The House GOP gave higher bonuses to staff than Democrats in 2014, but Democrats took the top spot and six of the top 10 slots in doling out higher fourth quarter salaries on average per staffer.
The House doesn't require public reporting of bonuses. Salary records that are public don't clearly separate bonuses from regular pay. To determine bonuses, LegiStorm calculates the average salary per staffer in the first three quarters and compares that to the last quarter of the year.
Republicans have edged Democrats in each of the last three years for bonuses, with a 15.8 percent average fourth quarter increase per staffer in 2014 compared to Democrats' 12.4 percent and 14.1 percent overall. The percentages were down from the last election year in 2012, when the overall bump was 17.4 percent. The figures for 2014 may still edge up since payroll data is sometimes submitted too late to appear in the quarterly expenditure releases.
Bonuses tend to be higher in election years as members leaving office look to reward their staff; in 2013 the overall percentage increase per staffer was only 10.6 percent, the lowest LegiStorm has tracked. Lawmakers defend bonuses by comparing the long hours and low salaries of congressional staff to their counterparts in other agencies or the private sector.
Of the top 10 members who gave the largest bonuses, six are no longer in office or moved to the Senate in January. Members moving to the Senate, such as Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), or taking new committee posts, such as Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), may have been adjusting staff lists and pay in preparation for the new roles.
The list of largest percentage increases per staffer in the fourth quarter included:
1. Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.) with a $149,687 total payroll fourth quarter increase over the average in the first three quarters and an 81 percent average increase per staffer.
2. Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.) with a $67,183 payroll increase and 74 percent average increase per staffer.
3. Then-Rep. James Lankford (R-Okla.) with a $103,440 payroll increase and 66 percent increase per staffer. Lankford was elected to the Senate.
4. Retired Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) with a $48,672 payroll increase and 62 percent increase per staffer.
5. Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) with an $80,202 payroll increase and 57 percent increase per staffer.
6. Retired Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.) with a $103,045 payroll increase and a 57 percent increase per staffer.
7. Retired Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) with a $113,907 payroll increase and 56 percent increase per staffer.
8. Retired Rep. Ed Pastor (D-Ariz.) with a $4,918 payroll decrease and a 55 percent increase per staffer.
9. Defeated Rep. Tim Bishop (D-N.Y.) with a $104,825 payroll increase and 53 percent increase per staffer.
10. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) with an $80,960 payroll increase and 49 percent increase per staffer.
View the rest of the list here.
The House released fourth quarter salaries on Friday. LegiStorm does not track the Senate figures because salaries are reported in six-month intervals instead of every quarter and straddle calendar years, making it difficult to determine year-end bonuses.
