Salaries and Benefits of US Congress Members

[LilOlLady]

Salaries and Benefits of US Congress Members
By Robert Longley, See More About:
us congress
senate
house of representatives
federal employees
legislative branch
During the Constitutional Convention, Benjamin Franklin considered proposing that elected government officials not be paid for their service. Other Founding Fathers, however, decided otherwise.
US Congress Salaries and Benefits – Salaries and Benefits of US Congress Members

 

[LilOlLady]

How much do members of Congress pay for health insurance?
Posted By John Henrikson
September 25, 2009
After hearing various claims (congressmen get free, gold plated health care), our D.C. correspondent Les Blumenthal decided to find out exactly what members of Congress pay for health insurance and what kind of coverage they enjoy. You can read the full story in Sunday's newspaper, but here's the upshot:
They do pay toward premiums and deductibles.
They have access to the same policies that other federal employees do (and federal employees get many choices).
For extra money they can have access to care from the Office of the Attending Physician located in the Capitol and get treatment at military hospitals.
Below is a roundup of what members of Washington's delegation pay monthly for health insurance.
Sen. Patty Murray, Democrat: $356, including her husband.
Sen. Maria Cantwell, Democrat: $140 for just herself.
Rep. Dave Reichert, Republican: $469 including his wife, for health, dental and vision.
Rep. Rick Larsen, Democrat: $365 including his wife and two children.
Rep. Doc Hastings, Republican: $356 including his wife.
Rep. Adam Smith, Democrat: $356 including his wife and two children.
Rep. Norm Dicks, Democrat: $356 including his wife.


Read more: How much do members of Congress pay for health insurance? | Political Buzz

 

[Dr.Drock]

This is why I only approve of politicians who are willing to give some of their salary back to the treasury every year, Ron Paul is the only person I can think of who does this.

 

[High_Gravity]

I need to find a way to get into Congress, they got all the good benefits.

 

[Mad Scientist]

I'd be happy to pay our Congress Critters a million dollars a year if they could limited to only working 2 weeks a year and in times of emergencies.

Plus, we have the technology to allow them to "telecommute". They could stay in their States and Districts and get back in touch with the people who actually elected them.

The "Inside the Beltway" influence is quite corrupting but Congressional pay is just a drop in the bucket.

 

[Claudette]

Yup.

They voted themselves in some pretty nice perks.

NIce to see my taxdollar takes such good care of them and their families. Too bad I can't get the same cushy deal.

Was also surprised to learn that of the top 10 richest in congress that seven were Dems. Imagine that.

There are 261 millionairs in Congress.

 

[High_Gravity]

Yup.

They voted themselves in some pretty nice perks.

NIce to see my taxdollar takes such good care of them and their families. Too bad I can't get the same cushy deal.

Was also surprised to learn that of the top 10 richest in congress that seven were Dems. Imagine that.

There are 261 millionairs in Congress.

No doubt, I think even if Zombies took over the earth like the show the Walking Dead, those clowns would STILL get paid.

 

[WillowTree]

I need to find a way to get into Congress, they got all the good benefits.

"Duh Winning"

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right...

... dey oughta tar n' feather the whole bunch o' em..

... an' run `em outta Wasington onna rail...

... dey just a buncha politicians!"

Poll: Americans as unhappy as ever with Congress
18 May`11 WASHINGTON — Americans voted to turn over control of the House of Representatives to Republicans last fall, but a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds they remain as unhappy as they have ever been with Capitol Hill.

By more than 2-1, voters say most members of Congress don't deserve re-election, matching a historic low reached last spring. Twenty-eight percent say most members should get another term in office; 63% say most should be replaced. Feverish discontent with Congress last year fueled the conservative Tea Party movement and cost Democrats their hold on the House. The levels of dyspepsia are higher than they were just before elections in 1994, 2006 and 2010, all years when control changed hands.

The failure of the new GOP majority to turn around attitudes isn't a surprise, says John Pitney, a congressional scholar at Claremont McKenna College in California. "The economy is still in tough shape, and if people read stories in the paper about Congress, words like 'deadlock' and 'deficit' come up," he says. "That's not a recipe for a happy electorate."

That unhappiness typically is taken out on the party in power. Among incumbents, 52 Democrats and just two Republicans lost their House seats in November. "Republicans are going to have to defend some seats because they picked up a lot of seats, so they should look at this with a bit of trepidation," says Bertram Johnson, a political scientist at Middlebury College in Vermont, "although it's too far before the election yet to panic."

The poll, taken Thursday to Sunday of 897 registered voters, has a margin of error of +/-4 percentage points. Republican voters are significantly more dissatisfied than Democratic ones with Congress: 36% of Democrats say most members of Congress deserve re-election, compared with 26% of Republicans.

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