Congressional pay for rank-and-file members is $174,000 and hasn’t been adjusted since 2009.
A recent change allows members to claim reimbursement for some lodging expenses, aimed at helping those struggling to maintain two residences.
“It changes the makeup a lot,” the Wisconsin Republican said in an interview. “We have a real disincentive for people to run for Congress unless you’re a fairly affluent person. People think that $174,000 is a lot of money — and if you’re making $50 to $60,000, it appears that way. But having that separate place to live and providing utilities in a very expensive city, you burn through that money pretty quickly.”
I lived in a very comfortable and cozy officer barracks at Camp Humphrey in South Korea. About 400sqft. Had a living room, bedroom, full bathroom, full kitchen, and I lived by myself. The building housed a couple hundred people, all in single occupancy. I don’t see why any congressperson needs anything more than that when they shouldn’t be staying there 3/4 of their term.
There are a couple military installations around the DC area if you’re worried about securing a bunch of politicians in a single area instead of dispersed. Maybe living on post they will realize how terrible some junior enlisted barracks are and actually spend some defense money on the service members that need it the most.
I’d rather the government give them a place to stay at tax payer expense than give them more than the minimum wage of the state they represent.
Yeah, a congressional hotel or apartment building is probably the way to go, although the flip side of that is that it further insulates members of Congress from ‘normal’ life.