A salary bump for members of Congress is included in the latest 1,547-page spending bill, which would restore automatic cost-of-living adjustments for lawmakers. The current annual salary for members of Congress is $174,000, with the House speaker earning $223,500 and the Senate majority leader making $193,400. This means that a pay raise of up to $6,600 could be given to lawmakers next year, according to a Congressional Research Service report from September.
The low approval rate of Congress, just 19% in Gallup polling, follows a Republican-led House that failed to fulfill promises to restore normal budgeting and large spending cuts. Representative Jared Golden, a Democrat from Maine, has vowed to vote against the bill if the pay raise provision remains included, calling it “sneaky” and suggesting that lawmakers should seek a different line of work if they cannot “get by” on their salaries and benefits.
The spending bill is the result of bipartisan negotiations, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing it as a “result” of bipartisan talks. However, his office did not respond to a request for comment on whether he supports the salary increases for lawmakers.
