Squad’s Ilhan Omar pocketed $40K, Matt Gaetz took home $44K: Lawmakers who gave themselves the biggest bonuses through new Congress reimbursement program revealed
About 300 members of Congress last year participated in a new congressional reimbursement program that does not require receipts for food and housing expenses. Dozens supplemented their $174,000-a-year salaries with an additional $30,000 or more.
The House rules change was intended to help members who have long had to maintain housing out of pocket in both their home districts and in D.C.’s expensive housing market.
Since 2009, members have chosen not to give themselves a pay rise because of the political implications.
But the bipartisan House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress in 2022 proposed the expense program as a workaround — but the lack of receipt requirement could lead to abuse.
Gaetz and Omar were both in the top five for members who reported the most expenses as part of a food and lodging reimbursement program
A new Washington Post database of their refunds showed that Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Mich., was the biggest spender on refunds, claiming $44,079 in expenses — $32,189 for lodging and $11,890 for meals and incidentals.
Behind him stood Rep. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who claimed $42,279 in expenses. Jim Baird, R-Ind., for $41,459 and Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., for $40,092.
The average amount charged by members was $18,000.
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy took advantage of the program, spending $23,011 on top of his $223,500 salary, but Speaker Mike Johnson did not.
Bergman, a retired general and Delta pilot, had assets worth between $647,000 and $1.4 million, according to his most recent disclosure form from 2023.
Gaetz, whose wealthy father Don Gaetz started a successful hospice care company, has requested a delay for his 2023 revelations so they are not made public. In 2022, he had assets between $341,000 and $1.2 million and debts (credit card bills and a car payment) between $20,000 and $30,000.
Omar’s assets were between $37,000 and $208,000 and her debts (credit card bills and student loans) were between $45,000 and $150,000.
Omar has four children, the youngest of which is 12 years old. In 2020, she paid her new husband Tim Mynett’s political consulting firm $3 million.
A new Washington Post database of their refunds showed that Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Mich., was the biggest issuer of refunds, claiming $44,079 in costs — $32,189 for lodging and $11,890 for meals and incidentals.
A DailyMail.com report last week found that Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., spent $37,277 (the sixth highest amount in the House) and overcharged taxpayers $12,000 for a home she owns and rents .
The silent rules that changed at the beginning of this Congress allowed members to submit expenses for food and lodging for the days they were in Washington, DC, on official business.
About 300 members took advantage of the new rules last year, receiving nearly $6 million in compensation.
The Member Entertainment Allowance (MRA) allows members to pay for hotels and rental expenses within the daily rate set by the General Services Administration (GSA) for each day they are in Washington on official business.
However, it does not allow them to charge for mortgage payments or interest on homes they own, so members do not build capital from tax dollars.
Only utilities, property taxes and home insurance can be charged to homeowners under the program. Members and their staff were specifically informed of this, according to a source who helped usher in the new system.
“We had a lot of questions in the beginning, members said, ‘Can we get our lawn care reimbursed, can we get the dry cleaning reimbursed, the house cleaner reimbursed,’ and again we really stuck to insurance, taxes and utilities,” a A source who helped implement the new change, told DailyMail.com.
Members who sleep in their offices may also not receive housing reimbursement.