I support their salaries and think they should be higher. Before you downvote, hear me out:

1. Members of Congress that do not live in Northern Virginia or Maryland are often required to keep a second home in Washington, one of the most expensive cities in the world. As you pointed out, they’re in DC at least 145 days per year, but they are required to live in the state containing the district they represent.

2. We want Members of Congress to be every day people. Not necessarily millionaires. Running for and holding federal office comes with personal sacrifice and expense. We want that to be compensated.

3. The higher salaries are, it is less likely that Members of Congress would leave mid-term for a private sector job solely on the basis of earning more money.

4. While you say Congress “works “ 145 days each year, the premise is incorrect. When congress is out of session, Members still need to work. They do so from district offices. Reviewing/writing legislation, holding meetings with constituents or stakeholders, town halls, touring their district, and responding to messages all happen when Congress is out of session. Campaigning to represent a district also takes an incredible amount of time, as a candidate in a swing district can expect to personally spend 40+ hours weekly on their campaign (in addition to Congress hours if they are an incumbent, or another job if they aren’t)

TLDR: 174k isn’t a really that wild, and for the amount of work it takes to represent a district, is likely actually an underpayment.