House staffers ended 2019 with the smallest bonuses in four years, according to LegiStorm estimates.
Members don't explicitly report bonuses in their quarterly expense reports. Since bonuses are typically paid at the end of the year, to estimate end-of-year bonuses LegiStorm compares average quarterly salaries in the fourth quarter to ones paid in the first three quarters of the year. The bonuses are then reported as the percentage increase paid in that fourth quarter.
Representatives overall gave an average fourth-quarter bonus of 18.1 percent over previous quarters, for an average of just over $2,800 per staffer. Those are the smallest annual bonuses since 2015, when staffers received a 15.3 percent quarterly bonus.
Republican representatives normally hand out bigger bonuses than their Democratic counterparts, and last quarter was no exception: GOP staffers averaged a 19.2 percent quarterly bonus, ahead of Democrats' 17 percent.
Republicans also made up eight of the top most generous bosses last quarter. Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) topped the charts, giving his staff an estimated average bonus of 120 percent over what they made in the previous quarters. Aides to Steve King (R-Iowa) received the second-highest increase, at 73 percent per staffer.
Rounding out the top slots are Elaine Luria (D-Va.), Donna Shalala (D-Fla.), Mike Conaway (R-Texas), Rob Bishop (R-Utah), Hal Rogers (R-Ky.), David Kustoff (R-Tenn.), Ken Buck (R-Colo.) and Don Young (R-Alaska).
Any money left over from a member's annual spending allowance is returned to the Treasury at the end of the year.
