Primarily becaue the salary of Congressional representatives has no direct impact on the US economy and not even a very appreciable impact on the federal budget (about $70m, I'm thinking). Frankly, I think they should be paid more. Hell, no one is ever going to do it for the money, but I would not want anyone to NOT do it because of the money. And, frankly, $133k is not really that much, especially for a job that requires maintaining two homes, one of them in a pretty expensive area. Someone with the skills, talent, and experience I would like to see in congress is likely to be able to make a lot more than that elsewhere.