Please do not alter my posts without at least stating that you did so.
But you are correct that the 27th amendment does address that they will receive their voted salary increase after the next election of representatives. Senators early in their terms benefit from the salary increase years before their next election though and the amendment does not address other benefits.
Congress can still vote themselves substantial pay raises. They haven't for some time now because of public opinion that recognizes that most in Congress seems to become unnaturally wealthy due to their congressional status. There is a reason that huge amounts are spent on a campaign to get a $174,000/year job.
But when they do vote themselves more benefits or money, it seems to always be late at night after the media has left for the day and/or hidden in large spending bills as described in this link:
What doesn't usually show up to the taxpayers is that every representative and senator receives an MRA (member's representative allowance) of well over a million dollars every year that covers their staff, official travel expenses, offsets at least some of their housing costs in DC, etc. The MRA is generally increased every year but those increases are always buried inside some big spending bill and are almost never revealed to the general public. There are other expenses related to congressional offices, maintenance, furnishings, etc. that are above and beyond the MRA.
The more members of congress can get the government to pay for their 'official expenses', the less out of pocket cost to the member of congress.
And for sure, if Congress cannot pass a CR to keep the government open while they fidget with another late budget, they should forego their pay as long as the government is shut down. And they should receive no back pay once the government reopens.
Make that the law, and we won't see many, if any, government shutdowns.
www.usconstitution.net
fee.org
nypost.com
freepressers.com
thehill.com
