Letter to the Speaker of
the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate Recommending
Adjustments of Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Salaries
Dear
Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)
As
required by section 225 of the Federal Salary Act of 1967, Public Law 90 - 206
(2 U.S.C. 351 et seq.), the latest Quadrennial Commission on Executive,
Legislative, and Judicial Salaries (``Commission'') has submitted to me
recommendations on salaries for Senators, Representatives, Federal judges,
Cabinet officers, and other agency heads, and certain other officials in the
Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches.
The
statute requires that, in the budget next submitted after receipt of the report
of the Commission, I set forth recommendations for adjustment of these
salaries. Pursuant to section 225(i), as amended by
section 135 of Public Law 99 - 190, these recommendations will be effective
unless the Congress disapproves the recommendation by a joint resolution within
30 days following the transmittal of my budget.
The
Commission's report, submitted to me on
The
Commission found that Federal executives and legislators have experienced a
decline of approximately 35 percent in real salaries since 1969. In contrast,
the salaries of General Schedule employees have declined by only 8 percent over
the same period. The Commission's recommendations go a long way towards
compensating for this salary erosion, but they do not make up the full gap. For
example, for an official at Executive Level II, which is also
the congressional salary rate, the salary level adjusted for inflation since
1969 would be $140,340 while the Commission's recommendation is $135,000.
Every
one of the Commissions that has met over the past 20 years concluded that a pay
increase for key Federal officials was necessary. Each Commission found that
pay for senior Government officials fell far behind that of their counterparts
in the private sector. They also surmised that we cannot afford a Government
composed primarily of those wealthy enough to serve.
In
accepting the Commission's salary recommendations, I recognize that we are
under a mandate to reduce the Federal deficit and hold the costs of government
to an absolute minimum. Thus, while I have decided to propose a pay increase
that accepts in full the salary recommendations made by the Commissioners in
their report to me last month, this proposal will not increase the deficit; the
funding for the pay increase will be fully absorbed within proposed budget
levels.
This
increase fulfills my promise made in January 1987 that, assuming continued
progress toward eliminating the deficit and favorable economic conditions, I
would recommend another step toward overcoming the erosion of real income.
While
this represents a substantial increase in salaries, it is coupled with the
salutary recommendation of a ban on receipt of all honoraria in all branches of
government. Although my recommendation concerning honoraria has no legal
effect, I urge the swiftest possible consideration of this important reform.
The Commission further recommended that the Congress enact legislation to bar
officials in the three branches from receiving honoraria. I endorse these
recommendations of the Commission as an appropriate step toward better
government. A salary increase and a prohibition on receipt of honoraria
together will help ensure that the government is able to attract and keep
talented senior officials and that the questions that arise from outside
payments of honoraria are put to rest.
Accordingly,
pursuant to subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), and (D) of section 225(f) and section
225(h) of Public Law 90 - 206 (81 Stat. 643 and 644), as
(TABLE
START) amended:
For
the Vice President of the
For
offices and positions under the Executive Schedule in subchapter II of chapter
53 of title 5, United States Code, as follows:
Positions
at level I .... 155,000
Positions
at level II .... 135,000
Positions
at level III .... 125,000
Positions
at level IV .... 120,000
Positions
at level V .... 115,000
For
Speaker of the House of Representatives .... 175,000
For
the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, majority leader and minority leader of
the Senate, and majority leader and minority leader of the House of
Representatives .... 155,000
For
Senators, Members of the House of Representatives, Delegates to the House of
Representatives, and the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico .... 135,000
For
other officers and positions in the legislative branch as follows:
Comptroller
General of the
Deputy
Comptroller General of the
General
Counsel of the General Accounting Office, Deputy Librarian of Congress, and
Assistant Architect of the Capitol .... 120,000
For
Justices, judges, and other personnel in the judicial branch as follows:
Chief
Justice of the
Associate
Justices of the Supreme Court .... 165,000
Judges:
Court
of Military Appeals .... 140,000
Court
of International Trade .... 135,000
Tax
Court of the
(TABLE
END)
Sincerely,
Ronald
Reagan
Note: Identical letters
were sent to Jim Wright, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and George
Bush, President of the Senate.