(ANTIMEDIA) Washington, D.C. — Know of any jobs that pay $174,000 a year, plus benefits, for only working 147 out 365 days? You may laugh off the notion, but in fact, the answer is yes, you do. Because that’s what your elected House representatives make, and the number 147 is how many days they’re actually working during a congressional session.
According to an official calendar posted by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, the United States House of Representatives will have 218 days off in 2017. Members of the Senate, who earn the same salary as their congressional counterparts, put in a bit more time, but the difference is marginal at best.
In fact, members of both the House of Representatives and the Senate get the entire month of August off. Yes, you read that correctly, Americans. The people you’re electing to represent you get a solid month-long vacation each year. More than that, technically, as the calendar shows congressmen are out of session from July 29 until September 4.
Some members of Congress, however, feel they deserve more. One such individual is the outgoing representative from Utah, Jason Chaffetz. He recently told The Hill that he believes congressmen should receive an additional $2,500 a month stipend for housing.
Claiming the pay bump would allow him and other members of Congress to “have your spouse join you here” in Washington, D.C., Chaffetz added that if he “wasn’t buying as many airline tickets” to fly back home to see his family, if would be far less expensive to serve as an official of the United States government.
To be clear, Chaffetz is suggesting that taxpayers should collectively dole out an additional $30,000 a year per lawmaker. This, if it came to pass, would mean an additional $16 million in taxes annually for Americans.
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