The House has greater pay transparency.
Why This Matters
Beginning in the 118th Congress, House HR Hub began publishing salary ranges in correlation to specific job profiles, exemplifying its commitment to pay transparency for staffers. Although all House employee salaries were already disclosed in the House’s Statements of Disbursements, payroll data was not aggregated in a meaningful way to inform staff at different levels of common pay thresholds or ranges. This left individuals in the dark when they explored pursuing a career in Congress or participated in salary negotiations.
Recognizing that increased data transparency could help improve workforce recruitment and retention, ModCom made recommendation recommendation #67, calling on the newly established House HR Hub to create job profile pages with salary ranges for staff to consult.
How It Happened
In response to the research and recommendation made by ModCom and the successful launch of the House HR Hub, CHA partnered with CAO and HR Hub to implement the recommendation and increase nonpartisan access to staff payroll information. The House HR Hub began publishing salary ranges as part of its Career Paths resource in correlation to specific job profiles beginning in the 118th Congress.
The Impact
This information empowers staff with the tools they need to engage in informed salary negotiations, and equips Members and their Chiefs of Staff with data to help inform responsible use of their MRA resources. Prior to the HR Hub, this information was only accessible via the Statements of Disbursements in non-aggregated formats.
Next Steps
ModCom made an additional recommendation around staff pay transparency in the 117th Congress when it passed recommendation #100 asking the House to create a searchable database of anonymized average staff compensation information, by position, using available information on staff salaries and payroll data. This database would be viewable and collated in a way that is most beneficial to managers and staff, and include comparisons by region and state delegation, as well as differentiation between freshman and more senior offices. A similar database on staff compensation exists on the Senate side, but it only includes data submitted on a voluntary basis.
Recommendation #100 remains outstanding, but the House and its support offices are working to address it. House Appropriators directed the CAO conduct a study of pay comparability and disparities. For recommendation #100 to come to fruition, the House may need the Office of Payroll and Benefits to establish a database with ongoing availability and real-time information so staff can understand pay levels across the House. This may require additional funding from the Legislative Branch Appropriations subcommittee. The Senate could also follow this practice to help achieve parity between chambers.
Glossary
ADA = Americans with Disabilities Act
AOC = Architect of the Capitol
CHA = Committee on House Administration
CAO = House Chief Administrative Officer
CDTF = Congressional Data Task Force
COLA = Cost-of-Living Adjustment
CPF = Community Project Funding
CR = Continuing Resolution
GAO = Government Accountability Office
GAO STAA = The Government Accountability Office’s Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics team
GenAI = Generative Artificial Intelligence
HIRO = House Intern Resource Office
HDS = House Digital Service
LIS = Legislative Information Service
LLM = Large Language Model
MIA = Modernization Initiatives Account
ModCom = The House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress
ModSub = Subcommittee on Modernization (ModSub) within the Committee on House Administration
MOU = Memorandum of Understanding
NMO = New Member Orientation
OCWR = Office of Congressional Workplace Rights
