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Caught Our Eye

House staffers took home big bonuses in 2017

Posted by Keturah Hetrick on March 19, 2018

House staffers ended last year with the biggest holiday bonuses of any non-election year of the last decade.

Representatives gave an average fourth-quarter bonus of 17.9 percent over previous quarters — nearly $2,700 per staffer.

Republicans made up seven of the ten most-generous bosses. But it was Democrat Colleen Hanabusa (Hawaii) who topped the charts, giving her staff an average bonus of 93 percent over what they made in the previous quarters. Aides to Ken Buck (R-Colo.) received the second-highest increase, at 83 percent per staffer.

In 2015 and 2013, the last two non-election years, staffers received an average fourth-quarter bonus of 15.3 and 10.6 percent, respectively. Bonuses are typically higher in the quarter following a congressional election.

Members don't explicitly report bonuses in their quarterly expense reports. To estimate bonuses, LegiStorm compares average quarterly salaries to estimate each office's end-of-year bonuses.