page_title: Salary Grab Act
section_title: Background
hierarchical_section_title: Salary Grab Act / Background
caption_attribution_description: English: Salary Grab Act cartoon, featuring Horace Greely at left
context_page_description: The Salary Grab Act, officially known as the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Expenses Appropriation Act, was passed by the United States Congress on March 3, 1873 and sparked a firestorm of controversy among members of the government, the general public, and the press. President Ulysses S. Grant signed the act the day before his inauguration for a second term to double the salary of the president and those of Supreme Court Justices. The proposal for a salary increase was fueled by what was considered low pay for members in government, while the salary for the president was the same as it had been for George Washington. The bill subsequently included a 50 percent salary increase for the president and for members of Congress, retroactive to the beginning of their term, which was the most highly contested provision in the bill. Public outcry led Congress to rescind the congressional salary increase. As a protest against the act, Ohio ratified what later became the Twenty-seventh Amendment.
context_section_description: Before legislation for an across the board increase in pay for government officials, officials in and out of government had complained that their salaries were insufficient to meet the expenses involved with their office and the high costs of living in Washington, D.C. The president's salary, at $25,000 a year, had not increased since George Washington was president, while the value of the dollar didn't have the same purchasing power. Congressional salaries had not been increased since 1852. While the government provided a house and a domestic staff for the president, Grant, like all presidents before him, paid for his own living expenses. Before passage of the act, salaries for members of Congress and Cabinet members were $5,000 and $8,000 respectively, significantly more than the wages for the average American.  Members of Congress were also supposed to pay for their own residences while in Washington, where rents had increased as much as 25% since the Civil War.  When President Grant abolished the franking privilege, a considerable yearly sum for government officials who frequently corresponded, their expenses increased further. Professional needs also prompted the effort to increase salaries for government officials. Members of Congress were not provided by the government with a professional staff. Thus any member who employed administrators or personal clerks had to pay them directly out of his own pocket. Any member who was not financially well-off and needed clerical assistance was faced with a financial hardship, as Washington was a very expensive place in which to live. To meet the cost of living many government officials were forced to take on other forms of employment on the side, often resuming their former professions, usually between Congressional sessions.
caption: Salary Grab Act cartoon, featuring Horace Greely at left[a]
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