May 19, 2013
WASHINGTON, D.C. - President Obama signed an executive order last week giving Congress a bump in salary, ending a years-long pay freeze for the legislative body.
The pay increase, which will take affect in March, comes on the heels of a study showing this Congress to be one of the most unproductive -- in numbers of bills that made it to the president's desk -- since the "Do Nothing Congress" of the 1940s.
According to the order signed Dec. 27, in line for pay increases are not only Senators and Congressmen, but Supreme Court Justices and all federal employees. The increases will be in the half-percent to one percent range.
According to the pay schedule attached to the order, Vice president Joe Biden's salary will increase to $231,900 per year, while Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio), will make $224,600.
The base pay for every member of Congress will go from $174,000 to $174,900 starting in March. Some in Congress will make more due to leadership positions.
This increase does not take into account allowances for such expenditures as staffing, travel and franking privileges.
Federal workers have not seen a pay raise since 2010; legislators since 2009.
