Retiring House Republican says $174,000 isn't enough money for members of Congress: 'Most of us don't have wealth'

• Members of Congress make $174,000 and haven't gotten a raise in about 15 years.
• Retiring Rep. Patrick McHenry is the latest one to argue that needs to change.

Rank-and-file members of both the House and Senate are paid $174,000 a year.

That probably seems like a decent amount of money, and it is: The median household income in 2022 was $74,580, according to the US Census.

But consider that members of Congress generally have to maintain two residences — one in Washington, DC, and one in their home state — and that they haven't gotten a raise since 2009.

Inflation, meanwhile, has eaten away at the value of that salary over time: If lawmakers' salaries had kept pace with inflation, they would be paid over $250,000 today.

Rep. Patrick McHenry, a North Carolina Republican who served as the interim speaker of the House following Kevin McCarthy's ouster, told The Dispatch that congressional pay needed to be raised in order to attract "credible people to run for office."

"Most of us live on the salary," said McHenry. "And then, you know, the very wealthy few end up dominating the news because of their personal stock trades when most of us don't have wealth."

McHenry, a more mild-mannered House Republican than most, recently announced he would retire from Congress at the end of his term.

As of now, many members of Congress are, in fact, independently wealthy, and many generate significant income from stock trading. Others may make money through book sales.

McHenry isn't the first one to argue that members of Congress should be paid more.

Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York has long pushed for a pay raise for members of Congress, arguing that it's a safeguard against corruption and makes lawmakers less likely to seek income through stock trading.

And Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia has complained that she's "lost money since I've gotten here."

But the idea of raising salaries for members of Congress remains unpopular with the American public.

McHenry acknowledged that, telling The Dispatch that the "public view is that Congress is not getting much done."

Indeed, by various metrics, this Congress has been one of the most unproductive in decades.