House staffers ended 2020 with the biggest holiday bonuses in at least 20 years, according to LegiStorm data.
Representatives gave an average fourth-quarter bonus of 23.4 percent over previous quarters - more than $3,800 per staffer.
End-of-year bonuses are higher in election years and are typically highest among retiring or defeated members. For 2020, four of the five most-generous bosses are no longer in Congress. Ex-Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-Va.), who lost his primary, topped the charts with an average staff bonus of 99.8 percent more than they'd made in the previous quarters. Aides to retired Rep. Ralph Abraham (R-La.) got the second-highest increase, at 90.1 percent per staffer.
In 2018 and 2016, staffers got an average fourth-quarter bonus of 23.2 and 20.2 percent, respectively.
GOP representatives tend to give higher end-of-year bonuses than their Democrats counterparts, and 2020 was no exception: Republicans gave an average bonus of 25.1 percent, while Democrats averaged 21.7 percent.
Members don't explicitly report bonuses in their quarterly expense reports. To estimate bonuses, LegiStorm compares average quarterly salaries to find payment increases.
