Congress has frozen its own pay since 2009, blocking every annual cost-of-living adjustment to keep base salaries at $174,000. Had lawmakers taken all the automatic raises built into a 1989 law, they would earn $274,900 in 2024. In March 2024, Representative Rick Crawford and four former members sued the federal government, arguing these pay freezes violate the 27th Amendment by suppressing salaries that should automatically rise.
The 27th Amendment states: "No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened." Ratified in 1992 after a 203-year ratification period, the amendment prevents Congress from voting itself immediate raises. Any salary change must wait until after the next House election, giving voters a chance to weigh in. The framers wanted to stop self-dealing, though the amendment''s interaction with automatic cost-of-living adjustments remains legally contested.