By Andrew Stanton
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What's New
Lawmakers' attempt to shoehorn a cost-of-living raise for themselves into a bill to temporarily fund the government has stirred backlash, but some political experts see merits in the raise—however unpopular it may be.
The spending bill, known as a continuing resolution (CR), would give members of Congress a 3.8 percent raise, meant to keep up with inflation. If passed, it would be their first raise since 2009. The proposal quickly drew criticism, with those who oppose a pay increase arguing that lawmakers are too feckless or otherwise undeserving of even a modest salary bump.
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But there is some bipartisan consensus that members of Congress should be making more money, from progressive New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Mick Mulvaney, who served as chief of staff in the first Trump administration.
Why It Matters
Several lawmakers listed the pay increase as a sticking point in the legislation, saying they wouldn't vote in favor of any CR that gives members of Congress a salary increase. The fate of the CR was thrown into uncertainty after President-elect Donald Trump voiced opposition to it Wednesday evening, while Elon Musk, increasingly influential in the GOP, has also said it must not pass.
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The question of whether Congress should get a raise comes up every few years, and representatives from competitive districts are typically quick to shoot down the idea to avoid backlash among constituents, or giving fodder to their potential rivals.
But proponents of a Congressional pay raise say keeping lawmaker's salaries stagnant contributes to the "revolving door" of politics, while also deterring everyday Americans from running for Congress.
What to Know
One of they key concerns people have raised with not giving Congress yearly wage increases is that it creates a system where members can leave the Hill to make more money as a lobbyist or elsewhere in the private sector, giving interest groups and corporations even more sway over the federal government.
Kevin Kosar, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute**,** explained to Newsweek why raises for members of Congress may be beneficial to the country as a whole.
"Failing to pay adequate compensation leads to individuals treating a position is a stepping stone—they do it and tolerate it for a short time and then leap to an easier and better paid position," he said. "Members of Congress do that all the time. And that, unfortunately, means that we voters get a legislature that is filled with freshly arrived amateurs who are easy prey for lobbyists."
Kosar noted that governing takes "lengthy time on the job" to get legislation right, and that being part of Congress comes with expenses such as having to pay for housing in both their hometowns and the "exceedingly pricy" Washington D.C.
"And they work a lot of hours and every day have people and politicos trashing them online. Meanwhile, graduates of law schools earn way more than that when they join big lawn firms to work on niche corporate issues," he said.
The idea that Congressional raises have merits has garnered support across the ideological spectrum.
Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat and staunch progressive, has noted that not raising the salary could open the door for more corruption.
"Voting against cost of living increases for members of Congress may sound nice, but doing so only increases pressure on them to keep dark money loopholes open. This makes campaign finance reform *harder*," she wrote in a 2019 social media post.
Mulvaney, a former GOP congressman from South Carolina, advocated for Congressional raises in an opinion piece published in The Hill in June. He wrote that while it may be politically unpopular, it may be necessary so that he U.S. does not "end up with only millionaires and the otherwise unemployable running the country."
"Look at it this way: the people you are going to get today are often either people who either don't need the money or would not be able to make more than $174,000 doing anything else," he wrote.
It is a general rule of thumb in politics that Americans say they are unhappy with Congress but happy with their specific representatives. Gallup's congressional approval tracker showed that only 19 percent of all Americans approved of Congress in November. The legislature as a whole hasn't had a positive approval rating since 2002.
What People Are Saying
The latest attempt for a raise has sparked mixed reaction.
Representative Jared Golden, a Maine Democrat, on X: "We should be working to raise Americans' wages and lower their health care costs, not slipping new taxpayer-funded perks for ourselves into must-pass legislation behind closed doors. As long as raises and new health care perks for members are in the CR, I will vote against it."
Office of Senator Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, in a previous statement to Newsweek:"As Senator Durbin explained, he believes that the men and women serving in Congress, by and large, are hardworking, principled people who deserve to be adequately compensated."
Former Representative Adam Kinzinger, an Illinois Republican, on X: "It's in law that in lieu of members making outside pay (they banned this in the 90s) it was agreed that pay would increase yearly by inflation. In 2006, congress REJECTED the increase, and now have done so every year because it's bad politics. In the meantime congress went from making 174k in 2006, to 174k in 2024. Basically a 40 percent cut (adj for inflation.). As a result more millionaires joined congress as those not wealthy couldn't justify it. Regardless of your opinion we need more regular people in congress."
What Happens Next
As of Thursday afternoon, the fate of the CR, as well as the provision about a raise, remains uncertain. Lawmakers have until the end of the day Friday to reach a deal to fund the government, or else there will be a shutdown.
Representative Dusty Johnson, a South Dakota Republican, told CNN that lawakers are "making progress, and things are going well" after attending a meeting with Speaker Johnson.
"It's not always going to be a smooth journey, but this deal is going to end up good spot, and we're gonna continue to put the points on the board," he told the network.
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