Salaries and Benefits of US Congress Members

Senate Leadership
Majority Party Leader - $193,400
Minority Party Leader - $193,400

House Leadership
Speaker of the House - $223,500
Majority Leader - $193,400
Minority Leader - $193,400

According to the Congressional Research Service, 413 retired Members of Congress were receiving federal pensions based fully or in part on their congressional service as of Oct. 1, 2006. Of this number, 290 had retired under CSRS and were receiving an average annual pension of $60,972.


[link to usgovinfo.about.com]

And that's just the basics, let not talk about extra income from their businesses, or the lobbying that goes on, or the private speeches etc etc, yeh they know what it is like to be poor!!