House members can now claim reimbursement for meals, lodging and incidentals when they are in Washington, D.C. on official business, according to a rule change made late last year when Democrats still controlled the chamber. The House’s chief administrative officer notified members of the change Tuesday, as first reported by Bloomberg Government.
Rank-and-file House members get salaries of $174,000 a year and last received a raise in January 2009. But the new reimbursement rule “could amount to a subsidy of about $34,000 per member this year, according to an estimate based on current government reimbursement rates,” The New York Times says.
The House Administration Committee, which approved the new policy, noted that many lawmakers who serve in the nation’s capital must carry the costs of two homes. “While $174,000 is much more than the median household income, members must also maintain homes in both their districts and in Washington, D.C, which ranks in the top ten most expensive U.S. cities for renters,” the committee said in its bipartisan December report. “And unlike their counterparts in the executive branch and private sector, members do not receive a per diem or reimbursement for their out-of-pocket living expenses when they are at work in Washington.”
Some lawmakers, particularly younger ones, that the costs involved mean only the rich can afford to serve in Congress. But some congressional aides reportedly are concerned that the additional reimbursements for lawmakers could eat into more than $35 million in new money for congressional office budgets provided by last month’s omnibus spending bill.