Sponsor
Richard Lynn Scott
Senator · R-FL
Senator · R-FL
The bill removes automatic, formula-based congressional pay adjustments to give lawmakers discretion (and short-term budget relief), at the cost of making pay decisions more politicized and risking larger lump-sum costs for taxpayers later.
Taxpayers: suspends automatic pay increases tied to the GS ECI, giving Congress the option not to authorize raises and potentially reducing unplanned federal pay-related budget growth.
Members of Congress (federal employees): shifts pay-setting from an automatic formula to action by subsequent law when the 120th Congress convenes, giving Congress greater flexibility over its own compensation.
Taxpayers: delaying or suspending automatic adjustments could lead Congress to approve larger one-time or catch-up increases later, creating bigger near-term costs.
Members of Congress (federal employees): replacing an automatic formula with legislative decisions can make pay changes more politicized, irregular, and uncertain.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Removes the automatic annual pay adjustment for Members of Congress tied to GS/ECI and replaces it with general language that pay will be "adjusted as provided by law."
Introduced January 14, 2025 by Richard Lynn Scott · Last progress January 14, 2025
Eliminates the automatic annual pay raise for Members of Congress that was tied to the General Schedule and the Employment Cost Index (ECI), and updates statutory language to say congressional pay will be "adjusted as provided by law." The change becomes effective on the date the 120th Congress convenes, meaning future pay changes would require a separate law or other authorized process rather than an automatic formula.