House Dem: Congress needs ‘courage’ to call for its own pay raise

Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) said Thursday that lawmakers shouldn’t bow to political pressure and repeatedly block cost of living adjustments for their salaries.

Hastings revived a debate he sparked last year over whether members of Congress should get a pay raise so that more lawmakers can afford to maintain two homes: in their districts and in the expensive Washington, D.C., real estate market.

The House is in the midst of debating the annual spending bill for legislative branch operations, which maintains the lawmaker pay freeze that has been in place since 2010. 

{mosads}In a House floor speech on the bill, Hastings said that lawmakers should get salary increases so that more of them can afford the costs that come with serving in Congress.

“We’re deserving, as are our staffs, deserving of being paid appropriately,” Hastings said.

He decried the practice of many lawmakers, including Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), of sleeping in their offices to avoid paying expensive D.C. rent. Hastings argued sleeping multiple nights a week in a taxpayer-funded office at no cost further posed ethical questions.

“Something is drastically wrong with that,” Hastings said. “Most of them are for there for the reason that they can’t afford to live in this town.”

Ryan’s office promoted the continuation of the lawmaker pay freeze in a blog post on Thursday, writing that “a serious commitment to cutting spending starts with leading by example.”

Rank-and-file members of the House and Senate earn $174,000 annually. Majority and minority leaders in both chambers make $193,400, while the Speaker makes the highest salary, at $223,500. 

The Census Bureau reported last September that the median American household income was $53,657 in 2014.

Despite low public approval ratings for Congress ruling out any imminent political momentum for the proposal, Hastings claimed that colleagues in both parties have told him privately that they agree lawmakers should be paid more.

“I know this, I’ve had a lot of members on both sides of the aisle say to me that they know that I’m correct,” he said. 

“Courage, friends. Courage. That’s what it takes.”

Hastings sparked backlash last year when he complained about not being able to afford a luxury apartment on Capitol Hill anymore after the rent increased from $2,100 per month to $3,100. 

The average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in D.C. is around $2,000, making the city one of the priciest real estate markets in the country.

Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the second-ranking House Democrat, later said he agreed with Hastings that lawmakers deserved a cost-of-living adjustment to their salaries.

In 2014, now retired Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) drew criticism when he said that members of Congress are “underpaid” and called for a lawmaker housing stipend.

During a House Rules Committee hearing on Wednesday on the legislative branch spending bill, Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) suggested that the unused former dormitory for House pages could be turned into a place for lawmakers to sleep on days they’re in Washington.

“It’s not healthy for members to live in their offices,” Polis said. “Instead of sleeping in their offices, there could be a handful of floating bedrooms there that members who are in need can use so they’re not cast out on the street.”