No raise? No problem: House members expense DC hotels, meals on taxpayers dime

WASHINGTON — They can’t give themselves a raise — but they can expense the room and the restaurant.House lawmakers haven’t gotten a pay increase in nearly two decades, but a little-known perk is allowing members to push some of the soaring cost of living in the nation’s capital back onto taxpayers.Representatives earn $174,000 per year — and have since 2009, with Congress repeatedly blocking scheduled cost-of-living raises.But since 2023, House lawmakers have also been able to seek reimbursement for certain hotel and meal expenses incurred while conducting official business in Washington — no receipts necessary.Instead, elected officials just need to certify that the expenses were actually incurred and they haven’t been reimbursed elsewhere.The paybacks are subject to the federal per diem limit — $178 per day as of fiscal year 2025 — and other House rules. Reviews by the Boston Globe and the Washington Post found that in 2025, 360 of the 435 House members filed for reimbursement, claiming a total of $6.7 million in taxpayer money — a 21% increase over 2024Rep.

Lance Gooden (R-Texas) sought the most of any representative, claiming $72,622.63 for lodging and $7,291.69 for meals for a staggering $79,914.32 total.Closer to home, 37 lawmakers from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut claimed $672,000 in housing and food reimbursements during fiscal year 2025.Long Island Rep.Nick LaLota (R-NY) sought the most payback of the group, claiming $30,480.71 across 44 reimbursement requests.The office of LaLota, who has an estimated net worth of $361,000, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A spokesperson for Rep.Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), who claimed $20,433 in reimbursements, told The Post the figure appeared to represent the “combined reimbursement for tolls and gas from NJ to DC and back, plus perhaps her DC lodging.” The spokesperson also noted that Watson Coleman, 81, does not claim reimbursement for meals.None of the other...