Dec 18, 2024 - Politics & Policy

Spending bill gives Congress pay hike and ACA opt-out

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), wearing a gray suit and sitting in a chair in front of a wooden wall. — House Speaker Mike Johnson at a Hanukkah reception at the U.S. Capitol

House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) deal with Democrats to avoid a government shutdown until March would give members of Congress their first pay raise since 2009 and let them opt out of the Affordable Care Act.

Why it matters: The provisions — particularly the pay raise — are part of a push to make serving in Congress more accessible to those who lack independent wealth.

Driving the news: The bill would keep the government funded at current levels until March 14, but it also includes many longstanding legislative priorities for both parties.

It would repeal language in a stopgap spending bill passed earlier this year that blocks an annual cost-of-living adjustment for members of Congress.
Lawmakers have inserted language in every spending bill since 2009 blocking that congressional pay raise, which is mandated by a 1989 law.
The provision was first reported by Bloomberg Government.

Zoom in: Another measure in the bill reverses a provision of the Affordable Care Act requiring members of Congress and their staff to receive health insurance from the ACA exchange.

Lawmakers would now be allowed to return to the Federal Employee Health Benefits program – viewed as a better plan with cushier benefits than the ACA.
Congressional staffers would still be required to get their insurance from the ACA.

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Spending bill gives Congress pay hike and ACA opt-out

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