Salaries of Members of Congress: A List of Payable Rates and Effective Dates, 1789-2006

Order Code 97-1011 GOV
Updated April 18, 2006
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Salaries of Members of Congress: A List of
Payable Rates and Effective Dates, 1789-2006
Paul E. Dwyer
Specialist in American National Government
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.
Congressional salaries initially 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 are now also available, an
automatic annual adjustment procedure and a commission process.
In January 2006, Members received a 1.9% increase under the annual adjustment
procedure, increasing their salary to $165,200. They are scheduled to receive a 2.0%
increase under the procedure in January 2007, to $168,500.
Background
There are three basic ways to adjust Member pay. 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 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
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

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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 11 times (those scheduled for
January 1991, 1992, 1993, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006) and
denied five times (those scheduled for January 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1999).
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 pay1 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.2
Pending January 2007 Member Pay Increase of 2.0%
An increase of 2.0% in Member pay, based upon the formula mandated under the
annual adjustment procedure, is scheduled to take effect January 2007.3
Even if Congress does not prohibit the adjustment, the increase might be adversely
affected by the pending increase in the pay of GS employees. Based on a formula
mandated under the annual comparability pay procedure, GS employees are authorized
to receive a base pay increase of 1.7% in January 2007.4 The President, however,
recommended a 2.2% average increase in the pay of GS employees in the FY2007 U.S.
Budget.
This increase reflects adjustments in both base and locality pay. The President’s
proposal overrides the amount dictated by formula, unless Congress directs differently.
1 Base pay is the pay rate before locality pay is added.
2 P.L. 103-356, 108 Stat. 3410-33411, Oct. 13, 1994.
3 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 fourth quarter (ending December 31) of the two preceding years, minus
0.5%. The 2.0% adjustment was determined by taking the percentage increase in the Index
between the quarters ending December 2004 and December 2005, which was 2.5%, and
subtracting 0.5%.
4 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 fourth quarter (ending September 31) of the two preceding years, minus 0.5%.
The 1.7% adjustment was determined by taking the percentage increase in the Index between the
quarters ending September 2004 and September 2005, which was 2.2%, and subtracting 0.5%.

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If Congress does not alter the President’s 2.2% proposal, the President will issue an
executive order allotting a percentage for base pay and a percentage for locality pay later
in 2006. Usually, the executive order is issued near the end of December.
How the President makes this allotment can have a direct impact on the amount of
the Member pay adjustment. As stated above, if the annual base pay adjustment for GS
employees is less than the scheduled Member increase, Members would be paid the lower
rate. The base pay component of the President’s pending 2.2% GS adjustment scheduled
for January 2007 may be lower than the pending Member 2.0% increase.
The base pay component may be lower since 1.0% typically has been allocated for
locality pay in the past. In the case of a 2.2% adjustment, this would put the base pay
allotment at 1.2%, thereby adversely affecting the scheduled 2.0% Member by limiting
Members to a 1.2% increase.
It is possible however that the President might make an exception to the customary
1.0% locality pay designation and allocate a lesser percentage for locality pay. In this
case, the base pay allocation would be increased. A possible scenario according to some
is an allocation of 0.5% for locality pay and 1.7% for base pay. The President might
designate 1.7% as the base pay allocation because that percentage is the increase to which
GS employees are entitled under the pay formula. In this case, Member pay would also
be adversely affected, because Members would be limited to a 1.7% increase.
Customarily, Congress attaches provisions affecting Member and GS pay to the
regular annual Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, Judiciary,
District of Columbia and Independent Agencies appropriation bill (hereafter referred to
as the Transportation and Treasury appropriation bill).
The only congressional action on pay taken thus far in 2006 is a Senate vote (voice)
on March 8, 2006, to require that Members of Congress who vote for an amendment (or
against the tabling of an amendment) to deny Members the annual comparability
adjustment, are not to receive the increase, if Congress allows the increase take effect.

Recap of January 2006 Member Pay Increase
Under the annual adjustment procedure, Members were scheduled to receive an
increase of 1.9% in January 2006.5 This increase became official when President Bush
issued an executive order on December 22, 2005, containing his allocation of a 3.1% pay
increase for GS federal employees, 2.1% for base pay and an average of 1.0% for locality
pay. The 3.1% increase had been approved earlier by Congress as a provision in the
FY2006 Transportation and Treasury Appropriation Act, signed into P.L. 109-115 on
November 30, 2005. Congress did not specify an allocation between base and locality pay
in the act. Implementation of a 2006 Member pay increase was in question due to a move
5 The annual 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 fourth quarter (ending December 31) of the two preceding years, minus 0.5%.
The 1.9% adjustment was determined by taking the percentage increase in the Index between the
quarters ending December 2003 and December 2004, which was 2.4%, and subtracting 0.5%.

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by the Senate to deny the increase. The Senate agreed on October 18, 2005, to an
amendment (S.Amdt. 2062), by a vote of 92 to 6 (vote # 256), offered by Senator Jon Kyl
to forgo the adjustment.6 The amendment was offered during consideration of H.R.3058,
FY2006 Transportation and Treasury appropriations bill, and did not apply to top-level
executive and judicial branch officials. The House version of the bill did not include this
provision. Conferees struck the Senate provision from the bill.
Table 1 provides a history of the salaries of Members of Congress, 1789-2006. For
each salary rate, the effective date and the statutory authority are indicated. From 1976
to 1983, salary actually paid to Members was less than the salary to which Members were
entitled. This was because Members were entitled to salaries authorized pursuant to the
annual comparability pay procedure (P.L. 94-82). However, on several occasions
Congress did not appropriate funds to pay any or some of the new salary increases
mandated by P.L. 94-82. Accordingly, the salaries shown in this table are the payable
rates, the salaries actually paid to Members of Congress.
Table 1. Salaries of Members of Congress, 1789-2006
Payable Salarya
Effective Date
Statutory Authority
1 Stat. 70-71
$1,500b
March 4, 1789
(September 22, 1789)
1 Stat. 70-71
$1,500b
March 4, 1795
(September 22, 1789)
1 Stat. 448
$1,500b
March 3, 1796
(March 10, 1796)
3 Stat. 257
$1,500
December 4, 1815
(March 19, 1816)
3 Stat. 345
$1,500b
March 3, 1817
(February 6, 1817)
3 Stat. 404
$2,000b
March 3, 1817
(January 22, 1818)
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)
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)
6 Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 151, no. 132, Oct. 18, 2005, pp. S11458-60.

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Payable Salarya
Effective Date
Statutory Authority
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)
96 Stat. 1914
December 18, 1982, for
(December 21, 1982)
$69,800
Representatives;
97 Stat. 338
July 1, 1983, for 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)

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Payable Salarya
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)
a. From 1976 to 1983, the salary actually paid to Members was less than the salary to which Members were
entitled. This was so because Members were entitled to salaries authorized pursuant to the annual
comparability pay procedure (P.L. 94-82). However, on several occasions Congress did not
appropriate funds to pay any or some of the new salary increases mandated by P.L. 94-82.
Accordingly, the salaries shown in this table are the payable rates, the salaries actually paid to
Members of Congress.
b. Per diem rates have been converted to per annum rates based on a hypothetically possible 250-day
session. From 1789 to 1856, Senators and Representatives received a per diem pay rate 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 ($7 for Senators from March 4, 1795 — March
3, 1796), the per diem was raised to $8 in 1818 and remained there until 1856, when Members of
Congress were placed on annual salaries.
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.