Congress, in its infinite wisdom, has deemed it necessary to give their offices a double-digit pay increase even as the average American is struggling with record inflation and surging gas prices.
And why not? Just because most Americans are struggling to make ends meet doesn’t mean congressional offices don’t deserve more bread, right? So I hope I don’t sound too ungrateful for all the precious work they’ve done this past year to make our lives better.
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The funding increase was just one part of the 2,700+ page omnibus bill. Remember that? That was the legislation that Nancy Pelosi introduced last week in the middle of the night and was quickly passed before anyone could read it. Of course, Pelosi scoffed at criticism over the timing of the bill’s introduction and that no time was given for members of Congress to review it. “Let’s grow up about this,” she said. “We are in a legislative process. We have a deadline.”
And, as you know, their offices need more money! Aren’t you glad the legislation has already been passed, and there’s nothing that can be done about it now?
The $5.9 billion fiscal 2022 Legislative Branch funding portion “would substantially boost the office budgets of House members,” reports Roll Call. It will also provide “$774.4 million for the Members Representational Allowance, known as the MRA, which funds the House office budgets for lawmakers, including staffer salaries.”
The Capitol Police department also gets $602.5 million as part of the bill, which is an increase of $87 million over the previous fiscal year level. This extra funding would allow them to hire “up to 2,112 sworn officers and 450 civilian employees.”
The increase in taxpayer funding for congressional offices, however, is shameful and galling. According to the House Appropriations Committee summary, this year’s allocation will be $134 million more than last year, an increase of 21%. Roll Call claims that “Low pay and high turnover have plagued workers on Capitol Hill for years, a shared sentiment that has led to a growing movement by some staffers to unionize.”
In case you didn’t know, members in both the House and Senate make an annual salary of $174,000, and leadership makes even more. Staffers, however, can make up to $199,300.
But, you know … they’re suffering because of the low pay they receive.
The only bright side is that members of Congress don’t get a pay raise under this bill, but it’s still insulting.
Joe Biden got a little bonus in the bill, though, to the tune of $1,000,000 to meet “unanticipated needs.”
“For expenses necessary to enable the President to meet unanticipated needs, in furtherance of the national interest, security, or defense which may arise at home or abroad during the current fiscal year, as authorized by 3 USC 108, $1,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 2023,” the bill reads.
So, while we’re all canceling vacations because high gas prices make traveling unaffordable, Congress threw in a million bucks to help cover the cost of Biden hiding out at his home in Delaware. Isn’t Nancy Pelosi so generous with our money?
Then again, maybe they thought it was worth it, to get Biden out of D.C. more often and save our country a little embarrassment.
