Order December 21, 2006 (11-page pdf )

• Executive Order 13249, Adjustments of Certain Rates of Pay (effective January 1, 2002), December 29, 2001

• "Former Presidents: Federal Pension and Retirement Benefits'" by Stephanie Smith, CRS Report 98-249 GOV, Updated January 24, 2008 (pdf )

• "Retirement Benefits for Members of Congress," by Patrick Purcell, CRS Report RL30631, Updated February 9, 2007 (pdf )

• "Congressional Salaries and Allowances," by Ida Brudnick, CRS Report RL30064, Updated August 30, 2007 (pdf )

• Salaries and Retirement Benefits of U.S. Presidents and other Federal Government Employees, a Frequently Asked Reference Question (FARQ) from the Internet Public Library

• "Salaries of Federal Officials: A Fact Sheet," by Sharon Gressle, CRS Report 98-53 GOV, Updated January 11, 2005 (pdf )

• "Salaries of Members of Congress: A List of Payable Rates and Effective Dates, 1789-2008," by Ida Brudnick, CRS Report 97-1011 GOV, Updated January 8, 2008 (pdf )

• "Summary of President and Congress Pay Data," by Robert Sahr, Oregon State University, February 22, 2005 (8-page pdf )

• Senate Salaries since 1789, from the U.S. Senate
   

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Last updated: June 04, 2008