The following are links to major stories on congressional pay from The Washington Post. The most recent stories are listed first. Highlights on this page include:

House-Senate Conference OKs Raise
House Leaders Plan Stealth Approach
Most New Congressmen Get Huge Raises
The Bizarre Story of the 27th Amendment to the Constitution
The 1989 House ethics package

House Studies Cost-of-Living Pay Increase
March 19, 1999
House leaders are gingerly exploring the prospect of providing a congressional cost-of-living raise.

Congressional Lifestyles Look Leaner Lately
June 13, 1998
While it is clear from some of the glittering portfolios on display that Congress still attracts rich people, it is equally clear that Congress no longer makes people rich.

Negotiators Agree to Allow Cost-of-Living Raise for Congress
September 30, 1997
House and Senate negotiators cleared the way for the first cost-of-living raise in lawmakers' salaries in five years as Senate bargainers quietly backed away from opposing the increase.

House Rejects Bid to Block Lawmakers' Pay Raise
September 25, 1997
After a debate over lawmakers' self-worth and the performance of Congress, the House narrowly rejected an attempt to block a cost-of-living raise in congressional pay, moving another step closer to the first increase in lawmakers' salaries in five years.

House, Moving Quickly, Approves Cost-of-Living Increase for Lawmakers
September 18, 1997
The House backed a cost-of-living raise in congressional pay, catching opponents to the politically sensitive increase off-guard.

Leaders Weigh Tactics to Gain Increase in House Salaries Without Vote
September 14, 1997
House leaders are considering a plan to raise lawmakers' salaries without a direct vote on the politically sensitive question when the House considers a spending bill covering congressional pay.

Without Debate, Senate Decides to Skip Pay Raise for Fifth Straight Year
July 18, 1997
The Senate voted to freeze congressional salaries for the fifth year in a row, prompting complaints from a senior member that it was succumbing to "demagoguery" and eroding the caliber of representation on Capitol Hill.

Don't Touch Our Pay, House Republicans Say
January 2, 1996
While the partial government closure will leave some 760,000 federal workers with pruned paychecks, House GOP leaders repeatedly have rebuffed attempts to halt congressional pay during a shutdown.

Members of Congress Again Will Go Without a Pay Raise
September 21, 1994
Congressional leaders canceled a cost-of-living pay raise for members for the second consecutive year, thus avoiding a political showdown that might have jeopardized a scheduled 2.6 percent pay raise for federal workers.

Winning Has Its Benefits
June 12, 1993
When they were elected to Congress, many freshman lawmakers got the biggest pay raise of their lives. Few of the 122 new members elected in the fall of 1992 earned anywhere near their current congressional salaries.

Congress Will Share Sacrifice on Pay Increases
February 25, 1993
Congressional leaders agreed to freeze salaries of lawmakers and their staffs, in line with President Clinton's proposal to drop a cost-of-living increase for other federal employees.

Congress Backs Madison, but Does It Really Matter? Amendment Action Leaves COLAs in Dispute
May 21, 1992
Congress honored James Madison's wishes yesterday and acknowledged in a pair of extraordinary votes that his 202-year-old prohibition on midterm congressional pay raises had become part of the Constitution.

Across Two Centuries, a Founder Updates the Constitution
May 14, 1992
James Madison's two-centuries-old proposal for a constitutional amendment to prevent members of Congress from voting themselves a midterm pay raise is an idea whose time has come.

85 Foes Find $125,100 Pay Acceptable
February 1, 1991
At least 85 House members voted against the congressional pay raise but have decided to accept this year's 25 percent hike, along with a 3.6 percent cost-of-living increase.

Hill Votes Pay, Ethics Package
November 18, 1989
Congress passed and sent to President Bush a major pay raise for House members, federal judges and top executive branch officials. The measure included a smaller salary increase for senators, who balked at the size of the House pay package.

Pay, Ethics Package Unveiled
November 16, 1989
President Bush and House leaders agreed on legislation to raise the pay of Congress, federal judges and senior executives by almost 40 percent and to make major changes in ethics rules.

Bush Offers Proposal on Ethics, Pay
April 13, 1989
President Bush unveiled a wide-ranging package of ethics proposals for the three branches of government and called for broad reform in campaign financing laws.