Our Congressmen make, on average, $174,000 a year. This is their salary regardless of education, state, competence, and - most importantly - regardless of how much their constituents earn.
I propose tying their salary to the median income of the people they actually represent. This would be the median income of their district in the case of House members, and the median income of their state for Senate members.
This would give them a better understanding of the true hardships people face. Additionally, this would directly tie their income to the job-market performance of the people they supposedly work for.
Travel would be covered by the Government and their housing in D.C. would be free in the same type of "public housing" offered their constituents.