Congress Caught Sneaking Through $34,000 ‘Pay Rise’ For For Themselves

Congress has quietly, deceitfully voted to allocate themselves a substantial $34,000 “pay raise” through an internal rule change that avoided the political backlash of openly allocating themselves more money, according to a new report.

As the Washington Free Beacon noted, taxpayers now “are funding luxury housing accommodations for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, D-N.Y., and over 200 other members of Congress, many of whom boast net worths over $1 million.”

The added money comes through lavish subsidies for housing and meals, the report said.

The change occurred just as the Democrats were set to lose their majority to the GOP.

“Democrats quietly tucked a provision into internal House rules that grants lawmakers access to an optional $34,000 annual subsidy to pay for their Washington, D.C., housing and meal expenses,” the report explained.

So far, 113 Democrats and 104 Republicans have taken at least some cash, costing taxpayers a combined $1.4 million.

Just for the first half of 2023.

“Recipients of these funds include at least 17 millionaire Democrats, including Rep. Katie Porter, who reported a net worth of up to $1.8 million in her latest financial disclosure, and House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D., Mass.), who boasts a net worth of up to $13.5 million,” the report charged.

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The change was made following complaints from members like Cortez, who said her $174,000 salary just isn’t enough to maintain a home in her district and have housing in Washington, too.

“Since taking office in 2019, Ocasio-Cortez has rented an apartment in a luxury Washington, D.C., building that boasts amenities including a rooftop pool and indoor golf simulator,” the Free Beacon confirmed.

The report noted others on the “Squad,” collected $14,000 (Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.), $6,800 (Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.) and $6,200 (Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., who was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine for intentionally setting off a fire alarm to disrupt House proceedings).

Meanwhile, the report noted a Harvard study that found a record 21.6 million American households are spending more than 30% of their pre-tax income on rent.

And Bidenflation has pushed up the cost of groceries 20% since Biden took office.

The report said, “Rep. Matt Gaetz (R., Fla.) received the largest share of funds out of any lawmaker,” having billed taxpayers nearly $17,000 from January through May to pay for his D.C. living expenses.”

Then-Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., had opposed the pay raise.

“You can have a good public policy debate on whether congressmen should be paid more in order to attract a better bunch, and you could have a reasonable debate on inflation adjustments, but it really ought to be done in public,” Brooks said. “That’s my biggest beef, that it was a clandestine secret.”

Congressional rules allow lawmakers to expense up to $258 a day in lodging and $79 per day in meals – without having to submit receipts.