Congressional Pay

Congress: Rank-and-File Members’ Salary
The current salary (2006) for rank-and-file members of the House and Senate is $165,200 per year.

* Members are free to turn down pay increase and some choose to do so.

* In a complex system of calculations, administered by the Office of Personnel Management, congressional pay rates also affect the salaries for federal judges and other senior government executives.

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

* From 1789 to 1815, members of Congress received only a per diem (daily payment) of $6.00 while in session. Members began receiving an annual salary in 1815, when they were paid $1,500 per year.

Congress: Leadership Members’ Salary (110th Congress)
Leaders of the House and Senate are paid a higher salary than rank-and-file members.
Senate Leadership
Majority Leader – $183,500
Minority Leader – $183,500

House Leadership
Speaker of the House – $212,100
Majority Leader – $183,500
Minority Leader – $183,500

A cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) increase takes effect annually unless Congress votes to not accept it.

NOTE: H.J.Res. 20, the Revised Continuing Appropriations Resolution for FY2007, as passed by the House on January 31, 2007, would deny a pay adjustment in 2007 to the Speaker of the House, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the Majority and Minority Leaders of the House and Senate, and the Senators and Representatives. Senate consideration of the resolution is pending.

That is $79.42/hr if they worked 40 hour work weeks.  Not happening.