My three person family lives just fine inside the beltway making around that amt combined. I know plenty of other families that live on less than that, all of them professional people with similar, if not more impressive, credentials and experience than a lot of members of Congress. If you work in any of the non-profits here, you are just as skilled but likely making less than that. Bring your spouse to Washington and both of you can work (people in the military do that —why can’t Congress?) No spouse? Even easier for you. This is crazy.