STAFF NEWS: Pelosi Raises Aides’ Salary Cap

In one of her final acts as Speaker of the House, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) raised the salary cap for congressional aides, boosting it to $212,100 from the present $203,700. She announced the increase in a Dear Colleague Letter:

“As you know, our hard-working, patriotic congressional staffers are integral to the functioning of the House of Representatives: ensuring this institution can effectively carry out our legislative and constituent responsibilities.  To that end, we must do all we can to retain and recruit the best talent in our nation — and to build a Congressional workforce that reflects the communities we are honored to serve.

“It is my privilege as Speaker to announce that the House will raise the maximum annual rate of pay for staff to $212,100.  This increase in the Speaker’s Pay Order is consistent with the recent raise in the Executive Branch Level II and Senior Executive Branch maximum annual salary rate.”

The maximum salary for members of Congress is currently $174,000. Pelosi also endorsed increasing the minimum staff salary to $45,000 annually.

Pelosi also took advantage of the occasion to revisit her major accomplishments regarding staff compensation and hiring patterns:

“As Speaker, it has been a key priority for me to bring the brightest minds and a diversity of backgrounds here to Capitol Hill — at every level of public service.  That is why we have:

• raised the maximum annual pay twice: ensuring parity among employees of the House, employees of the Senate and employees of the Executive Branch;
• set a first-ever minimum annual pay for staff at $45,000: a fairer, more competitive salary that has helped open the doors of public service to those who may not have been able to afford to do so before;
• delivered a 21 percent increase in the MRA in the FY22 omnibus: ensuring every office has the resources to fairly compensate staff;
• and established the House Office of Diversity and Inclusion: helping make the House more inclusive, open and representative of the full range of voices and values of our communities.”

Whatever else one might think about Pelosi or the policies she supported and opposed, she deserves much credit for recognizing that congressional staffers have for too long been paid too little, compared to what they could be making elsewhere, and for her encouragement of the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress that has made numerous important recommendations that have been adopted.

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