Pay Raises, More Staff, Earmarks: Lawmakers Propose Ways To Overhaul Congress
A newly created bipartisan House committee is examining ways to change both the culture and the law-making structure on Capitol Hill.
Members of Congress have not received a pay raise in a decade. So like most Americans, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., would like a raise.
"The cost of rent, childcare, and other necessities has risen substantially in Washington and across the country in recent years, but members and staff pay and benefits have not kept pace with the private sector," Hoyer said last week at a hearing held by the new Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress.
Most House members make $174,000 per year, but they often have to maintain two residences and related
