Congressional Income: Pay Is Tip of Iceberg

Earlier this month, former Sen. Albert A. Gore Sr. achieved membership in an elite but growing club, that of retirees who have received more than $1 million in federal pension benefits since leaving Congress.

The 80-year-old Tennessee Democrat, who held several lucrative positions in business after losing his Senate seat in 1970, gets a government pension of $81,347 a year--almost twice what he ever earned serving in Congress.

The pension, part of what is clearly one of the nation’s most generous retirement programs, is just one of the extra benefits that accrue to those who serve in Congress.

While many congressmen insist they urgently need the raise of more than 50% recently recommended by a presidential commission, critics note that the current salary of $89,500 represents only a portion of the compensation that members of Congress receive.

Other Fringe Benefits

In addition to a generous pension, members also can expect the government to cover medical care, a personal staff of up to 22 persons, trips to foreign lands. They also get free meals, newspapers, parking, telephone calls and gym privileges, and a tax deduction of up to $3,000 a year for unreimbursed expenses in Washington.

The National Taxpayers Union has estimated that the average congressman receives pay and benefits equivalent to $126,000 a year--excluding generous travel allowances and valuable personal services frequently performed by staff members.

To some members of Congress, all the fringe benefits are no substitute for an adequate salary.

“Sure, I have perks,” Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.), said, “but the bottom line is there is no member that can pay for his mortgage or his child’s college tuition with perks. I cannot tell the registrar at the University of Richmond that I’ve just had three free trips to the Soviet Union and so please give me 50% off on my daughter’s tuition.”

In addition to the governmental fringe benefits, members of Congress routinely receive lucrative payments from special-interest groups seeking their favor.

Under current rules, House members may accept speaking fees equal to 30% of their salary, and the maximum for senators is 40%. There is no limit on the amount of money lobbyists may spend to entertain congressional families at posh resorts or to take them on “fact-finding trips” to some of the nation’s finest vacation spots.

Campaign contributions also may be converted to some limited personal uses. Moreover, those who came to Congress before 1980 can expect to finance their retirement with whatever money remains in their campaign coffers at the time they leave Washington.

The Good Life

Even some vocal supporters of the proposed pay raise acknowledge that being a member of Congress is a good life. “I’m earning more money than I ever dreamed of making,” said Rep. Tony Coelho (D-Merced), the assistant majority leader in the House, who grew up on a dairy farm in the San Joaquin Valley.

According to financial records, most members of Congress enjoy additional income beyond their salaries, usually from investments in stocks, bonds or real estate, or from the earnings of a spouse. In financial statements filed last May, nearly a third of the 100 senators disclosed that they were millionaires, and most House members reported annual income exceeding $100,000.

The presidential Commission on Executive, Legislative and Judicial Salaries recommended last week that the base pay for Congress be raised from $89,500 to $135,000 in February.

In the budget that President Reagan submits to Congress on Jan. 9, he may accept the commission’s recommendation--as congressional leaders expect--or scale back the amount. The proposed pay level will be effective in February, unless Congress votes within one month to change it.

Honorarium Ban Urged

The commission recommended that in exchange for the pay raise, Congress should outlaw the practice of accepting speaking fees from special-interest groups.

For House members who currently accept the maximum in such fees, such a ban would reduce their real pay increase to about 21%. For a senator earning the maximum in fees, the real pay raise would be about 11%.

Democratic congressional leaders are already drafting such legislation, but the current version would not do away with expenses-paid travel to resorts or other vacation spots. Most members take at least a few such trips each year, and many take advantage of the opportunity once a month or more often.

According to congressional sources, it is common practice for members of Congress wishing to make a personal trip to seek the assistance of a special-interest group willing to pay their way. One aide to a Southern California congressman, who requested anonymity, acknowledged that he regularly arranged such “speaking engagements,” financed by special interests, for members who want to vacation on the West Coast.

Although the rules now restrict the number of days members of Congress and their relatives may travel at the expense of a single organization, some lobbies have responded by co-sponsoring events. When a coalition of lobbyists sponsors a popular congressional outing in Palm Springs every January, members may stay for a week or longer, with different groups paying the expenses each day.

Foreign Travel Fund

And when members of Congress wish to travel overseas, they can tap an unlimited government fund set up for the purpose under the Mutual Security Act.

Overseas airline reservations are made by committee staffers; hotel accommodations are provided by the State Department; entertainment and escorts are supplied by U.S. embassies and out-of-pocket expenses are defrayed by a daily stipend that varies according to the destination. In London (tied with Rome as the most popular destination), for example, the per-diem is $150.

When eight or more members travel together, they can qualify for use of Air Force planes specially outfitted for VIPs.

The government also pays for business-related travel in the home district. Those whose districts are far from Washington have proportionately larger travel accounts than those who live nearby, so it is no more expensive to represent California than to represent Maryland.

Nor is there any restriction on flying home and back first class. In fact, some members prefer to charter private planes when they tour their home states. Among these is Sen. Dan Quayle (R-Ind.), the vice president-elect, who paid $1,412 last March for a charter flight of 205 miles.

Expense of Two Homes

Probably the biggest financial complaint heard from members of Congress is that the job requires them to maintain two residences--one in their home district and another in or near the capital. (With the average price of a house at $135,800, the Washington area is the seventh-most expensive urban real estate market in the nation.)

Although members of Congress never mention it when arguing for higher pay, federal tax law permits them to deduct from their incomes up to $3,000 a year for expenses in Washington. Some House members tried to amend the law a few years ago to allow deduction of all unreimbursed expenses, but that effort died in the face of strong public criticism.

Moreover, many members of Congress do not move their families to the capital. Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) takes the train home every night, and Rep. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) flies home to Brooklyn as many evenings as possible.

There are also many members who buy a house in Washington but do not keep residences in their home districts. Their address back home often is that of their parents, in-laws or friends.

Wright’s Rent-Free Condo

Most notable among the members who have not always maintained permanent residences in their home districts is House Speaker Jim Wright (D-Tex.). The House Ethics Committee is looking into charges that Wright improperly accepted the use of a condominium in his hometown of Ft. Worth from an acquaintance who was in a position to benefit from legislation he was sponsoring.

While working on Capitol Hill, representatives and senators enjoy a range of free or low-cost services that would boggle the mind of the average executive in the private sector--restaurant meals subsidized by the taxpayers, a state-of-the-art gymnasium, a stationery store that sells everything from luggage to fountain pens at half price, low-cost hair styling and free advice from a professional interior decorator.

Congressional staff members are frequently called upon to do for their bosses things that most people do themselves. Aides often act as drivers or run errands. Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.) and Rep. Les Aspin (D-Wis.) are just two of those who rely on their aides to walk their dogs.

Pension Projections

Clearly the biggest benefit comes at the end of congressional service: the pension. Gore is one of just three living former members of Congress who have passed the $1-million mark in collecting the pension, but dozens of others are expected to achieve that distinction in the next few years.

Based on the current salary of $89,500, if Dole retired at age 69 in 1993, at the end of his current term and after 32 years in Congress, he would be eligible for a basic government pension of $64,700 a year--an amount that far exceeds the average private pension.

And, through a loophole frequently decried by congressional reformers, members elected before January, 1980, are allowed to keep leftover campaign funds when they retire. To House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.), for example, this could mean an additional $1 million in his pocket when he retires.