How much does the President, Senate, & House (Congress) make per year?

How much does the President of the United States of America, Senate, & House of Representatives make per year? That's an interesting question, with a few answers that surprised me.

The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue; Washington DC - John Haslam

After researching the facts (as opposed to misconceptions spread through chain emails), I find myself torn on the topic of pay and compensation for public office. So here is my personal evaluation and suggestion.

In the business world, I know that I need to pay well to attract the best candidates. If I pay $11 an hour, I'm not going to attract a crowd of people with Masters Degrees or 20 years of experience or specialized skills. I will get what I pay for.

But public office is not the business world... it's very different. The fact that so many people treat public office as a job/career IS THE PROBLEM with Washington DC (and lower offices). Public office should never be a career. The intention of our founders (running from Tyrants and Dictators) was for ordinary citizens to temporarily leave their careers and serve for a time, then go back to their homes and careers.

Term Limits vs Career Politicians

WE THE PEOPLE, not the elected officials, should be making decisions about their pay and compensation. We should put any of these decisions to a public vote, every time, and not let them decide for themselves.

First and foremost, every decision we make as a society about our public officials should be to encourage good people to come, serve, then leave. 

We should strongly discourage career politicians. This is why, regardless of any other choices we make as a society, we should put term limits on our public officials.

Not just limits on the term for a single office, but also a term limits for the combination of publicly held offices.

Having said that, let's look at the pay/compensation factors in more detail. Let's look at three areas.

• Annual Pay
• Housing
• Medical and Retirement

Annual Pay:

• The President of the United States (POTUS) of America makes $400,00 per year. Plus, he (or she) receives an extra expense allowance of $50,000 a year.... Plus free housing and transportation during their term. 

• Members of The House of Representatives & The Senate make $174,000 per year (with the exception of a few key positions, such as Speaker of the Hours, etc.). Interestingly, the system is set up to automatically give them an annual cost of living increase, which they have rejected frequently (due to bad press).

The "Leader of the Free World" is an important position. However, as with any public office, the ONLY motivation for seeking that office should be a desire to serve (not a desire for money or power). $400,00 annually + $50,000 for expenses is FAR too high considering the POTUS gets free housing and transportation during his/her term. 

• The POTUS should be demoted to a maximum (expenses included) of $200,000.

Given the fact that many CEO's make far more than $174,000 (and I know from experience that $50,000 doesn't go very far, this does not seem like a totally unreasonable figure for Congress. 

• I would still demote them to a maximum of $100,000. 

If they can't live on that, they need to shut up, get on the Dave Ramsey plan, or go home to a real job.

Automatic Pay Raises: Cancel that. 

• Every ten years WE THE PEOPLE should have one national vote on a possible cost of living increase (no more than 10%). NOTHING should be automatic when it comes to government budgets.

Housing:

• While the POTUS gets free housing, the House and Senate must pay out of their own pocket for housing both in their home state and in Washington DC; which can be very costly. More than a few sleep in their offices; many also share rentals. 

I honestly don't want my elected leaders making decisions while sleeping in their offices. 

That opens the door to bribes, and the feeling like they need to make desperate decisions. I can relate to expensive living. I left California in 2009, and moved to Texas. I paid $1,100.00 in CA for a roach infested 600 sq ft "low income" apartment, and in TX I found a 4 bedroom new home for $950.00.

Washington DC is the most expensive place in the US (or close to it). 

But we can solve this easily:

• The Federal Government would build a single town home complex, to be owned by and maintained by the Federal Government. Much like a parsonage, or the White House. 
• Each Town Home would be 1,200 square feet, with two bedrooms (for family if they are coming with the elected official). 
• If (and only if) that representative has a family of more than four immediate family members, they would be allotted one of the few larger condo's with 3-4 bedrooms. 
• Each condo would also have a home office.
• They would be allotted ONE office (of no more than 200 sq ft) outside the home.

Problem solved.

Retirement:

• At the end of their terms, presidents are still on government payroll, which includes an annual pension of about $200,000, healthcare, paid official travel, and an office.

• Congress can be eligible for pensions after five years of service (with many rules). But the pensions wouldn’t be equal to their full salaries. Congress participates in the same medical benefits plan that any other government employee participates in.

Under NO circumstances should any government employee ever be allowed a pension of any kind. Pensions are a hold over from an era long gone.

• ALL Federal Pensions (from President to Garbageman) should be shut down going-forward. 

• They would be replaced by a 401K type system, whereby the government would match your contribution of to 15%. 

• If you contribute nothing, the government contributes nothing.

• You would choose your own investment house (managed by you, not the government), that way you could house with JP Morgan, Fidelity, TD Ameritrade, or the investment house of your choice.

• Once you leave you position, you take your 401K with you, but you do not get a single penny more from the government (especially not the POTUS).

Medical:

• ALL government/federal medical plans cease, effective immediately.

• This is simple, go choose a medical plan from the open market and pay for it, the government will pay 75% of the monthly premium (about what most employers pay). 

• Once you leave office, the government pays nothing.

After you leave office:

• ANY AND ALL forms of money from the government budget to you cease, 100%, totally, completely, zero. 

Don't worry about "that'll never pass", right now we're dealing with what should be, not what could be. 

• IF we could do what we wanted, that would be my plan. 

• Agree? 

• Disagree? 

• Tell me why in the comments

Darrell Wolfe

*************

For those interested; Research and Fact Checking:

Business Insider (here) tells us the President of the United States of America (USA) makes $400,00 per year:

The president is paid $400,000 a year, on a monthly basis. Plus, he receives an extra expense allowance of $50,000 a year.... Plus free housing and transportation during their term.

Another bonus: At the end of their terms, presidents are still on government payroll, which includes an annual pension of about $200,000, healthcare, paid official travel, and an office.

About.Com (here) and also (here) says:

During the Constitutional Convention, Benjamin Franklin considered proposing that elected government officials not be paid for their service. Other Founding Fathers, however, decided otherwise.

Members of Congress are eligible to receive the same annual cost-of-living increase given to other federal employees, if any. The raise takes effect automatically on January 1 of each year unless Congress, through passage of a joint resolution, votes to decline it, as Congress has done since 2009.

Members of Congress are not eligible for a pension until they reach the age of 50, but only if they've completed 20 years of service. Members are eligible at any age after completing 25 years of service or after they reach the age of 62. Please also note that Members of Congress have to serve at least 5 years to even receive a pension.

Studies show that most full-time workers actually participate in an employee-sponsored retirement plan. Members of Congress get retirement benefits under the same plans available to other federal employees.

NPR (here) says:

"Politically, he's in a sensitive area," says Smith, who advises corporate and nonprofit clients on designing compensation and benefit packages for executives, "given that there is the perception that members of Congress don't work that hard, and don't do their jobs very well.

"But if you want good people in government, you shouldn't limit yourself to just people who can afford it, because they'll have to find their wealth elsewhere," he says. 

The Ethics Reform Act of 1989 allowed for an annual congressional pay adjustment, but it also gave members the authority to prohibit or revise the adjustment. Since 1992, Congress approved its annual adjustment 13 times, and rejected it 11 times.

Moran's comment no doubt resonated with members of Congress of a certain class — those without the financial means to maintain their district homes and absorb the high rental and housing costs in Washington.

More than a few sleep in their offices; many also share rentals. 

The cost of renting an apartment or home in Washington can be eye-popping for members arriving from just about anywhere but San Francisco or New York City. 

"Housing stipends are not unusual," says Smith. "And that would be not a bad way to politically create more income without making the salary look that high."

Senate.Gov (here) has a report about their own compensation:

Compensation The most recent pay adjustment for Members of Congress was in January 2009.1 Since then, the compensation for most Senators, Representatives, Delegates, and the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico has been $174,000. 

The only exceptions include the Speaker of the House (salary of $223,500) and the President pro tempore of the Senate and the majority and minority leaders in the House and Senate (salary of $193,400). 

Article I, Section 6, of the U.S. Constitution authorizes compensation for Members of Congress “ascertained by law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States.” Adjustments are governed by the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 and the 27th Amendment to the Constitution. 

Table 1. Members, Officers, and Officials of the House: Selected Salaries

• Speaker of the House $223,500 per annum
• Majority and Minority Leaders $193,400 per annum
• All other Representatives (including Delegates and Resident Commissioner From Puerto Rico) $174,000 per annum 

Table 2. Members, Officers, and Officials of the Senate: Selected Salaries

• President pro tempore $193,400 per annum39
• Majority and Minority Leaders $193,400 per annum
• All other Senators $174,000 per annum 

Health and Life Insurance ProvisionsPrior to the enactment of Section 1312(d)(3)(D) of P.L. 111-148, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Members were eligible to participate in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHB). P.L. 111-148 states that the only health plans available to Members of Congress and certain congressional staff are those plans created under the act or offered through an exchange established under the act. Pursuant to the regulations implementing this section, effective January 1, 2014, Members may elect to be covered through the DC Health Link.10

It goes on to describe office space, furniture and other rules.

FactCheck.org (here) says:

The basic eligibility for collecting a pension is as follows, according to a June report from the Congressional Research Service, the nonpartisan research arm of Congress: 

CRS, June 13: Members of Congress are eligible for a pension at the age of 62 if they have completed at least five years of service. Members are eligible for a pension at age 50 if they have completed 20 years of service, or at any age after completing 25 years of service. The amount of the pension depends on years of service and the average of the highest three years of salary. By law, the starting amount of a Member’s retirement annuity may not exceed 80% of his or her final salary. 

That means that members of the House of Representatives — who are up for reelection every two years — would not be able to collect pensions of any amount if they only served one term. U.S. senators, on the other hand, serve six-year terms and would be able to collect pensions after one full term. But the pensions wouldn’t be equal to their full salaries.