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Congress Watch · Report · File No. 261111-118

Lawmakers' suit over blocked pay raises awaits final ruling after May win

Two Republicans and two Democrats in Congress are suing for back pay under the 27th Amendment. A federal judge sided with them in May, but he has not issued a final ruling, and Congress's pay is still frozen at 2009 levels.

By the Capitol Desk · · 2 min read

Every quote in this story (2) was matched word for word against its source. How we work

My clippings
Steny Hoyer
Steny Hoyer. Photo: The Clerk of the United States House of Representives, Public domain

A bipartisan group of current and former members of Congress is suing in federal court. They say Congress broke the 27th Amendment when it repeatedly voted to block automatic cost-of-living raises for itself. Their case is in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. We could not confirm the details of any hearing this week, and our fact desk could not load The Hill's original report.

The plaintiffs are Reps. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.), James Clyburn (D-S.C.) and Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), and former Reps. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) and Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.) 1. They say Congress and the president violated the amendment with laws that blocked raises set under a 1989 law 1.

What the judge has ruled so far

The 27th Amendment bars any change to congressional pay from taking effect until after an election has intervened. In May, Judge Eric Bruggink ruled that the amendment applies to laws that cut congressional pay 1. He also ruled that laws blocking the raises count as laws "varying" lawmakers' compensation 1.

The government had argued that those laws did not change pay at all. The judge rejected that argument, and he found the plaintiffs are not barred from recovering damages 1.

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That ruling is not final. Hoyer has said so himself, and the judge still has to decide "when an election 'intervenes' for purposes of the Amendment" 1. At oral arguments earlier this year, the judge suggested the issue will likely reach a higher court 1.

Steny Hoyer
We now have a court decision.
Steny Hoyer, U.S. Representative, Democrat-Maryland1

The money

Lawmakers last got a raise in 2009, when pay rose 2.8% to $174,000 1. Congress has voted against the automatic inflation adjustment every year since 2.

Hoyer has served since the raise law took effect, and he could be owed close to $420,000 2. Speaker Mike Johnson said last year that a member today earns 31% less than in 2009 after adjusting for inflation 2.

Mike Johnson
Over time, if you stay on this trajectory, you're going to have less qualified people
Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House, Republican-Louisiana2

Molly Reynolds of the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank, noted the irony. Congress could change its own pay but has chosen not to, and a court may now force the issue 2.

Why it matters

The pattern here is hard to miss. Members of both parties say they cannot raise their own pay, yet some of them are asking a court to do it for them. Many readers on fixed incomes have watched their own cost-of-living adjustments, which Social Security calls COLAs, shrink against rising prices.

The case also leaves a question that voters can fairly ask. If the courts accept the lawmakers' reading of the amendment, who pays? The back pay would come from taxpayers. Neither of the two reports we read gives a total, so we are not offering a figure.

What happens next is up to Judge Bruggink. He must settle when an election "intervenes," and the court must still work out which votes violated the amendment and how to calculate damages 12. Reports expect the litigation to continue for months, possibly years 2.

The Record

  1. Congressional pay was last raised, by 2.8%, to $174,000 1.
  2. Judge Eric Bruggink ruled the 27th Amendment covers laws blocking lawmakers' cost-of-living raises. The ruling was not final 1.
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Sources

  1. Roll Call, “Judge weighs in on lawmaker cost-of-living case” (2026-05-21). rollcall.com/2026/05/21/judge-weighs-in-on-lawmaker-cost-of-
  2. The Fiscal Times, “Congress Violated Law by Canceling Its Own Pay Raises, Court Says” (2026-05-26). thefiscaltimes.com/2026/05/26/Congress-Violated-Law-Cancelin

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