> Gov spending on salary and perks is really hard for congress to swallow (except for their own salaries). It's just the opposite. With a few rare exceptions,

> Gov spending on salary and perks is really hard for congress to swallow (except for their own salaries). It's just the opposite. With a few rare exceptions, a federal employee cannot make more than a congressional salary. And since they make just over 174k year, that's the highest a GS-15 can make (after the mandated raises). Hence, GS-15s start at 172.6k.