Members of Congress are in line for their first pay raise since 2009 if they pass a massive stopgap spending measure that would avert a partial government shutdown.
A 1989 law created automatic annual cost-of-living adjustments for Congress, but every spending bill since 2009 has included a provision blocking the raises from going into effect, according to a September report by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.
The 1,500-page bill to fund the government through mid-March, released Tuesday evening, does not include such a provision.
Bloomberg Government first reported on the absence of the provision in the most recent spending bill.
Members of Congress earn salaries of at least $174,000, with more allocated for some leadership positions. A cost-of-living increase is calculated based on private-sector wages. The maximum allowed for next year is 3.8%, which would bring the base salary to $180,600, according to the CRS report.
Members have seen an effective 31% pay decrease since 2009 when accounting for inflation, CRS said.
But the reason most Congresses have passed laws to block an automatic raise is that it’s unpopular with voters.
The lack of a block on the pay raise and another provision in the spending bill that would allow members access to the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program led Maine Democrat Jared Golden, who has projected a populist image to win elections in a swing district, to say he would oppose the entire funding bill, known as a continuing resolution, or CR.
“Congress should be working to raise Americans’ wages and lower their health care costs, not sneaking new member perks into must-pass legislation behind closed doors,” Golden said in a Wednesday statement. “If members can’t get by on our already generous salaries and benefits, they should find another line of work. As long as these provisions are in the CR, I will vote against it.”
The raise comes as Republicans, who are poised to take unified control of the elected branches of government next year, have tasked billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy with recommending $2 trillion in cuts to federal spending, which, if enacted, would lead to job losses among the federal workforce and related industries.
Musk and Ramaswamy have both urged members to oppose the stopgap bill, with Musk highlighting the pay increase — while misstating its size — as one reason.
“How can this be called a ‘continuing resolution’ if it includes a 40% pay increase for Congress?” Musk wrote in a post to X, which he owns.
While keeping most federal spending constant, the bill also includes $100 billion for relief efforts from natural disasters over the past two years, full funding to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Maryland and a provision to allow year-round sales of a gasoline blend that includes up to 15% ethanol.
Lawmakers must pass a funding bill before midnight Friday to avoid a partial shutdown.