The current salary (2009) for rank-and-file members of the House and Senate is $174,000 per year.
Members are free to turn down pay increase and some choose to do so. (Ha ha ha ha ha ) *Senate Leadership* Majority Party Leader - $193,400 Minority Party Leader - $193,400 *House Leadership* Speaker of the House<http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/uscongress/a/speaker.htm>- $223,500 Majority Leader - $193,400 Minority Leader - $193,400 A cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) increase takes effect annually unless Congress votes to not accept it. Congressional members receive a 2009 salary increase Posted by LegiStorm on Thursday, January 08, 2009 Members of Congress will receive an annual salary increase of $4,700 for 2009 as a result of an automatic cost of living allowance that took effect on January 1, raising the default annual member salary to $174,000. A handful of the House and Senate's top leaders make even more than that. Though congressional pay increases are rarely popular, the 2.8% increase in 2009 has come under fire from some critics who note that many constituents across the country face wage freezes, job losses and general financial despair as the year begins.The critics include such groups as Citizens Against Government Waste and the National Taxpayers Union. Since the Ethics Reform Act of 1989, member salary increases are made based on a cost-of-living allowance that is granted automatically at the beginning of each calendar year. This practice means that Congress would have to actively take up the issue on the floor to vote to decline the pay increase, leaving a voting record come re-election time. We have long showed users what members of Congress earn on member salary pages such as this one<http://www.legistorm.com/member/525/Rep_Henry_Waxman.html>for Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.). Today we have also added a new page about the recent history of member salary increases and about member salaries here<http://www.legistorm.com/member_of_congress_salaries.html>. posted in House ethics rules<http://www.legistorm.com/blog/tag/House+ethics+rules/1.html>, congressional staff salaries<http://www.legistorm.com/blog/tag/congressional+staff+salaries/1.html>, members of Congress<http://www.legistorm.com/blog/tag/members+of+Congress/1.html> --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
