Paying congressional staff a living wage is a strong return on investment

Myopic House deficit hawks are currently writing appropriations bills that aim to significantly slash budgets for congressional operations. While they may claim that shrinking Congress is fiscally responsible, their cuts will reduce funds to pay congressional staff and likely result in an exodus that will undermine the institution’s ability to function. 

Members of Congress hail such cost-cutting measures to appease taxpayers, but what they’re really doing is burdening their staff with reduced pay and resources. Hill staff draft legislation, meet with constituents, perform analyses and oversight of federal agencies, maintain the member’s schedule, interact with the press, and so much more. The job requires dedication to their member of Congress, whose goals they often share, but at a high personal cost. 

All too often, they are neglected or mistreated by their bosses. Up until last year, one in eight staffers were not earning a living wage. COVID-19, the Jan. 6 insurrection, and increased violent threats to members and their staff brought overworked and underpaid staffers to their breaking point, and they quit their jobs at record rates, leaving Congress with diminished capacity.

I worked on the Hill and know what it’s like to live paycheck to paycheck, wanting to serve the country but feeling the pinch of living in one of the most expensive cities. I have firsthand knowledge of how the decades-long defunding of the Legislative branch needs to be reversed so Congress can function properly.

Funding for personal offices in the House of Representatives is paid out of a central fund known as the Members’ Representational Allowance (MRA). Before Congress enacted MRA increases the last two fiscal years, staff turnover had reached its highest rate in more than 20 years. Combine this with inflation and the high cost of living in the nation’s capital, and it’s obvious how hard it is for even the most committed staffers, especially those in entry- and mid-level positions, to be able to stay. 

To stave this brain drain, the 117th Congress attempted to reverse decades of systematic underfunding and raised staff pay closer to parity with the executive branch, setting a salary floor of $45,000. According to a LegiStorm analysis, junior staffer pay rose the most, crossing a median salary of $50,000. Prior to increases in FY 2022 and FY 2023, a devastating decline inflicted upon the legislative branch over the past quarter century reduced staff by more than 25 percent in committees and legislative support agencies. 

Aside from budget increases, the House also formed the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress to address how to improve the institution’s ability to govern after decades of dismantling its operations. The committee’s top priorities included fortifying staff support and retention.

Now, House leadership threatens to undo these hard-won remediations, seemingly unaware of or unwilling to heed the lessons from the recent past. Without their staff, lawmakers are ill equipped to provide adequate service to constituents or provide oversight of an executive branch whose budget dwarfs that of Congress.  

This isn’t just about paying public employees a fair wage; it’s also about yielding a strong return on investment for Congress. It’s pretty simple: decreasing MRA funds would inevitably result in lower pay for congressional staff, fueling a departure in staff. Not only is high turnover in the workplace extremely costly to employers, but in Congress’s case, it will mean it will be less able to govern effectively and more likely to let special interests and their lobbyists sway policy. 

Congress is not making a sacrifice for the good of democracy, it’s self-inflicting a wound of diminished capacity. Some Republicans and conservative think tanks agree that it’s fiscally irresponsible to cut MRA. 

Cuts would return these positions to unsustainable compensation rates for young people without deep-pocketed parents or additional employment. Senior staff salaries, meanwhile, once again would fall well below parity with positions off the Hill, fueling the revolving door problem.

Congress needs a strong workforce so it can respond to the challenges our nation is facing. At a bare minimum, the House majority must look to keep MRA funding at the same levels as last year.

It is an investment in our democracy that will pay off for all Americans. 

Taylor J. Swift is a senior policy advisor for Demand Progress, a nonprofit group advocating for civil liberties, civil rights, and government reform. Follow him on Twitter @Taylor_J_Swift.