The struggle to make ends meet as a congressional staffer is D.C.’s worst-kept secret, but for some it means going into the red, according to a recent survey.
Thirty-nine percent of the 516 House and Senate staffers who took the Congressional Progressive Staff Association survey this month said they’ve taken out loans to cover everyday living expenses.
And talking openly about “economic financial strain, which oftentimes very unfairly can be associated with shame and ideas of failure, is something that simply is out of the question for many nonmanagement congressional staff,” said CPSA co-founder Jacob Wilson in an interview.
