Federal employees' unions are lobbying members of Congress to close the pay gap between government employees and private sector workers. Lawmakers, however, may hear from their own employees about the growing pay gap between executive branch employees and congressional staff.
The average House staff salary is 18 percent less than the average federal employee salary, a new report from the Washington-based Congressional Management Foundation said. House staff based in Washington earn 37 percent less than Washington area executive branch employees, the report said.
Retention also appears to be a problem for the House. The average House staffer has been in their present position for 2.7 years, with 4.9 years of experience working in Congress. Much of the turnover in recent years is because large numbers of freshmen were elected in 1992, 1994 and 1996, the report said.
Rick Shapiro, the foundation's executive director, said the turnover is also tied to the low pay of staff.
"Pay clearly has an impact on tenure, particularly when staff are married and have families and have mortgages to pay. A lot of talented, bright people who have a lot of institutional memory leave their jobs," Shapiro said.
House staffers' short career spans contrast sharply with the decades-long average tenure of executive branch staff. The difference can put a strain on working relationships between staff on the Hill and agency employees.
"There's no question that the Washington counterparts of congressional staff in the executive branch are older and have more experience in their positions," Shapiro said. "As House staff become younger and less experienced, their learning curve increases and they have a tendency to repeat past mistakes. Alot of work goes into people having to confront them and say, 'We've tried this and it doesn't work.'"
Shapiro noted, however, that new blood can be good.
"Younger House staff look at the executive branch and see people who are steeped in the ways they've always done things and are unreceptive to new ideas," Shapiro said. "To some degree they have a valid complaint in saying they're dealing with people who say there's nothing new under the sun, people who can say why every idea is not going to work because they've seen it before."
In addition to getting paid less than executive branch employees, House staff tend to have smaller salaries than their Senate counterparts. Senate staff earn up to 50 percent more than House staff in similar positions.
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