Friday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) ordered that the annual salary threshold for staffers in the lower house be increased to $212,000.
Consequently, the maximum wage for House aides is now $38,000 greater than what politicians on Capitol Hill earn.
Pelosi wrote in a letter to her congressional colleagues, “As you know, our hardworking, patriotic Congressional staffers are crucial to the functioning of the House of Representatives, ensuring that this institution can properly carry out our legislative and constituent responsibilities.”
“To this end, we must do all possible to retain and recruit the best people in our country, and to establish a congressional workforce that reflects the communities we are privileged to serve,” she continued.
Pelosi will lose her position as speaker when the new Congress convenes on January 3.
The outgoing speaker of the House stated that the wage boost in her order is commensurate with recent salary increases for executive branch employees.
Pelosi increased the maximum wage for House staff to $199,300 in 2021. The wage threshold was hiked to $203,700 in May, when the speaker also set a $45,000 minimum compensation for staffers.
The annual salary for rank-and-file members of Congress is $174,000. Pelosi, the speaker of the House, earns $223,500 year as a member of the congressional leadership.
Pelosi has served as Speaker of the House twice, with her most recent tenure beginning in 2018.
AP
The increase in the staff compensation cap could be one of Pelosi’s last acts as speaker.
She is scheduled to relinquish her position as House speaker on Tuesday, when the new Republican-majority House convenes.
»Nancy Pelosi increases the maximum compensation for House staff to $212K«