‘Too Controversial’: Congress Isn’t Planning to Give Itself a Raise — No Matter How Much Lawmakers Want One

Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill broadly agree that lawmakers deserve a raise, and they have a chance to do so soon through the appropriations process. But there is almost no chance they will.

Congress hasn’t given itself a pay increase since 2009, when lawmakers boosted their salary 2.8%, to $174,000. In the intervening 16 years, members’ purchasing power has declined by 31%.

“It’s too controversial,” Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin told NOTUS.