Rep. Alcee Hastings (D., Fla.) complained recently that members of Congress deserve a pay raise.
Hastings detailed his strain to pay for the high rent in Washington, D.C., and suggested that House committee leaders grant lawmakers salary hikes in addition to their staffs, CQ Roll Call reported.
Members of Congress currently make an average salary of $174,000 annually.
For the first time since 2010, House members decided recently to expand office budgets so staff could potentially receive pay raises, according to CQ Roll Call. Hastings pushed for salary hikes to expand to members.
Hastings made a similar case last year.
"Members deserve to be paid, staff deserves to be paid and the cost of living here is causing serious problems for people who are not wealthy to serve in this institution," he said during a Rules Committee hearing on the upcoming appropriations bill. "We aren’t being paid properly."
Legislators passed a pay freeze on members last year.
