After the 20 minute parliamentary session in June, the MPs collected the $90,000 stipends they are allotted for their four-year term to cover personal expenses.
Lawmakers are preparing to hold a second session, only because the Supreme Court last week ordered them to return to work.
Meanwhile, Iraqis who voted in large numbers in hope of strengthening their nascent democracy after years of authoritarian rule, war and sectarian violence have grown bitter at the politicians they chose to represent their interests.
"Instead of working hard and doing a good job, they are enjoying a paid vacation," said Jalal Mohammed, a retired clerk for the administrative council in the southern city of Basra. "I think the parliament members should only be paid if they do something useful for their country."
Associated Press reports that an Iraqi lawmaker's basic monthly salary is $10,000 - just $4,500 short of that of rank-and-file members of the U.S. Congress. In addition, Iraqi MPs get a $12,500 monthly allowance for housing and security arrangements, for a combined total of $22,500.
Lawmakers pay only six percent of their $10,000 base salary in taxes. They also get to spend nights free at Baghdad's Rasheed Hotel in the relatively safe environment of the Green Zone, regardless of whether parliament is in session. They collect a $600 per diem when traveling inside or outside of Iraq.
Once out of office, they get 80 percent of their salary monthly for life, and for eight years they can keep the diplomatic passports that they - and often their families - are issued.
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