Fact check: Do current U.S. Senators receive a $96 per diem for meals in 2024?

1. Why the $96 figure circulates — a likely misunderstanding of per diem rules

Public confusion often arises because federal per diem systems include multiple layers: a standard Meals & Incidental Expenses (M&IE) rate, locality adjustments, and special IRS or agency notices that modify rates for specific high-cost areas or time periods. The GSA’s FY2024 CONUS per diem table lists the standard M&IE at $59, with location-specific adjustments for certain cities where the combined lodging and M&IE totals are higher; those adjustments can change the daily reimbursement for travel but do not create a blanket $96 meals-only rate for Senators. Notices issued by the IRS in late September 2024 set special per diem rates effective October 1, 2024 that affect substantiation of business travel expenses but again do not establish a universal $96 meals-per-day entitlement specifically for Senators ^{[2] [1] [3]}.

2. What the federal tables actually show for FY2024 — $59 is the baseline

The formal federal per diem documentation for FY2024 and GSA communications make clear that the baseline M&IE rate for continental U.S. travel in 2024 is $59 per day, with different location-specific amounts possible depending on local cost indices. Multiple summaries and the GSA’s FY2024 per diem release consistently list $59 as the standard M&IE rate, and compilations of FY2024 federal per diem rates published in 2024–2025 reaffirm that status. Those authorities address federal travelers broadly—federal employees and other government travelers who use GSA rates for reimbursement—without creating a distinct statutory or administrative meal per diem of $96 for sitting U.S. Senators ^{[1] [2] [5]}.

3. IRS special per diem notices changed some rates but didn’t single out Senators

The IRS issued special per diem rate notices effective October 1, 2024 that alter allowable rates used to substantiate business travel expenses in certain circumstances; these notices are relevant to taxpayers and agencies when calculating deductible expenses or reimbursements. The IRS releases periodic special per diem tables for high-cost localities and short-term changes; those changes can raise the allowance for lodging, meals, and incidental expenses in certain locations, but the IRS materials provided by the analyses do not assert a $96 meals-only per diem specifically for U.S. Senators. Thus, while IRS updates can increase daily allowances for travelers in expensive cities, the documents in the record do not support the claim that Senators nationwide received a $96 meal per diem in 2024 ^{[3] [6] [4]}.

4. State legislator per diems and other allowances are unrelated but add confusion

Compilations of state legislator compensation demonstrate wide variation across states for salary and per diem practices and sometimes include larger per diem figures for full-day session attendance; these state-level figures are unrelated to federal congressional allowances but often get conflated in public discussion. The provided state compensation summaries show that state legislators may receive differing per diems, but they do not inform the federal M&IE or any Senate-specific meal allowance. The presence of varied state per diems in public discourse likely fuels misstatements attributing higher daily meal allowances to federal legislators when, in fact, the federal baseline for meals remains the GSA/IRS established M&IE of $59 for FY2024 ^[7].

5. Bottom line and where to look for definitive confirmation

The evidence assembled from FY2024 federal per diem tables and the IRS special per diem notices indicates there is no authoritative basis for a claim that U.S. Senators received a $96-per-day meal allowance in 2024. The most plausible explanations for encountering a $96 figure are misreading a locality-adjusted total per diem, conflating lodging-plus-meals totals, or mistaking state legislative per diems for federal rates. For definitive confirmation, consult the GSA FY2024 CONUS per diem tables and the IRS Notice 2024 special per diem publications; those official tables and notices are the primary authorities that determine federal M&IE rates and local adjustments ^{[2] [1] [3]}.