It pays to leave Congress: Democrat who resigned mid-term is getting a $131,000 pay bump to run a performing arts center

• Rep. Brian Higgins resigned after 19 years in Congress for a job at a local performing arts center.
• He left in the middle of his term, saying the House had become "slow and frustrating."
• Recently filed docs show he got a 75% pay bump over his $174,000 congressional salary.

At the beginning of February, Rep. Brian Higgins officially resigned from Congress to take a job as the president of a local performing arts center.