Legistorm: FY 2008 house staff salaries now online

Some of our loyal readers may recall that LegiStorm [was] used to dispute Bachmann's no-earmark declaration. Our transparency fellow travelers today announced that LegiStorm Completes 2008 Salary Data from House.

The watchdog organization's blog notes:

The salaries are in. The pay figures for staff members from the House of Representatives' fourth quarter of 2008 are now available on LegiStorm, having been entered from the thick disbursement records released by the House of Representatives.

This data period is critical because it is the time when Santa Claus brings goodies to dedicated staff in the way of annual bonuses. Bonuses are not a universal perquisite on the Hill but they are a common way for members to reward staff who have merited them. This assumes that members have budgeted well and have sufficient funds available in their annual allotment, known as the Member's Representational Allowance.

The latest collection of salary data is a window into one of the fiercest fought elections in modern times. Elections can affect how congressional staffers are paid, both in legal and not-so-legal ways. For example, staff members often take leave to work on campaigns, whether their bosses' or those of others. The pay records can reflect those absences.

And sometimes, staffers receive compensation from the campaigns but volunteers on a campaign usually vastly outnumber the paid staff. Therefore, campaign work is often a volunteer or grossly underpaid activity. Occasionally, members of Congress reward aides with bonuses, even if unconsciously, for their special dedication to the campaign. Since federal law prohibits the use of tax dollars to subsidize campaigns, such a use of bonuses would be improper.

Also controversial is the payment of large bonuses by members of Congress who are departing. With no more concern about getting re-elected, members can be quite generous with taxpayer money toward their staff.

The organization promises to blog more about the data.  What's in the database for Minnesota?  Starting with the First, here's what we found:

• 07/01/2008 - 09/30/2008 | $193,125
• 04/01/2008 - 06/30/2008 | $196,189
• 01/01/2008 - 03/31/2008 | $184,982
• 10/01/2007 - 12/31/2007 | $202,862
• Fiscal Year: 2008 $777,158

For Representative John Kline in the Second:

• 07/01/2008 - 09/30/2008 | $212,611
• 04/01/2008 - 06/30/2008 | $207,138
• 01/01/2008 - 03/31/2008 | $205,013
• 10/01/2007 - 12/31/2007 | $211,893
• Fiscal Year: 2008 $836,655

For former Representative Jim Ramstad in the Third:

• 07/01/2008 - 09/30/2008 | $201,699
• 04/01/2008 - 06/30/2008 | $197,024
• 01/01/2008 - 03/31/2008 | $192,514
• 10/01/2007 - 12/31/2007 | $270,134
• Fiscal Year: 2008 $861,371

For Representative McCollum in the Fourth:

• 07/01/2008 - 09/30/2008 | $294,750
• 04/01/2008 - 06/30/2008 | $226,402
• 01/01/2008 - 03/31/2008 | $211,660
• 10/01/2007 - 12/31/2007 | $271,468
• Fiscal Year: 2008 $1,004,280

On to Keith Ellison for the Fifth District:

• 07/01/2008 - 09/30/2008 | $210,435
• 04/01/2008 - 06/30/2008 | $218,720
• 01/01/2008 - 03/31/2008 | $211,428
• 10/01/2007 - 12/31/2007 | $238,209
• Fiscal Year: 2008 $878,792

For Congresswoman Bachmann in the Sixth:

• 07/01/2008 - 09/30/2008 | $191,645
• 04/01/2008 - 06/30/2008 | $184,522
• 01/01/2008 - 03/31/2008 | $171,938
• 10/01/2007 - 12/31/2007 | $206,824
• Fiscal Year: 2008 $754,929

And Representative Peterson in the Seventh:

• 07/01/2008 - 09/30/2008 | $242,072
• 04/01/2008 - 06/30/2008 | $236,521
• 01/01/2008 - 03/31/2008 | $242,343
• 10/01/2007 - 12/31/2007 | $285,004
• Fiscal Year: 2008 $1,005,940

Finally, for Congressman Jim Oberstar in the Eighth:

• 07/01/2008 - 09/30/2008 | $262,680
• 04/01/2008 - 06/30/2008 | $280,782
• 01/01/2008 - 03/31/2008 | $318,577
• 10/01/2007 - 12/31/2007 | $291,872
• Fiscal Year: 2008 $1,153,911

Have fun with the data, kids. We'll be looking closer at the data in the coming days ourselves.