Live Like the People You Represent
Congressional compensation should be connected to a clear national income benchmark instead of remaining financially distant from many of the households affected by federal policy.
What we are asking for
We petition Congress to establish a transparent formula that ties congressional base salary to a publicly reported national income benchmark. The formula should change as the economic circumstances of Americans change, rather than allowing congressional compensation to operate independently of those circumstances.
When families budget for housing, groceries, utilities, transportation, healthcare and retirement, the people writing the laws that affect those families should have a closer understanding of those economic realities.
If you represent the people, your compensation should reflect the people.
How the benchmark would work
The petition asks for the principle first: congressional base pay should be linked to an objective national income measure published by the federal government. The exact formula can be established through legislation and publicly debated. Any change to congressional compensation must also comply with the Twenty-Seventh Amendment.
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Facts & Sources
- Congressional Research Service, Congressional Salaries and Allowances: In Brief: most Representatives and Senators $174,000; majority/minority leaders and Senate president pro tempore $193,400; Speaker $223,500.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Income in the United States: 2025: median U.S. household income was $87,460 in 2025.
- The Twenty-Seventh Amendment requires an election of Representatives to intervene before a law varying congressional compensation can take effect.
Congressional Research Service source
U.S. Census Bureau source
Constitution Annotated — 27th Amendment