COMP NEWS – Many FBI agents are struggling to live on their salaries due to the high costs of living in areas they are assigned, forcing them into long commutes and co-living situations.

Many FBI agents based in cities with a high cost of living are struggling to make ends meet, forcing them to make hours-long commutes or double up in apartments, according to bureau and Justice Department officials.

 

Natalie Bara, president of the FBI Agents Association, said she’s heard from two or three agents sharing an apartment near New York City, and others who commute four hours each day, back and forth to their field offices. Some circumstances are even more extreme, she added.

 

“They’re having to juggle being able to afford rent and/or utilities versus being able to actually buy groceries, so it’s getting to a level where it’s becoming very, very difficult to not only recruit agents into these high cost of living areas, but also retain them in those areas,” said Bara, who is a second-generation FBI agent.

 

A survey last year found more than two-thirds of agents who live in these places said it’s difficult to manage on their current salaries.

The FBI says they need additional funding and authority from congress to increase housing allowances for their agents, a tricky request given the current gridlocked nature of congress.

FBI agents have little say in where they are placed once they graduate from the academy. What’s more, agents usually come to the bureau as a second career, and they often take a pay cut to start.

 

In New York, for example, starting salaries for FBI agents hover around $73,000. But a nonprofit group in the city reported people need to earn at least $100,000 to afford food, housing and transportation there. That number reaches $150,000 to cover a family of four people.

 

Representatives from the Agents Association have met with leaders at the FBI and the Justice Department to raise their concerns.

 

The FBI says it needs both additional funding and authority from Congress to pursue a housing allowance. Rather than a pilot program, FBI leaders are hoping for something more permanent.

 

“We are looking for a more permanent, sustainable solution for all individuals within these high-cost field offices,” said Otto, the assistant director.

To read more about FBI agents and their struggle with cost-of-living increases, click here.

For more Comp News, see our recent posts.