Staff Pay Levels for Selected Positions in House Committees, 2001-2014

December 15, 2015 (R44322)
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Introduction
Data Concerns
Data Tables and Visualizations

Tables

Table 1. House Committee Staff Positions and Availability of Pay Data Since 2001
Table 2. House Committee Staff Pay, Annual Maximums, 2001-2014
Table 3. Selected House Committee Staff Change in Pay, Selected Periods
Table 4. Chief Counsel, 2002-2014
Table 5. Communications Director, 2006-2014
Table 6. Counsel, 2001-2014
Table 7. Deputy Staff Director, 2009-2014
Table 8. Minority Professional Staff Member, 2001-2014
Table 9. Minority Staff Director, 2009-2014
Table 10. Professional Staff Member, 2001-2014
Table 11. Senior Professional Staff Member, 2008-2014
Table 12. Staff Assistant, 2001-2014
Table 13. Staff Director, 2001-2014
Table 14. Subcommittee Staff Director, 2001-2014

Summary

The level of pay for congressional staff is a source of recurring questions among Members of Congress, congressional staff, and the public. There may be interest in congressional pay data from multiple perspectives, including assessment of the costs of congressional operations; guidance in setting pay levels for staff in committee offices; or comparison of congressional staff pay levels with those of other federal government pay systems.

This report provides pay data for 11 staff position titles that are used in House committees, and include the following: Chief Counsel; Communications Director; Counsel; Deputy Staff Director; Minority Professional Staff Member; Minority Staff Director; Professional Staff Member; Senior Professional Staff Member; Staff Assistant; Staff Director; and Subcommittee Staff Director.

Tables provide tabular pay data for each House committee staff position. Graphic displays are also included, providing representations of pay from three perspectives, including the following:

a line graph showing change in pay, depending on data availability;
a comparison at 5-, 10-, and 14-year intervals from 2014, depending on data availability, of the cumulative percentage change of pay of that position, to changes in pay of Members of Congress and federal civilian workers paid under the General Schedule in Washington, DC, and surrounding areas; and
distributions of 2014 pay, in $10,000 increments.

In the past five years (2010 and 2014), the change in median pay, in constant 2015 dollars, ranged from a 2.09% increase for counsels to a -26.93% decrease for senior professional staff members. Of the 11 staff positions, two saw pay increases while nine saw declines. This may be compared to changes to the pay of Members of Congress, -7.89%, and General Schedule, DC, -6.97%, over the same period.

Pay data for staff working in Senate committee offices are available in CRS Report R44325, Staff Pay Levels for Selected Positions in Senate Committees, FY2001-FY2014. Data describing the pay of congressional staff working in the personal offices of Senators and Members of the House are available in CRS Report R44324, Staff Pay Levels for Selected Positions in Senators' Offices, FY2001-FY2014, and CRS Report R44323, Staff Pay Levels for Selected Positions in House Member Offices, 2001-2014, respectively.

Staff Pay Levels for Selected Positions in House Committees, 2001-2014

Introduction

Levels of pay for congressional staff are a source of recurring questions among Members of Congress, congressional staff, and the public. In House committees, the chair and ranking Member set the terms and conditions of employment for majority and minority staff, respectively. This includes job titles and descriptions; rates of pay, subject to maximum levels;¹ and resources available to carry out their official duties.² There may be interest in congressional pay data from multiple perspectives, including assessment of the costs of congressional operations; guidance in setting pay levels for staff in committee offices; or comparison of congressional staff pay levels with those of other federal government pay systems.

Publicly available information sources do not provide aggregated congressional staff pay data in a readily retrievable form. Pay³ information in this report is based on the House Statement of Disbursements (SOD), published quarterly by the Chief Administrative Officer,⁴ as collated by LegiStorm, a private entity that provides some congressional data by subscription.⁵ Data in this report are based on official House reports, which afford the opportunity to use consistently collected data. Additionally, this report provides annual data, which allows for observations about the nature of House committee staff compensation over time.

This report provides pay data for 11 staff position titles that are used in House committees, and for which sufficient data could be identified. Position titles and the years for which data are available since 2001 are provided in Table 1. Titles were identified through a two-step process. The first step identified 358 job titles used in House committees in 2014. Of those titles, 282, or 78.8%, were filled by only one staff member. In the second step, the remaining 76 titles were assessed to determine how many of the House committees for which data were available⁶ employed staff with each title. Fifty-nine position titles that were used by six or fewer panels (five for minority positions) were excluded.

Pay data were then collected for the remaining 17 positions. In order to be included, annual pay data for staff in each position needed to be available from at least five committees (four for minority positions). This eliminated another six positions, leaving 11. When committees had more than one staff member with the same job title, data for no more than two staff per committee were collected.⁷ House committee staff had to hold a position with the same job title in the same committee for the entire year examined, and not receive pay from any other congressional employing authority for their data to be included. Every recorded payment ascribed in the LegiStorm data to those staff for the fiscal year is tabulated. Data collected for this report may differ from an employee's stated annual salary due to the inclusion of overtime, bonuses, or other payments⁸ in addition to base salary paid in the course of a year.

Table 1. House Committee Staff Positions and Availability of Pay Data Since 2001

Position Title	Available Data
Chief Counsel	2002, 2004-2014
Communications Director	2006-2014
Counsel	2001-2014
Deputy Staff Director	2009-2014
Minority Professional Staff Member	2001-2006, 2008-2009, 2012-2014
Minority Staff Director	2009, 2010, 2012, 2014
Professional Staff Member	2001-2014
Senior Professional Staff Member	2008-2010, 2012-2014
Staff Assistant	2001-2014
Staff Director	2001-2006, 2008-2014
Subcommittee Staff Director	2001-2006, 2009-2010, 2013-2014

Source: CRS. Available data column provides years in which sufficient data (annual pay data for each position from at least five committees, four for minority positions), were available.

Data Concerns

Data presented here are subject to some challenges that could affect findings presented or their interpretation. Some of the concerns include the following:

Given the large number of positions with titles held by one House employee, data provided here almost certainly do not represent all of the jobs carried out by House committee staff.
The manner in which staff titles are assigned might have implications about the representativeness of the data provided. Of positions for which data were collected, two broad categories emerge. The first category identifies position titles that usually apply to one staff member per committee,⁹ while the second category includes positions for which committees might hire two or more staff members.¹⁰ Consequently, pay data that include all staff working in that position are likely to be more representative of what House committees pay staff in those positions than positions for which a smaller sample of pay data may have been collected.
Pay data provide no insight into the education, work experience, position tenure, full- or part-time status of staff, or other potential explanations for levels of compensation.
Potential differences might exist in the job duties of positions with the same title. Aggregation of pay by job title rests on the assumption that staff with the same title carry out the same or similar tasks. Given the wide discretion congressional employing authorities have in setting the terms and conditions of employment, there may be differences in the duties of similarly titled staff that could have effects on their levels of pay.

Data Tables and Visualizations

Tables in this section provide background information on House pay practices, comparative data for each position, and detailed data and visualizations for each position. Table 2 provides the maximum payable rates for House committee staff since 2001 in both nominal (current) and constant 2015 dollars.

Constant dollar calculations throughout the report are based on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), various years, expressed in constant, 2015 dollars.¹¹

Table 3 provides the available cumulative percentage changes in pay in constant 2015 dollars for each of the 11 positions, Members of Congress, and federal civilian workers paid under the General Schedule in Washington, DC, and surrounding areas.¹² Table 4- Table 14 provide tabular pay data for each House committee staff position. The numbers of staff whose data were counted are identified as observations in the data tables. Graphic displays are also included, providing representations of pay from three perspectives, including the following:

a line graph showing change in pay, depending on data availability, in nominal (current) and constant 2015 dollars;
a comparison at 5-, 10-, and 14-year intervals from 2014,¹³ depending on data availability, of the cumulative percentage change of pay for that position, in constant 2015 dollars, to changes in pay of Members of Congress and federal civilian workers paid under the General Schedule in Washington, DC, and surrounding areas; and
distributions of 2014 pay in 2015 dollars, in $10,000 increments.

Between 2010 and 2014, the change in median¹⁴pay, in constant 2015 dollars, ranged from a 2.09% increase for counsels to a -26.93% decrease for senior professional staff members. Of the 11 staff positions, two saw pay increases while nine saw declines. This may be compared to changes to the pay of Members of Congress, -7.89%, and General Schedule, DC, -6.97%, over the same period.

Between 2005 and 2014, all of the seven staff positions for which data were available in 2005 and 2014¹⁵ saw decreases. The change in median pay, in constant 2015 dollars, ranged from a -10.50% decrease for staff directors to a -26.72% decrease for professional staff members. This may be compared to changes to the pay of Members of Congress, -11.45%, and General Schedule, DC, -0.80%, over the same period.

Between 2001 and 2014, all of the six staff positions for which data were available in 2001 and 2014¹⁶ saw decreases. The change in median pay, in constant 2015 dollars, ranged from a -6.73% decrease for minority professional staff members to a -27.83% decrease for staff assistants. This may be compared to changes to the pay of Members of Congress, -10.29%, and General Schedule, DC, 6.42%, over the same period.

Table 2. House Committee Staff Pay, Annual Maximums, 2001-2014

Year	Nominal $	Constant 2015 $
2001	$143,600	$191,865
2002	$148,500	$195,324
2003	$153,200	$197,016
2004	$156,600	$196,165
2005	$160,600	$194,583
2006	$163,700	$192,140
2007	$163,700	$186,819
2008	$167,800	$184,418
2009	$172,500	$190,260
2010	$172,500	$187,190
2011	$172,500	$181,462
2012	$172,500	$177,783
2013	$172,500	$175,216
2014	$172,500	$172,419

Source: 2 U.S.C. 4532 note, CRS calculations. Detailed information about data sources is available above in "Data Tables and Visualizations."

Table 3. Selected House Committee Staff Change in Pay, Selected Periods

	Change
	5 Years 2010-2014	10 Years 2005-2014	14 Years 2001-2014
Chief Counsel	-8.23%	-11.49%	—
Communications Director	-6.59%	—	—
Counsel	2.09%	-11.20%	-14.49%
Deputy Staff Director	4.26%	—	—
Minority Professional Staff Member	-14.99%	-11.72%	-6.73%
Minority Staff Director	-10.04%	—	—
Professional Staff Member	-5.75%	-26.72%	-17.67%
Senior Professional Staff Member	-26.93%	—	—
Staff Assistant	-15.95%	-23.38%	-27.83%
Staff Director	-7.89%	-10.50%	-9.84%
Subcommittee Staff Director	-12.29%	-16.24%	-10.65%
Members of Congress	-7.89%	-11.45%	-10.29%
General Schedule, DC	-6.97%	-0.80%	6.42%

Source: CRS calculations, based on data provided in Table 4- Table 14 for congressional positions, CRS Report 97-1011, Salaries of Members of Congress: Recent Actions and Historical Tables, by [author name scrubbed], for Members of Congress, and the Office of Personnel Management for federal civilian workers in the District of Columbia and surrounding areas, various years. "—" indicates no data available. Detailed information about data sources is available above in "Data Tables and Visualizations."

Table 4. Chief Counsel, 2002-2014

Nominal $

Constant $

Year

Committees

Observations

Minimum

Average

Median

Maximum

Minimum

Average

Median

Maximum

2002

$119,250

$133,741

$133,127

$147,170

$156,613

$175,644

$174,837

$193,280

2003

—

2004

$115,500

$141,037

$143,786

$156,600

$144,461

$176,401

$179,839

$195,866

2005

$118,817

$145,037

$150,900

$160,600

$143,739

$175,459

$182,551

$194,287

2006

$131,188

$149,070

$152,250

$161,997

$153,745

$174,703

$178,429

$189,852

2007

$130,099

$150,315

$155,892

$161,997

$148,247

$171,284

$177,638

$184,595

2008

$127,983

$153,277

$154,055

$167,800

$140,444

$168,200

$169,054

$184,137

2009

$136,200

$158,277

$157,449

$172,500

$149,994

$174,307

$173,396

$189,971

2010

$140,111

$160,547

$162,500

$172,500

$151,811

$173,954

$176,070

$186,905

2011

$156,400

$162,890

$160,188

$170,696

$164,275

$171,092

$168,254

$179,291

2012

$139,000

$157,525

$162,673

$170,696

$143,039

$162,102

$167,400

$175,656

2013

$141,961

$159,148

$161,003

$170,696

$143,977

$161,408

$163,290

$173,120

2014

$145,333

$161,897

$161,894

$172,500

$145,044

$161,574

$161,572

$172,157

Change

5 Years, 2010-2014

-8

.23%

10 Years, 2005-2014

-11

.49%

Median Pay

Change in Pay

2014 Distribution of Pay

Dollars in figures are in thousands.

Source: Statement of Disbursements of the House, as collated by LegiStorm, various years, and CRS calculations. "—" indicates insufficient data available. Tabular change is based on change in median pay for the periods noted. In the visualizations, position pay information based on constant 2015 dollars in thousands of dollars, or change in those levels, is presented in green. Detailed information about data sources is available above in "Data Tables and Visualizations."

Table 5. Communications Director, 2006-2014

Nominal $

Constant $

Year

Committees

Observations

Minimum

Average

Median

Maximum

Minimum

Average

Median

Maximum

2006

$85,163

$103,872

$111,667

$121,929

$99,806

$121,732

$130,868

$142,895

2007

$85,917

$103,084

$100,069

$126,100

$97,902

$117,464

$114,029

$143,690

2008

$81,515

$113,158

$119,000

$151,921

$89,451

$124,175

$130,586

$166,712

2009

$79,458

$113,739

$106,045

$163,224

$87,506

$125,259

$116,786

$179,755

2010

$83,000

$120,632

$121,446

$149,328

$89,931

$130,705

$131,587

$161,798

2011

$83,667

$107,173

$103,197

$133,889

$87,879

$112,569

$108,393

$140,630

2012

$100,000

$126,218

$120,976

$164,034

$102,906

$129,885

$124,491

$168,800

2013

$104,000

$134,395

$137,700

$168,411

$105,477

$136,303

$139,655

$170,802

2014

$89,000

$128,454

$123,167

$168,411

$88,823

$128,198

$122,922

$168,076

Change

5 Years, 2010-2014

-6

.59%

Median Pay

Change in Pay

2014 Distribution of Pay

Dollars in figures are in thousands.

Source: Statement of Disbursements of the House, as collated by LegiStorm, various years, and CRS calculations. Tabular change is based on change in median pay for the periods noted. In the visualizations, position pay information based on constant 2015 dollars in thousands of dollars, or change in those levels, is presented in green. Detailed information about data sources is available above in "Data Tables and Visualizations."

Table 6. Counsel, 2001-2014

Nominal $

Constant $

Year

Committees

Observations

Minimum

Average

Median

Maximum

Minimum

Average

Median

Maximum

2001

$71,167

$97,784

$98,767

$143,283

$94,942

$130,451

$131,763

$191,151

2002

$65,750

$100,279

$108,000

$143,600

$86,350

$131,698

$141,838

$188,592

2003

$75,388

$104,678

$100,317

$149,467

$96,801

$134,412

$128,812

$191,923

2004

$58,233

$101,021

$99,500

$150,000

$72,835

$126,351

$124,449

$187,611

2005

$79,087

$104,912

$104,880

$134,567

$95,675

$126,918

$126,879

$162,793

2006

$56,250

$111,987

$115,647

$154,083

$65,922

$131,243

$135,532

$180,577

2007

$59,167

$102,363

$96,177

$139,041

$67,420

$116,642

$109,593

$158,436

2008

$64,694

$111,010

$107,136

$147,415

$70,993

$121,818

$117,567

$161,767

2009

$94,261

$123,682

$117,900

$170,696

$103,808

$136,209

$129,841

$187,984

2010

$55,733

$104,700

$101,854

$142,000

$60,387

$113,443

$110,359

$153,858

2011

$79,356

$105,961

$107,371

$130,917

$83,351

$111,296

$112,777

$137,509

2012

$77,000

$108,888

$114,267

$142,050

$79,237

$112,052

$117,587

$146,177

2013

$78,383

$112,593

$115,417

$166,048

$79,496

$114,192

$117,056

$168,406

2014

$49,917

$106,016

$112,895

$159,717

$49,817

$105,805

$112,671

$159,400

Change

5 Years, 2010-2014

.09%

10 Years, 2005-2014

-11

.20%

14 Years, 2001-2014

-14

.49%

Median Pay

Change in Pay

2014 Distribution of Pay

Dollars in figures are in thousands.

Table 7. Deputy Staff Director, 2009-2014

Nominal $

Constant $

Year

Committees

Observations

Minimum

Average

Median

Maximum

Minimum

Average

Median

Maximum

2009

$136,250

$159,050

$168,139

$172,500

$150,049

$175,158

$185,168

$189,971

2010

$122,500

$145,128

$145,257

$172,500

$132,729

$157,247

$157,387

$186,905

2011

$142,015

$162,374

$169,516

$172,500

$149,166

$170,550

$178,051

$181,186

2012

$140,124

$161,167

$169,206

$172,500

$144,195

$165,850

$174,122

$177,512

2013

$140,100

$158,695

$154,300

$172,500

$142,089

$160,948

$156,491

$174,950

2014

$134,000

$161,029

$164,417

$172,500

$133,733

$160,709

$164,090

$172,157

Change

5 Years, 2010-2014

.26%

Median Pay

Change in Pay

2014 Distribution of Pay

Dollars in figures are in thousands.

Table 8. Minority Professional Staff Member, 2001-2014

Nominal $

Constant $

Year

Committees

Observations

Minimum

Average

Median

Maximum

Minimum

Average

Median

Maximum

2001

$73,667

$95,925

$88,827

$139,559

$98,277

$127,971

$118,503

$186,182

2002

$65,267

$106,863

$102,642

$147,170

$85,716

$140,345

$134,802

$193,280

2003

$59,350

$98,384

$97,957

$135,613

$76,208

$126,330

$125,782

$174,134

2004

$64,812

$105,503

$102,333

$155,098

$81,063

$131,957

$127,992

$193,987

2005

$71,833

$106,447

$103,500

$139,091

$86,901

$128,775

$125,210

$168,266

2006

$71,917

$106,739

$107,044

$144,583

$84,283

$125,093

$125,450

$169,444

2007

—

2008

$62,500

$104,167

$109,376

$143,124

$68,585

$114,309

$120,024

$157,059

2009

$59,750

$96,173

$96,467

$127,408

$65,801

$105,913

$106,237

$140,312

2010

$73,667

$115,362

$120,000

$140,000

$79,818

$124,995

$130,021

$151,691

2011

—

2012

$67,500

$101,786

$105,085

$143,760

$69,461

$104,743

$108,138

$147,937

2013

$45,117

$90,613

$92,417

$143,591

$45,757

$91,899

$93,729

$145,630

2014

$60,000

$110,397

$110,750

$155,207

$59,881

$110,177

$110,530

$154,899

Change

5 Years, 2010-2014

-14

.99%

10 Years, 2005-2014

-11

.72%

14 Years, 2001-2014

-6

.73%

Median Pay

Change in Pay

2014 Distribution of Pay

Dollars in figures are in thousands.

Table 9. Minority Staff Director, 2009-2014

Nominal $

Constant $

Year

Committees

Observations

Minimum

Average

Median

Maximum

Minimum

Average

Median

Maximum

2009

$165,000

$170,597

$172,250

$172,500

$181,711

$187,875

$189,695

$189,971

2010

$169,587

$171,558

$172,500

$183,749

$185,884

$186,905

2011

—

2012

$157,838

$169,602

$172,400

$172,500

$162,424

$174,530

$177,409

$177,512

2013

—

2014

$144,712

$166,098

$168,480

$172,500

$144,424

$165,767

$168,144

$172,157

Change

5 Years, 2010-2014

-10

.04%

Median Pay

Change in Pay

2014 Distribution of Pay

Dollars in figures are in thousands.

Table 10. Professional Staff Member, 2001-2014

Nominal $

Constant $

Year

Committees

Observations

Minimum

Average

Median

Maximum

Minimum

Average

Median

Maximum

2001

$45,930

$79,533

$80,423

$140,865

$61,274

$106,103

$107,291

$187,925

2002

$43,000

$81,293

$80,429

$148,500

$56,472

$106,763

$105,629

$195,027

2003

$44,667

$86,645

$91,000

$121,335

$57,354

$111,256

$116,848

$155,800

2004

$41,083

$90,763

$91,792

$143,211

$51,385

$113,521

$114,808

$179,120

2005

$42,200

$96,007

$99,635

$138,000

$51,052

$116,145

$120,534

$166,946

2006

$40,833

$100,719

$103,161

$157,013

$47,855

$118,037

$120,899

$184,011

2007

$44,700

$99,295

$97,657

$136,433

$50,935

$113,146

$111,279

$155,465

2008

$51,250

$96,048

$97,783

$135,000

$56,240

$105,399

$107,304

$148,144

2009

$47,917

$109,033

$109,000

$172,049

$52,770

$120,076

$120,039

$189,474

2010

$51,868

$89,333

$86,498

$135,762

$56,199

$96,792

$93,721

$147,099

2011

$49,000

$94,787

$90,344

$142,000

$51,467

$99,559

$94,893

$149,150

2012

$53,000

$96,110

$96,333

$134,083

$54,540

$98,903

$99,132

$137,979

2013

$41,667

$93,765

$92,475

$151,083

$42,258

$95,096

$93,788

$153,229

2014

$54,000

$89,714

$88,506

$155,000

$53,893

$89,535

$88,330

$154,692

Change

5 Years, 2010-2014

-5

.75%

10 Years, 2005-2014

-26

.72%

14 Years, 2001-2014

-17

.67%

Median Pay

Change in Pay

2014 Distribution of Pay

Dollars in figures are in thousands.

Table 11. Senior Professional Staff Member, 2008-2014

Nominal $

Constant $

Year

Committees

Observations

Minimum

Average

Median

Maximum

Minimum

Average

Median

Maximum

2008

$101,700

$129,285

$131,875

$153,841

$111,602

$141,873

$144,714

$168,819

2009

$87,028

$141,473

$145,358

$170,696

$95,842

$155,801

$160,080

$187,984

2010

$114,631

$148,295

$145,853

$170,696

$124,204

$160,678

$158,032

$184,950

2011

—

2012

$82,000

$133,660

$135,250

$164,000

$84,383

$137,543

$139,180

$168,765

2013

$66,000

$114,418

$125,000

$164,000

$66,937

$116,043

$126,775

$166,329

2014

$73,000

$115,499

$115,708

$164,000

$72,855

$115,269

$115,478

$163,674

Change

5 Years, 2010-2014

-26

.93%

Median Pay

Change in Pay

2014 Distribution of Pay

Dollars in figures are in thousands.

Table 12. Staff Assistant, 2001-2014

Nominal $

Constant $

Year

Committees

Observations

Minimum

Average

Median

Maximum

Minimum

Average

Median

Maximum

2001

$25,750

$54,489

$42,111

$124,500

$34,352

$72,693

$56,179

$166,093

2002

$24,923

$51,071

$42,187

$123,500

$32,732

$67,073

$55,405

$162,194

2003

$28,391

$52,471

$40,867

$128,063

$36,455

$67,376

$52,475

$164,439

2004

$29,222

$53,364

$39,056

$155,010

$36,549

$66,745

$48,849

$193,878

2005

$32,416

$54,621

$43,743

$156,848

$39,215

$66,078

$52,919

$189,748

2006

$29,417

$59,980

$42,500

$161,997

$34,475

$70,294

$49,808

$189,852

2007

$36,032

$77,341

$66,239

$161,997

$41,058

$88,130

$75,479

$184,595

2008

$34,000

$60,085

$55,000

$134,385

$37,310

$65,935

$60,355

$147,469

2009

$36,325

$66,030

$50,750

$170,696

$40,004

$72,717

$55,890

$187,984

2010

$24,750

$53,749

$44,521

$154,039

$26,817

$58,238

$48,238

$166,902

2011

$30,000

$63,876

$46,491

$153,000

$31,511

$67,093

$48,832

$160,704

2012

$30,000

$49,506

$40,617

$151,534

$30,872

$50,944

$41,797

$155,937

2013

$33,000

$66,141

$50,000

$168,411

$33,469

$67,080

$50,710

$170,802

2014

$32,000

$62,975

$40,625

$163,701

$31,936

$62,849

$40,544

$163,375

Change

5 Years, 2010-2014

-15

.95%

10 Years, 2005-2014

-23

.38%

14 Years, 2001-2014

-27

.83%

Median Pay

Change in Pay

2014 Distribution of Pay

Dollars in figures are in thousands.

Table 13. Staff Director, 2001-2014

Nominal $

Constant $

Year

Committees

Observations

Minimum

Average

Median

Maximum

Minimum

Average

Median

Maximum

2001

$109,270

$136,410

$143,133

$143,600

$145,774

$181,981

$190,951

$191,573

2002

$117,755

$143,242

$148,000

$148,500

$154,649

$188,121

$194,370

$195,027

2003

$148,473

$150,769

$150,316

$153,174

$190,646

$193,595

$193,013

$196,683

2004

$129,583

$148,326

$156,417

$156,600

$162,075

$185,517

$195,637

$195,866

2005

$126,000

$150,959

$158,997

$160,600

$152,429

$182,624

$192,347

$194,287

2006

$134,000

$154,948

$162,916

$163,700

$157,041

$181,592

$190,930

$191,848

2007

—

2008

$140,791

$164,854

$167,800

$168,217

$154,498

$180,905

$184,137

$184,594

2009

$167,800

$170,758

$171,500

$172,500

$184,794

$188,052

$188,869

$189,971

2010

$168,000

$171,146

$172,500

$182,029

$185,438

$186,905

2011

$165,006

$170,679

$172,495

$172,500

$173,314

$179,273

$181,180

$181,186

2012

$164,593

$170,575

$172,330

$172,500

$169,375

$175,532

$177,337

$177,512

2013

$145,250

$168,843

$172,500

$147,313

$171,241

$174,950

2014

$112,833

$165,939

$172,500

$112,609

$165,608

$172,157

Change

5 Years, 2010-2014

-7

.89%

10 Years, 2005-2014

-10

.50%

14 Years, 2001-2014

-9

.84%

Median Pay

Change in Pay

2014 Distribution of Pay

Dollars in figures are in thousands.

Table 14. Subcommittee Staff Director, 2001-2014

Nominal $

Constant $

Year

Committees

Observations

Minimum

Average

Median

Maximum

Minimum

Average

Median

Maximum

2001

$64,694

$108,922

$115,331

$134,891

$86,307

$145,310

$153,860

$179,955

2002

$68,250

$112,430

$116,733

$134,905

$89,634

$147,656

$153,307

$177,172

2003

$70,783

$127,704

$131,417

$151,358

$90,889

$163,978

$168,745

$194,351

2004

$77,583

$125,937

$129,966

$147,947

$97,037

$157,514

$162,554

$185,044

2005

$82,761

$135,548

$135,667

$158,954

$100,121

$163,980

$164,123

$192,296

2006

$91,761

$138,231

$135,406

$161,745

$107,539

$162,000

$158,689

$189,557

2007

—

2008

—

2009

$105,198

$141,675

$144,957

$170,696

$115,852

$156,024

$159,638

$187,984

2010

$98,293

$144,215

$144,661

$170,499

$106,501

$156,257

$156,741

$184,737

2011

—

2012

—

2013

$105,000

$143,609

$151,838

$170,696

$106,491

$145,648

$153,994

$173,120

2014

$102,395

$141,386

$137,750

$168,411

$102,191

$141,105

$137,476

$168,076

Change

5 Years, 2010-2014

-12

.29%

10 Years, 2005-2014

-16

.24%

14 Years, 2001-2014

-10

.65%

Median Pay

Change in Pay

2014 Distribution of Pay

Dollars in figures are in thousands.

Author Contact Information

[author name scrubbed], Coordinator, Specialist in American National Government ([email address scrubbed], [phone number scrubbed])

[author name scrubbed], Research Assistant ([email address scrubbed], [phone number scrubbed])

Acknowledgments

Jacobo Licona and Brian Hamel, former CRS interns, collected data for this report.

Footnotes

1.	Since 2009, the maximum annual pay for staff in House committees has been $172,500. See Order of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, January 9, 2009, set out as a note following 2 U.S.C. 4532. Maximum payable rates for House committee staff since 2001 are available in Table 2.
2.	For discussion of resources available to committees, and their distribution, see CRS Report R42778, House Committee Funding: Description of Process and Analysis of Disbursements, by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed].
3.	In this report, pay refers to monies paid by the House to staff, and excludes other components of total compensation, which might include paid leave or employer contributions to various insurance and retirement benefits.
4.	Volumes of the Statement of Disbursements since July 2009 are available at http://disbursements.house.gov/.
5.	http://www.legistorm.com/.
6.	The Statements of Disbursement of the House provided data for the following panels in 2014: Agriculture, Appropriations, Armed Services, Budget, Education and the Workforce, Energy and Commerce, Ethics, Financial Services, Foreign Affairs, Homeland Security, House Administration, Intelligence, Judiciary, Natural Resources, Oversight and Government Reform, Rules, Science, Space and Technology, Small Business, Transportation and Infrastructure, Veterans' Affairs, and Ways and Means.
7.	The numbers of staff whose data were counted are identified as observations in the data tables.
8.	Other forms of payment do not appear to be recorded in a consistent manner. Sometimes overtime and other pay is listed as separate entries and in other instances, significant one-time changes in a quarterly total may suggest payments in addition to regular salary.
9.	Positions that typically employ one staff member per committee include communications director, deputy staff director, minority staff director, and staff director.
10.	Positions that typically employ two or more staff members per committee include counsel, staff assistant, and professional staff member.
11.	U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index, at http://www.bls.gov/cpi/tables.htm.
12.	General Schedule pay change is based on changes in pay levels, and not the pay of individuals. General Schedule pay tables are available at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/2015/general-schedule/. For a complete description of areas covered under the Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA locality pay table, see http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/2014/locality-pay-area-definitions/#w.
13.	5 years, 2010-2014; 10 years, 2005-2014; and 14 years, 2001-2014.
14.	The median is the midpoint at which half of the numbers in a list are higher and the other half lower.
15.	Sufficient data are not available in 2005 for communications directors, deputy staff directors, minority staff directors, and senior professional staff members.
16.	Sufficient data are not available in 2001 for chief counsels, communications directors, deputy staff directors, minority staff directors, and senior professional staff members.

Staff Pay Levels for Selected Positions in House Committees, 2001-2014

Contents

Tables

Summary

Introduction

Data Concerns

Data Tables and Visualizations

Footnotes