Salary and Benefits

-The base salary for a member of congress is $174,000
-Aside from the base salary, members get an "allowance" which is extra "office" money
-Members get lots of of office space both in the U.S. capital and home districts/States. There is no restriction on the number of offices they may open in federal buildings in their home state.
-Members can deduct up to $3,000 for expenses while outside home districts or states.
-There is a substantial amount of "downtime". Their downtime consists if Presidents' Day break, spring break, Independence Day, and several others.