Jim Kolbe and Vic Fazio at the Arizona Daily Star:
Whether as a member or a staffer, working on Capitol Hill is a public service and inevitably comes with sacrifice, including a lower salary than the private sector. However, the current Congress doesn’t just ask for sacrifice; it asks for almost the impossible. It asks staff members, whether in Washington or at a district office, to ignore student loan debt, put off starting a family or be priced out of the housing market. It asks interns to come to D.C. and assume all the costs of volunteering for a congressional office. Because of this, staffers have little incentive to grow old in their jobs and, on average, leave public service after less than three years. As they exit, they take institutional knowledge, legislative experience on specific issues and collegial relationships with other offices of both parties. Shamefully, the current system gives the best and the brightest every financial reason to seek employment elsewhere.