Watchdog Objects to Pay Raise for Congressional Staffers
Pay Hike Comes in Shadow of Predicted Record Deficit

LINK

(Washington, DC)-- Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today chided congressional officials for raising the maximum pay for House staffers to $156,848. By comparison, a member of the House of Representatives receives a base salary of $158,100 and Vice President Dick Cheney makes $181,400. Meanwhile, the Office of Management and Budget announced the U.S. budget deficit is expected to hit a record $427 billion in fiscal 2005.

"Congress rightly came under fire for raising its own pay at a time of war and deficit spending," CAGW President Tom Schatz. "Now a senior aide can make nearly the same salary as a member of Congress. Part of the ideal of working in government is supposed to be public service. The taxpaying public is not serviced by congressional aides bringing home six-figure salaries."

The House Administration Committee approved a 3.71 percent cost-of-living adjustment for congressional aides. House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) issued the order setting the maximum pay rate at $156,848, an increase from $153,022. Each member of Congress is given a Members Representation Allowance (MRA) to pay for staff and office expenses, which is set by state demographics and distance from Washington. Allocation of the MRA is left to the discretion of each member, with the limited exception of several rate limits.

"If members of Congress want to raise the salaries of their personal assistants, then they should forgo a pay raise for themselves," Schatz continued. "Instead, Congress accepted a pay raise in September, 2004 for the sixth straight year."

The first members of Congress worked without staffs, researching and drafting legislation and responding to constituent needs on their own. Since the Senate first authorized members to hire clerks with public funds in 1884, congressional staffs have ballooned in size and expense. The MRA for House offices ranged from $701,136 to $1,636,750 in fiscal 2004; Senate MRA's ranged from $2,264,345 to $3,751,995. Some Senators have nearly 100 members on their staffs. In 2001, the average salary for a Senate staffer was $45,847, higher than the average of $45,430 for the U.S. labor force.

"It is fantasy to think that congressional staffers are superstars without which the entire democratic process would fall apart," Schatz concluded. "Witness the staffer who held up the 3,000 page omnibus package by inserting a provision that gave the appropriations committees the power to invade the privacy of all Americans. Heavy reliance on congressional staffers allows members of Congress to abdicate their responsibility to read and write the legislation they vote on."

Citizens Against Government Waste is the nation's largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.