Lawmakers in both chambers of Congress share one pay rate. A first-term representative and a senator with decades in office collect the same base salary of $174,000 a year. That rate has applied since 2009. Only a handful of leadership posts pay more, and the Speaker of the House earns the most, at $223,500.
Congressional pay is set by statute, and two rules shape how it can change. The Ethics Reform Act of 1989 created an automatic cost-of-living adjustment. Congress has often voted to block it. The Twenty-seventh Amendment, ratified in 1992, delays any congressional pay change until after the next House election. Those repeated votes to block the adjustment explain why the base rate has held since 2009.Lawmakers in both chambers of Congress share one pay rate. A first-term representative and a senator with decades in office collect the same base salary of $174,000 a year. That rate has applied since 2009. Only a handful of leadership posts pay more, and the Speaker of the House earns the most, at $223,500.
Congressional pay is set by statute, and two rules shape how it can change. The Ethics Reform Act of 1989 created an automatic cost-of-living adjustment. Congress has often voted to block it. The Twenty-seventh Amendment, ratified in 1992, delays any congressional pay change until after the next House election. Those repeated votes to block the adjustment explain why the base rate has held since 2009. READ MORE
