Order Code 97-1011
Updated November 26, 2008
Salaries of Members of Congress: A List of
Payable Rates and Effective Dates, 1789-2008
Ida A. Brudnick
Analyst on the Congress
Government and Finance Division
Summary
Congress is required by Article I, Section 6, of the Constitution to determine its
own pay. Prior to 1969, Congress did so by enacting stand-alone legislation. From
1789 through 1968, Congress raised its pay 22 times using this procedure. Members
were initially paid per diem. The first annual salaries, in 1815, were $1,500. By 1968,
they had risen to $30,000. Stand-alone legislation may still be used to raise Member
pay, as it was most recently in 1982, 1983, 1989, and 1991, but two other methods —
including an automatic annual adjustment procedure and a commission process — are
now also available.
Under the annual adjustment procedure, Members are scheduled to receive a 2.8%
adjustment in January 2009. Members originally were scheduled to receive a 2.7%
increase in January 2008. The increase was revised to 2.5%, resulting in a salary in
2008 of $169,300, to match the percent increase in the base pay of General Schedule
(GS) employees. By law, Members may not receive an increase greater than the increase
in the base pay of GS employees. Congress voted to deny the scheduled January 2007
adjustment. Members previously received a pay increase (1.9%) in January 2006,
increasing their salary to the rate of $165,200.
Background. There are three basic ways to adjust Member pay.1 Stand-alone
legislation has frequently and primarily been used to raise Member pay throughout most
of U.S. history, 1789 to the present. However, two other methods are also available.
The second method by which Member pay can be increased is pursuant to
recommendations from the President, based on those made by a quadrennial salary
commission. In 1967, Congress established the Commission on Executive, Legislative,
and Judicial Salaries to recommend salary increases for top-level federal officials
(P.L. 90-206). Three times (in 1969, 1977, and 1987) Congress received pay increases
made under this procedure; on three occasions it did not. Effective with passage of the
1 This report was originally written by Paul E. Dwyer, formerly a Specialist in American National
Government at CRS, who has since retired.

---

CRS-2
Ethics Reform Act of 1989 (P.L. 101-194), the commission ceased to exist. Its authority
was assumed by the Citizens’ Commission on Public Service and Compensation.
Although the first commission under the 1989 Act was to have convened in 1993, it did
not meet.
The third method by which the salary of Members can be changed is by annual
adjustments. Prior to 1990, the pay of Members, and other top-level federal officials, was
tied to the annual comparability increases provided to General Schedule (GS) federal
employees. This procedure was established in 1975 (P.L. 94-82). Such increases were
recommended by the President, subject to congressional acceptance, disapproval, or
modification. Congress accepted five such increases for itself — in 1975, 1979 (partial),
1984, 1985, and 1987 — and declined 10 since this method was authorized (1976, 1977,
1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1988, and 1989).
The Ethics Reform Act of 1989 changed the method by which the annual adjustment
is determined for Members and other senior officials, based on a formula using changes
in private sector wages and salaries as measured by the Employment Cost Index. Under
this revised method, annual adjustments were accepted 12 times (those scheduled for
January 1991, 1992, 1993, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2008)
and denied six times (those scheduled for January 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, and
2007).2
The annual adjustment automatically goes into effect unless:
(1) Congress statutorily prohibits the adjustment;
(2) Congress statutorily revises the adjustment; or
(3) the annual base pay3 adjustment of GS employees is established at a
rate less than the scheduled increase for Members, in which case
Members would be paid the lower rate.4
Projected January 2009 Member Pay Increase of 2.8%. Under the formula
established in the Ethics Reform Act, Members may receive a pay adjustment in January
2009 of 2.8%,5 increasing salaries to $174,000. The adjustment will occur unless revised
by Congress or reduced to match the base pay increase for General Schedule employees.
2 For additional information on these annual adjustments, including actions to modify or deny the
scheduled increases, see CRS Report 97-615, Salaries of Members of Congress: Congressional
Votes, 1990-2007, by Ida A. Brudnick.
3 Base pay is the pay rate before locality pay is added.
4 P.L. 103-356, 108 Stat. 3410-33411, October 13, 1994.
5 The annual Member pay adjustment was determined by a formula using the Employment Cost
Index (private industry wages and salaries, not seasonally adjusted), based on the percentage
change reflected in the quarter ending December 31 for the two preceding years, minus 0.5%.
The 2.8% adjustment was determined by taking the percentage increase in the Index between the
quarters ending December 2006 and December 2007, which was 3.3%, and subtracting 0.5%.
U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Cost Index — December
2007 (Washington: January 31, 2008), pp. 2, 15.

---

CRS-3
As noted above, Member pay adjustments may not exceed the annual base pay
adjustment of GS employees.6 The two pay adjustments may differ because they are
based on changes in different quarters of the Employment Cost Index (ECI) or due to
actions of Congress and the President. In some years, including 2008, the percent
adjustment for Members has been lowered because of this provision. The 2.8% projected
adjustment for Members in 2009, however, is less than the projected base GS adjustment.7
January 2008 Member Pay Increase of 2.5%. Under the annual pay
adjustment procedure, Members originally were scheduled to receive a 2.7% increase in
January 2008, based upon the formula set forth in the Ethics Reform Act of 1989.8 This
increase would have raised their salaries to $169,700. The scheduled Member increase
was revised to 2.5%, resulting in a salary in 2008 of $169,300, due to factors related to
the increase in the base pay of General Schedule (GS) employees.
By law, Members may not receive an increase greater than the increase in the base
pay of GS employees. The scheduled January 2008 across-the-board increase in the base
pay of GS employees under the annual adjustment formula was 2.5%.9 A scheduled GS
annual pay increase may be altered only if the President issues an alternative plan or if
Congress legislates a different increase. President Bush did not issue an alternative plan
for the annual pay adjustment, although he issued an alternative plan for the locality pay
6 2 U.S.C. 31(2)(B).
7 This projection is based upon a number of events. Under the formula established in the Federal
Employees Pay Comparability Act (FEPCA, P.L. 101-509, Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1429-1431;
5 U.S.C. 5301-5303), the annual across-the-board pay adjustment in January 2009 was projected
to equal 2.9%. This figure, like Member pay, is determined based on changes in the Employment
Cost Index (ECI), minus 0.5%. It reflects, however, changes from September 2006 to September
2007, rather than December 2006 to December 2007. Subsequently, Consolidated Security,
Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009, enacted on September 30, 2008,
provides an overall average pay adjustment of 3.9% for federal civilian employees, including
those covered by the General Schedule ( P.L. 110-329, Division A, §142(a), Sept. 30, 2008). The
President will allocate this overall average increase between an annual (basic) adjustment and
a locality pay adjustment. Although the allocation of the increase is not final until the President’s
executive order on pay, which has generally been issued at the end of December each year, the
base portion of the pay increase must be at least equal to the 2.9% established under the FEPCA
formula because the President did not submit an alternative plan to Congress on the annual
adjustment prior to September 1. For additional information on the GS adjustments, see CRS
Report RL34463, Federal White-Collar Pay: FY2009 Salary Adjustments, by Barbara Schwemle.
8 The annual Member pay adjustment was determined by a formula using the Employment Cost
Index (private industry wages and salaries, not seasonally adjusted), based on the percentage
change reflected in the quarter ending December 31 for the two preceding years, minus 0.5%.
The 2.7% adjustment was determined by taking the percentage increase in the Index between the
quarters ending December 2005 and December 2006, which was 3.2%, and subtracting 0.5%.
9 The annual GS pay adjustment was determined by a formula using the Employment Cost Index
(private industry wages and salaries, not seasonally adjusted), based on the percentage change
reflected in the quarter ending September 30 for the two preceding years, minus 0.5%. The 2.5%
adjustment was determined by taking the percentage increase in the Index between the quarters
ending September 2005 and September 2006, which was 3.0%, and subtracting 0.5%. For
additional information, see CRS Report RL33732, Federal White-Collar Pay: FY2008 Salary
Adjustments, by Barbara Schwemle.

---

CRS-4
adjustment on November 27, 2007, providing a 0.5% adjustment (providing an average
3.0% overall adjustment).10 The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008, which was
enacted on December 26, 2007, provided a 3.5% average pay adjustment for federal
civilian employees. The President issued an executive order allocating this overall
percentage between base and locality pay on January 4, 2008.11 Since the annual base
portion of the pay adjustment for GS employees is less than the scheduled Member
increase, Member pay was adjusted by the lower rate.

Table 1 provides a history of the salaries of Members of Congress from 1789 through
2008 in current dollars. For each salary rate, both the effective date and the statutory
authority are provided. The salaries shown are the payable salaries, indicating the rate
actually paid to Members of Congress. From 1976 to 1983, the salary actually paid to
Members was less than the salary to which Members were entitled. The difference arose
because Members were entitled to salaries authorized pursuant to the annual pay
comparability procedure (P.L. 94-82). However, on several occasions Congress did not
appropriate funds to pay any or a portion of the new salary increases authorized by
P.L. 94-82.
Table 1. Salaries of Members of Congress, 1789-2008
Payable Salary
(Current Dollars)a
Effective Date
Statutory Authority
1 Stat. 70-71
$6 per diemb
March 4, 1789
(September 22, 1789)
$6 per diem
(Representatives)
1 Stat. 70-71
March 4, 1795
$7 per diem
(September 22, 1789)
(Senators)b
$6 per diem
1 Stat. 448
(Representatives and
March 3, 1796
(March 10, 1796)
Senators)b
3 Stat. 257
$1,500
December 4, 1815
(March 19, 1816)
$6 per diem
(Representatives)
3 Stat. 345
March 3, 1817
$7 per diem
(February 6, 1817)
(Senators)b
$8 per diem
3 Stat. 404
(Representatives and
March 3, 1817
(January 22, 1818)
Senators)b
11 Stat. 48
$3,000
December 3, 1855
(August 16, 1856)
11 Stat. 367
$3,000c
December 23, 1857
(December 23, 1857)
14 Stat. 323
$5,000
December 4, 1865
(July 28, 1866)
10 U.S. President (Bush), “Text of a Letter from the President to the Speaker of the House of
Representatives and the President of the Senate,” November 27, 2007. Available at:
[http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/10/20071022-10.html], last visited on January
8, 2008.
11 U.S. President (Bush), “Adjustments of Certain Rates of Pay,” Executive Order 13454, issued
Jan. 4, 2008, Federal Register, Jan. 8, 2008, vol. 73, pp. 1479-1492.

---

CRS-5
Payable Salary
(Current Dollars)a
Effective Date
Statutory Authority
17 Stat. 486
$7,500
March 4, 1871
(March 3, 1873)
18 Stat. 4
$5,000
January 20, 1874
(January 20, 1874)
34 Stat. 993
$7,500
March 4, 1907
(February 26, 1907)
43 Stat. 1301
$10,000
March 4, 1925
(March 4, 1925)
47 Stat. 401
$9,000
July 1, 1932
(June 30, 1932)
48 Stat. 14
$8,500
April 1, 1933
(March 20, 1933)
48 Stat. 521
$9,000d
February 1, 1934
(March 28, 1934)
48 Stat. 521
$9,500
July 1, 1934
(March 28, 1934)
49 Stat. 24
$10,000
April 4, 1935
(February 13, 1935)
60 Stat. 850
$12,500
January 3, 1947
(August 2, 1946)
69 Stat. 11
$22,500
March 1, 1955
(March 2, 1955)
78 Stat. 415
$30,000
January 3, 1965
(August 14, 1964)
81 Stat. 642
$42,500
March 1, 1969
(December 16, 1967)
89 Stat. 421
$44,600
October 1, 1975
(August 9, 1975)
81 Stat. 642
$57,500
March 1, 1977
(December 16, 1967)
89 Stat. 421
$60,662.50
October 1, 1979
(August 9, 1975)
December 18, 1982
96 Stat. 1914
(Representatives)
(December 21, 1982)
$69,800
July 1, 1983
97 Stat. 338
(Senators)
(July 30, 1983)
89 Stat. 421
$72,600
January 1, 1984
(August 9, 1975)
89 Stat. 421
$75,100
January 1, 1985
(August 9, 1975)
89 Stat. 421
$77,400
January 1, 1987
(August 9, 1975)
81 Stat. 642
$89,500
February 4, 1987
(December 16, 1967)
$96,600e
103 Stat. 1767-1768
February 1, 1990
(Representatives)
(November 30, 1989)
$98,400e
103 Stat. 1767-1768
February 1, 1990
(Senators)
(November 30, 1989)
$125,100
103 Stat. 1768-1769
January 1, 1991
(Representatives)
(November 30, 1989)
$101,900
103 Stat. 1769
January 1, 1991
(Senators)
(November 30, 1989)
$125,100
105 Stat. 450
August 14, 1991
(Senators)
(August 14, 1991)

---

CRS-6
Payable Salary
(Current Dollars)a
Effective Date
Statutory Authority
$129,500
103 Stat.1769
January 1, 1992
(Reps. and Sens.)
(November 30, 1989)
$133,600
103 Stat. 1769
January 1, 1993
(Reps. and Sens.)
(November 30, 1989)
$136,700
103 Stat. 1769
January 1, 1998
(Reps. and Sens.)
(November 30, 1989)
$141,300
103 Stat. 1769
January 1, 2000
(Reps. and Sens.)
(November 30, 1989)
$145,100
103 Stat. 1769
January 1, 2001
(Reps. and Sens.)
(November 30, 1989)
$150,000
103 Stat. 1769
January 1, 2002
(Reps. and Sens.)
(November 30, 1989)
$154,700
103 Stat. 1769
January 1, 2003
(Reps. and Sens.)
(November 30, 1989)
$158,100
103 Stat. 1769
January 1, 2004
(Reps. and Sens.)
(November 30, 1989)
$162,100
103 Stat. 1769
January 1, 2005
(Reps. and Sens.)
(November 30, 1989)
$165,200
103 Stat. 1769
January 1, 2006
(Reps. and Sens.)
(November 30, 1989)
$169,300
103 Stat. 1769
January 1, 2008
(Reps. and Sens.)
(November 30, 1989)
a. From 1976 to 1983, the salary actually paid to Members was less than the salary to which Members were
entitled. The difference arose because Members were entitled to salaries authorized pursuant to the
annual pay comparability procedure (P.L. 94-82). However, on several occasions Congress did not
appropriate funds to pay any or part of the new salary increases authorized by P.L. 94-82.
Accordingly, the salaries shown in this table are the payable rates, indicating the salaries actually paid
to Members of Congress.
b. From 1789 to 1856, Senators and Representatives received a per diem pay rate for their attendance while
Congress was in session, except for the period December 1815 — March 1817, when they received
$1,500 a year. First established at $6 a day in 1789 for Senators and Representatives, the per diem
for Senators was increased to $7 beginning March 4, 1795, pursuant to language in the 1789 act. A
March 10, 1796, act returned the per diem for Senators to $6 for each day of attendance while the
Senate was in session. Although a law providing for annual salaries was enacted during the 14th
Congress, it was repealed on February 6, 1817, and pay reverted to a per diem basis. The per diem
rate was raised to $8 in 1818 (retroactive to March 3, 1817) and remained there until 1856, when
Members of Congress began to receive annual salaries. A list of all sessions dates and lengths is
available at [http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/house_history/Session_Dates/sessionsAll.html].
c. In 1857, Congress provided for pay at the rate of $250 per month while in session, or a maximum of
$3,000 per annum.
d. The act authorized the restoration of pay as of February 1, 1934, and the restoration of pay as of July 1,
1934.
e. The Ethics Reform Act of 1989 (103 Stat. 1767-1768) increased pay for Representatives and Senators
at different rates.
The pay of Representatives was increased to reflect the previously denied 1989 and 1990 pay
adjustments (4.1% and 3.6%), compounded at 7.9%, effective February 1, 1990. The act further
provided for a 25% increase in Representatives’ pay, effective January 1, 1991. As a result, the pay
of Representatives increased from $89,500 to $96,600 on February 1, 1990, and increased to $125,100
on January 1, 1991.
The pay of Senators was increased to reflect the previously denied 1988, 1989, and 1990
comparability pay adjustments (2%, 4.1%, and 3.6%), compounded at 9.9%, effective February 1,
1990. As a result, the pay of Senators increased from $89,500 to $98,400 on February 1, 1990. The
Ethics Act did not provide for any other pay increase for Senators, as it did in providing a 25%
increase for Representatives. The reason is that Senators elected to deny themselves the 25% increase
while retaining the ability to receive honoraria. Subsequently, the Senate voted to increase its pay rate
to that of Representatives and to prohibit receipt of honoraria by Senators, effective August 14, 1991.
As a result, Senate pay increased from $101,900 to $125,100 per annum.

---