Fact Check: Did Members of Congress Earn $100K Each During Debates on Stimulus Checks?

A popular tweet claimed that members of the U.S. Congress each earned $100,000 during the time they were debating the amount of stimulus checks. Here's what we know.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 was passed by Congress on December 21, aiming to merge the annual appropriations bill with COVID-19 relief.

The amount pegged for stimulus checks was $600 for most Americans, but this amount went through a lot of debating before getting passed.

Congress met one roadblock after another before getting this amount for stimulus checks.

One Twitter user expressed frustration on the matter, saying $100,000 was earned by each Congress member during the length of the debate.

"Congress made almost $100,000 during the time they were arguing whether or not we deserved $600," the tweet read.

The amount of $600 was heavily criticized to be inadequate compared to the economic suffering brought by the pandemic.

Claim is Factually Valid

Snopes said in its fact check that the validity of the claim depends in part on how the assertion is specifically defined.

But in general, it can be said that the claim is valid.

Data from the Senate website shows that most senators and representatives earn $174,000 per year, with higher compensation for Congress leaders like Majority and Minority leaders.

Snopes pointed out that there is still a need to properly defined the time they spent "arguing" over the stimulus bill that provides the stimulus checks.

For the sake of their analysis, Snopes set the start date for after the CARES Act, which provided $1,200 stimulus checks, was signed into law on March 27.

During the time, both sides of the aisle knew that the massive spending bill won't be enough to prevent economic problems due to the pandemic.

In March, lawmakers vowed to have another bill ready to keep companies afloat and have millions of workers still on the payroll.

In an interview with The Hill, Senate Republican Policy Committee Chairman Roy Blunt said talks of a new relief bill will start "the minute we're done with phase three."

For Democrats, that meant more direct payments for struggling Americans, as noted on a CNN transcript.

Stimulus Checks Debate Took At Least 269 Days

The Congress started "arguing" over direct payments started around the time first checks were authorized, Snopes said.

Months passed and, on December 21, the consolidated funding bill was approved and sent to the president for potential veto or approval.

Given these endpoints, it's safe to say that the stimulus checks took at least 269 days of arguing before getting approved by Congress.

That is almost three-fourths of the year, or 74%. Following this computation, 74% of $174,000 is $128,760.

This is, more or less, the amount Congress members earned during the time they were trying to pass the bill.

Snopes noted that some analyses might aim for a shorter time frame of the said "argument" or argue that only days in session would count.

It added that most of the debates also weren't limited to session days only.