Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., isn’t the only lawmaker to spark a national debate over congressional pay in recent years.  

Wisconsin Rep. Sean Duffy took flak in 2011 when he said he was struggling to pay his bills .  

Last year, Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, the second richest member of Congress, complained on the House floor about having to pay higher health insurance premiums. And Rep. Renee Ellmers, R-N.C., got into hot water during last year’s shutdown when she initially refused to give up her pay. “I need my paycheck. That is the bottom line,” she said, before later backtracking. The issue, of course has perennially been a thorny one for members of Congress . Decades ago, a freshman Moran and a freshman Rep. John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, were among the 35 new lawmakers who banded together to push pay raise reform .  

Over the years, leaders in both parties have worked across the aisle to protect their pay raises , although in recent years, congressional pay has been frozen, including with a provision in the fiscal cliff deal .