How to track staff bonuses granted by U.S. House members

by Adnan Alam

By Cronkite News Service

Cronkite News Service tracked congressional staff bonuses through government data presented online at LegiStorm.com.

To review staff salaries for an Arizona member of the U.S. House of Representatives, click “Salaries” on the upper navigation bar, choose the option to browse staff salaries by state and then select Arizona to see a list of officeholders.

Payroll data is available by quarter. To see evidence of bonuses members of Congress granted toward the end of a calendar year, click on a quarter from October-December and compare a staff member’s quarterly pay to the quarter immediately after, for January-March. A markedly higher payroll total for the October-December quarter suggests a bonus.

Note that the federal fiscal year runs from Oct. 1-Sept. 30, which is why October-December shows as the first quarter in LegisStorm’s records. But allocations for congressional offices are made on a calendar-year basis.