Salaries of members of the United States Congress

This chart shows historical information on the salaries that members of the United States Congress have been paid.^[1] The Government Ethics Reform Act of 1989 provides for an automatic increase in salary each year as a cost of living adjustment that reflects the employment cost index.^[2] Since 2010 Congress has annually voted not to accept the increase, keeping it at the same nominal amount since 2009. The Twenty-seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1992, prohibits any law affecting compensation from taking effect until after the next election.

Year	Salary	Per diem/annum	Percent adjustment	In 2020 dollars
1789	$6	per diem		$130
1795	$6	per diem only Representatives		$91
1795	$7	per diem only Senators		$107
1796	$6	per diem		$87
1815	$1,500	per annum		$21,210
1817	$6	per diem only Representatives		$97
1817	$7	per diem only Senators		$113
1818	$8	per diem		$135
1855	$3,000	per annum		$83,325
1865	$5,000	per annum		$84,533
1871	$7,500	per annum		$162,021
1874	$5,000	per annum		$114,368
1907	$7,500	per annum		$208,313
1925	$10,000	per annum		$147,571
1932	$9,000	per annum		$170,715
1933	$8,500	per annum		$169,934
1934 (2/1)	$9,000	per annum		$174,112
1934 (7/1)	$9,500	per annum		$183,785
1935	$10,000	per annum		$188,762
1947	$12,500	per annum		$144,877
1955	$22,500	per annum		$217,370
1965	$30,000	per annum		$246,367
1969	$42,500	per annum		$299,930
1975	$44,600	per annum		$214,505
1977	$57,500	per annum		$245,567
1979	$60,662.50	per annum		$216,310
1982	$69,800	per annum only Representatives		$187,184
1983	$69,800	per annum only Senators		$181,368
1984	$72,600	per annum		$180,849
1985	$75,100	per annum		$180,709
1987 (1/1)	$77,400	per annum		$176,315
1987 (2/4)	$89,500	per annum		$203,879
1990 (2/1)	$96,600	per annum only Representatives		$191,355
1990 (2/1)	$98,400	per annum only Senators		$194,920
1991 (1/1)	$125,100	per annum only Representatives		$237,699
1991 (1/1)	$101,900	per annum only Senators		$193,617
1991 (8/14)	$125,100	per annum only Senators		$237,699
1992	$129,500	per annum	3.5%	$238,824
1993	$133,600	per annum	3.2%	$239,347
1998	$136,700	per annum	2.3%	$217,051
2000	$141,300	per annum	3.4%	$212,346
2001	$145,100	per annum	2.7%	$212,073
2002	$150,000	per annum	3.4%	$215,828
2003	$154,700	per annum	3.1%	$217,638
2004	$158,100	per annum	2.2%	$216,622
2005	$162,100	per annum	2.5%	$214,798
2006	$165,200	per annum	1.9%	$212,077
2008	$169,300	per annum	2.5%	$203,500
2009	$174,000	per annum	2.8%	$209,896

Salaries, shown for US Senators and US Representatives. Also shown: salaries adjusted to 2014 US Dollars.

Additional pay schedule for the Senate and House positions:

SCHEDULE 6—VICE PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS OF CONGRESS^[3]

Position	Salary
Vice President	$255,800
Senators and House Representatives	$174,000
Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico	$174,000
President pro tempore of the Senate	$193,400
Majority leader and minority leader of the Senate	$193,400
Majority leader and minority leader of the House of Representatives	$193,400
Speaker of the House of Representatives	$223,500

References[]

^ Brudnick, Ida A. (April 11, 2018). Salaries of Members of Congress: Recent Actions and Historical Tables (PDF). Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
^ "Do Members of Congress get Automatic Pay Hikes (COLAs)?". National Taxpayers Union. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
^ Executive Order 13970 of December 31, 2020, Adjustments of Certain Rates of Pay. Executive Order for 2021 Pay Schedules

https://www.senate.gov/CRSpubs/9c14ec69-c4e4-4bd8-8953-f73daa1640e4.pdf

[1] Brudnick, Ida A. (April 11, 2018). Salaries of Members of Congress: Recent Actions and Historical Tables (PDF). Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service. Retrieved 18 April 2018.

[2] "Do Members of Congress get Automatic Pay Hikes (COLAs)?". National Taxpayers Union. Retrieved 2018-08-02.

[3] Executive Order 13970 of December 31, 2020, Adjustments of Certain Rates of Pay. Executive Order for 2021 Pay Schedules

[1]

[2]

[3]