How Much Money Does A Senator's Family Get If He Dies In Office

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Introduction

It is well known that under various laws, Representatives and Senators are eligible for lavish perks, such every bit a generous pension program. Nonetheless, taxpayers might be unaware of taxation-gratuitous "decease gratuity" payments made to the heirs of members who laissez passer abroad while serving in office. The amount is equal to their annual salary, which is $174,000 for rank-and-file members but more than for those in leadership positions. The benefit is not a matter of law but has been provided as a tradition dating back well over a century.

Since 2000, Congress has bestowed 32 death gratuity payments costing taxpayers $5 million in total. ^[1]  Among the recipients were heirs of late members with cyberspace worth estimated in millions of dollars. This raises questions almost the necessity of this outlay, especially given the record level of deficits. Previously, some members of Congress have introduced bipartisan legislation to prohibit future payments, but these efforts have stalled and have even so to pass at the committee level. Representative Pecker Posey (R-FL) has introduced a bill to terminate the practice in the new Congress.

A Longstanding Tradition

In 1946, Congress passed a law that provided retirement benefits for Representatives and Senators. Since at least several decades before that, Congress has had a tradition of providing a death gratuity payment to the heirs of members of Congress who die while serving in office. The practice dates back to an era when many widows of the late members had express sources of income so the payment served as a course of life insurance.

NTUF was able to identify gratuity payments as far back as 1880 , when the Clerk of the Firm was authorized to pay $half-dozen,000 to the widow of the late Representative Alfred Lay. ^[two]  A more extensive search of congressional records may unearth payments made even earlier.

In the modern era, the amount is equal to a year's salary for the member. In 2021, rank-and-file members are paid $174,000; the bulk leaders, minority leaders, and the Senate President Pro Tempore get $193,400 ; and the Speaker of the House receives $223,500 . ^[3]  The gratuity payments are usually attached to legislative branch appropriations bills and are provided as a gift to the recipient and so that it is not considered as taxable income.

Recent Payouts

By searching in the Congressional Record, NTUF identified the payments made to the heirs of each of the Members of Congress who passed away while in office since 2000. Most received the annual bacon of a rank-and-file member. The payments to the heirs of Senators Robert Byrd and Daniel Inouye were higher considering they both served as the Senate President Pro Tempore at the time of their passing.

In total, Congress has spent more $5.i meg in taxpayer dollars on death gratuities over the concluding ii decades or so. These payments have been made without regard to the financial status of the families of the late members. Not all the members were wealthy, but payments were granted to the families of several Representatives or Senators with internet worths estimated in the millions, including :

• Senator Ted Kennedy (net worth from $45 1000000 to $150 1000000 ^[iv] );
• Senator Frank Lautenberg ( $56 . 8 million ^[5] );
• Senator John McCain ( $xvi million ^[6] );
• Representative Tom Lantos ($half dozen.5 million ^[7] ); and
• Representative Paul Gillmor ( $6.ii 1000000 ^[eight] ).

On boilerplate, members of the 116th Congress were essentially wealthier than the median American. Financial disclosure data  showed that the median net worth of a member was just over $i million, which is about 20 times  as much as the median American and more than three times every bit much equally the median higher-educated American. ^[ix]

Reform Legislation Would End the Payments

This year, Representative Posey has authored legislation, H.R. 412 , that would stop gratuity payments to heirs. ^[10]  This would not impact any other benefits that heirs may be eligible for under federal law, simply would prohibit special supplemental payments to widows at taxpayer expense. Posey has introduced versions of the pecker in the by several Congresses.

In a printing release  from a previous introduction, Posey comments that providing the payment is "hard to justify particularly when every other American purchases their ain life insurance. … Members should purchase their own life insurance. This issue concerns the proper utilize of taxpayer resource along with restoring the legislative branch to a position of trust in the public eye." ^[11]

Decision

The death gratuity tradition is outmoded in the modern era given the availability of options for retirement savings and life insurance. Employment benefits for Congress are already lavish in comparison to the private sector, including expensive defined-do good pension plans that tin can be drawn even in the effect of a felony criminal conviction, in some cases.

Ending the death gratuity would make just a very small contribution to the spending restraint needed to put America'southward fiscal firm in club, but that'southward all the more than reason that Congress should consider taking action to end the procedure. Members of Congress mostly come from wealthy backgrounds and don't need additional handouts from taxpayers on top of the generous benefits they already receive. Given the massive debt obligations run upwards by Congress, taking this step is the least they can exercise to contribute to future fiscal stability.

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[ane] One additional payment is currently pending.

[2] The Statutes at Big of the United States of America from April 1879 to March 1881, and Recent Treaties Postal Conventions, and Executive Proclamations . 1881. Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/law/help/statutes-at-large/46th-congress/c46.pdf.

[4] Posner, Gerald. "Who Gets Teddy'southward Millions?", The Daily Brute , Aug. 27, 2009. Retrieved from https://www.thedailybeast.com/who-gets-teddys-millions.

[5] The Christian Science Monitor . (2012). "Who Are the ten Richest Members of Congress?" Retrieved from https://www.csmonitor.com/Business organisation/2012/1025/Who-are-the-10-richest-members-of-Congress/Sen.-Frank-Lautenberg-D-Due north.J.

[vi] Hoffower, Hillary. "A Expect at the Life and Fortune of John McCain, Who Has a Sprawling Real Estate Portfolio and Donated $1.7 Million in Book Sales to Charity." Business organisation Insider . August 25, 2019. Retrieved from https://world wide web.businessinsider.com/john-mccain-cyberspace-worth-existent-estate-clemency-2018-v.

[vii] Open Secrets. (2006). Tom Lantos . Retrieved fromhttps://www.opensecrets.org/personal-finances/internet-worth?cid= N00007382&year =2006.

[viii] CNN. (2007). "Ohio Congressman Found Dead in Apartment." Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/09/05/congressman.expressionless/alphabetize.html.

[9] Evers-Hillstrom, Karl. "Bulk of Lawmakers in 116th Congress are Millionaires." Open Secrets. April 23, 2020. Retrieved from https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2020/04/majority-of-lawmakers-millionaires/.

Knueven, Liz. "The Net Worth in America by Historic period, Race, Education, and Location." Business Insider.  August 13, 2020. Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/average-american-net-worth.

[11] Representative Pecker Posey. (2011). "Posey, Foxx Introduce Bill to Eliminate Congressional Death Benefit." Retrieved from https://posey.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=263552.

Source: https://www.ntu.org/foundation/detail/an-antiquated-congressional-perk-has-cost-taxpayers-millions

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