Important Takeaways:

• A 1,547-page spending deal was released Tuesday night will give members of Congress a raise.
• Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), the top Democrat on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, explained in 2023 that the so-called “Member Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) automatically takes effect unless it is blocked.”
• “News flash: a COLA is a pay increase for Members of Congress,” she stated unequivocally.
• Congress often cleverly rebrands politically toxic items like congressional pay raises, as when they began referring to earmarks as “congressionally directed spending.”
• This is not the first time in recent memory Congress has taken advantage of a last-minute lame-duck spending bill to benefit itself.
• In the 2022 lame-duck spending bill, Congress snuck in a provision to allow reimbursement for a number of living expenses, including lodging, food, and travel while on the job in Washington, DC.
• According to the New York Times, individual members could be reimbursed up to about $34,000 in the first year.
• Most members of Congress earn $174,000 annually, although some in leadership positions receive higher salaries. The Speaker of the House receives $223,500, while the Senate president pro tempore receives $193,400.

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