Reference Steven King’s Nov. 14 letter, “Government help me."

Dear editor,

This is in reference Steven King’s Nov. 14 letter, “Government help me."

In last sentence of the second paragraph King writes, “The average house [sic] salary is $174,000 a yr. or $14,500 monthly, the lowest is $10,150.”

Per the Congressional Research Services’ report, “Congressional Salaries and Allowances: In Brief,” Updated April 11, 2018, the annual salary of every congressperson is $174,000. The only exception is the Speaker of the House, whose salary is $223,500.

Therefore, King is correct in writing that $14,500 is the monthly salary for a congressperson. However, he is incorrect in writing (1) “the lowest is $10,150,” and (2) “the average house salary is …” because there is no “lowest” congressional salary and the $174,000 is not “an average” salary, it is the base salary of every congressperson.

Presley Harper

Pensacola

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This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Reference Steven King’s Nov. 14 letter, “Government help me."