Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters] – U.S. House of Representatives’ Speaker Nancy Pelosi stated that the House will establish a minimal annual compensation for its staff of $45,000. The announcement comes after a study by a non profit found that almost 12% of congressional staffers do not receive a living wages.

Pelosi stated in a Friday letter to lawmakers that ….. will set the annual minimum salary for employees at $45,000 for the first-ever time.

She added that the step would take effect in September.

A non-profit report earlier in the year revealed that only one out of eight Washington DC Congressmen are being paid a living salary.

According to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the report compared the salaries of Congress staff to the Washington, D.C. living wage, $42,610, for an adult with no children.

Pelosi wrote Friday that she acknowledged the fact that staffers under 25 often get the lowest salary. Punchbowl News first reported the letter.

Pelosi added that this is also a matter of fairness because many staffers who work the most hours are often paid the lowest salaries.

In order to retain staff members working in Congress, more than 100 U.S. senators led by Alexandria Ocasio Cortez last year called for higher wages.