Are Members of Congress Overpaid?

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 26, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Our Generation (OG) and the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) today re-released a report titled, "Are Taxpayers Getting Their Money's Worth? An Analysis of Congressional Compensation." The report details total pay and compensation for members of Congress and compares congressional pay to salaries in the private sector as well as salaries of national lawmakers in other developed countries.

Members of Congress receive generous pay and benefits.  In addition to a salary of $174,000 per year, which by itself puts legislators among the highest-paid of U.S. workers, Members of Congress also receive generous fringe benefits. In fact, congressional compensation, including benefits, totals around $286,000 per year. With the average full-time employee in the United States earning approximately $55,000 annually, Members of Congress make more than 3 times the wage as an average American.

As Congress looks for ways to balance the budget and reduce the national debt, large cuts to their own compensation should be given serious consideration. 

"With a record national debt and Congress as dysfunctional as ever, taxpayers deserve far better than what they are paying for," said Our Generation executive director MacMillin Slobodien. "This report seeks to highlight what exactly taxpayers are paying for and asks the question if that level of compensation is too much."

The study details the many bills that have been introduced that would cut pay and save precious tax dollars.

Our Generation (OG) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy organization founded in 2009 to research, educate and promote long-term free market solutions to today's public policy concerns.

Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to educating the public through the research, analysis and dissemination of information on the government's effects on the economy.

CONTACT: MacMillin Slobodien, (571) 431-7420

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SOURCE Our Generation