1970s Bills To Raise Congressional Pay Were In Response To Steep Effective Pay Cuts Due To Inflation – And Members Still Saw An Effective 28 Percent Decrease In Pay

House Salaries Were $42,500 In 1969, And Increased In 1975, 1977, And 1979. According to the Congressional Research Service’s report on “Federal Employees: Pay And Pension Increases Since 1969,” the salary for House members was $42,500 in 1969. In 1975, House members received a 4.9 percent increase in pay; In 1977, they received a 28.9 percent increase in pay; And in 1979, they received a 5.5 percent increase in pay. [“Federal Employees: Pay and Pension Increases Since 1969” via OpenCRS.com, 1/20/10]

By 1974, Inflation Had Eroded Members’ Purchasing Power By 26 Percent Since Their Last Pay Increase. From PolitiFact: “And just before salaries were raised in 1975, the congressional pay rate that had been in force since 1969 — $42,500 — had shriveled in value to $31,638 in 1969 dollars, a whopping 26 percent decline in purchasing power.” [PolitiFact.com, 4/30/10]

• From 1969-1975, Inflation Eroded Purchasing Power Of Member Salaries By 31.7 Percent. According to the inflation calculator at the Bureau of Labor Statistics website, $42,500 in 1975 had the same purchasing power as $28,992 in 1969 – a 31.7 percent decline in purchasing power. [BLS.gov, accessed 10/15/12]

From 1975-1977, Purchasing Power Of Congressional Salary Slipped By 11.2 Percent. According to the inflation calculator at the Bureau of Labor Statistics website, the congressional salary established in 1975 ($44,582) had a purchasing power of $39,579 two years later, when Congress voted to raise its pay again in 1977. That represents an 11.2 percent drop in purchasing power. [BLS.gov, accessed 10/15/12]

From 1977-1979, Purchasing Power Of Congressional Salary Slipped By 16.5 Percent. According to the inflation calculator at the Bureau of Labor Statistics website, the congressional salary established in 1977 ($57,466) had a purchasing power of $47,967 two years later, when Congress voted to raise its pay again in 1979. That represents a 16.5 percent drop in purchasing power. [BLS.gov, accessed 10/15/12]

Without Raises In The 1970s, Congressional Pay Would’ve Declined By Over 55 Percent By 1980. According to the inflation calculator at the Bureau of Labor Statistics website, the congressional salary of $42,500 in 1969 would have had a purchasing power of just $18,929 in 1980, a 55.4 percent drop. [BLS.gov, accessed 10/15/12]

For Congressional Salaries To Be Worth As Much In 1979 As They Were In 1969, Congress Would Have Had To Be Paid $84,074 – Nearly $25,000 More Per Year Than Actual Salaries After Raises. According to the percentage change figures from the Congressional Research Service, Congress raised House member pay from $42,500 in 1969 to $60,626 in 1979. According to the inflation calculator at the Bureau of Labor Statistics website, to have the same purchasing power as 42,500 in 1969 dollars, a legislator would have had to earn $84,074 in 1979. [“Federal Employees: Pay and Pension Increases Since 1969” via OpenCRS.com, 1/20/10; BLS.gov, accessed 10/15/12]

Despite Pay Raises In ’75, ’77, And ’79, Congressional Salaries Were Still 27.8 Percent Less Valuable Than In 1969. According to the inflation calculator at the Bureau of Labor Statistics website, the $60,626 salary House members received after the 1979 legislation raising their pay would have had a purchasing power of $30,647 in 1969 dollars. That’s 27.8 percent less than what a member’s pay bought in 1969 ($42,500). [“Federal Employees: Pay and Pension Increases Since 1969” via OpenCRS.com, 1/20/10; BLS.gov, accessed 10/15/12]

The Economist, 1976: “All Three Branches Of Government Have Suffered From The Widening Disparity Between Rewards In The Public And The Private Sectors.” From a December 1976 article in The Economist: “Federal judges, members of congress and top officials of the executive branch have had only one rise in salary, an increase of 5%, since 1969. The consumer price index went up by 60% in that period, and average executive pay in private companies rose by 52%. A procedure that may bring an improvement for the incoming administration was established in the Federal Salary Act of 1967, which allowed substantial pay increases early in 1969 for President Nixon’s appointees. A commission on executive, legislative and judicial salaries was created to review every four years the appropriate pay levels and differentials among the highest offices of the federal government, and to report to the president.  The present chairman of the commission, Mr Peter Peterson, who was briefly secretary of commerce under President Nixon, gave the 1976 report to President Ford on December 2nd. The report finds that all three branches of government have suffered from the widening disparity between rewards in the public and the private sectors, and that increases of 50% would provide top public servants with rises in pay comparable to those received since 1969 by persons engaged in similar private work. But the increases that the commission recommends are much smaller. Taken as a whole, top executive branch salaries would go up by 32%, legislative by 29% and judicial by 44%.” [The Economist via Nexis, 12/11/76]