§ 358. — Recommendations of President with respect to pay.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 2USC358]
TITLE 2--THE CONGRESS
CHAPTER 11--CITIZENS' COMMISSION ON PUBLIC SERVICE AND COMPENSATION
Sec. 358. Recommendations of President with respect to pay
(1) After considering the report and recommendations of the
Commission submitted under section 357 of this title, the President
shall transmit to Congress his recommendations with respect to the exact
rates of pay, for offices and positions within the purview of
subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), and (D) of section 356 of this title, which
the President considers to be fair and reasonable in light of the
Commission's report and recommendations, the prevailing market value of
the services rendered in the offices and positions involved, the overall
economic condition of the country, and the fiscal condition of the
Federal Government.
(2) The President shall transmit his recommendations under this
section to Congress on the first Monday after January 3 of the first
calendar year beginning after the date on which the Commission submits
its report and recommendations to the President under section 357 of
this title.
(Pub. L. 90-206, title II, Sec. 225(h), Dec. 16, 1967, 81 Stat. 644;
Pub. L. 99-190, Sec. 135(d), Dec. 19, 1985, 99 Stat. 1322; Pub. L. 101-
194, title VII, Sec. 701(f), Nov. 30, 1989, 103 Stat. 1765.)
Amendments
1989--Pub. L. 101-194 amended section generally. Prior to amendment,
section read as follows: ``The President shall include, in the budget
next transmitted under section 1105(a) of title 31 by him to the
Congress after the date of the submission of the report and
recommendations of the Commission under section 357 of this title, his
recommendations with respect to the exact rates of pay which he deems
advisable, for those offices and positions within the purview of
subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), and (D) of section 356 of this title.''
1985--Pub. L. 99-190 inserted reference to section 1105(a) of title
31, and struck out last sentence defining ``budget''.
Commission's First Report After July 30, 1983, To Include Recommendation
for Appropriate Salary for Members of Congress; Prohibition on Receipt
of Honoraria
Pub. L. 98-63, title I, Sec. 908(e), July 30, 1983, 97 Stat. 338,
which directed Commission on Executive, Legislative, and Judicial
Salaries to include in first report required to be submitted by it after
July 30, 1983, a recommendation for an appropriate salary for Members,
which recommendation was to assume a prohibition on receipt of honoraria
by Members, was repealed by Pub. L. 102-90, title I, Sec. 6(c), Aug. 14,
1991, 105 Stat. 451.
Compensation and Emoluments of Attorney General
Pub. L. 94-2, Feb. 18, 1975, 89 Stat. 4, provided in part that the
compensation and other emoluments attached to the Office of the Attorney
General on and after Feb. 4, 1975, shall be those that on or after Feb.
18, 1975, attach to offices and positions at level I of the Executive
Schedule (section 5312 of Title 5).
Recommendations for Increases in Executive, Legislative, and Judicial
Salaries
Transmitted to Congress Jan. 9, 1989
H.Doc. No. 101-21, Cong. Rec., vol. 135, pt. 1, p. 251, Jan. 19,
1989
Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:) \1\
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 [2 U.S.C. 359], these recommendations
will be effective unless 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 December 14, 1988,
documented both the substantial erosion in the real level of Federal
executive pay that has occurred since 1969 and the recruitment and
retention problems that have resulted, especially for the Federal
judiciary. The Commission is to be commended for its diligent and
conscientious effort to address the complicated and complex problems
associated with Federal pay levels.
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 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 amended [2 U.S.C. 356(A)-(D), 358] [this section]:
For the Vice President of the United
States.............................. $175,000
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 the 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 United
States.......................... 135,000
Deputy Comptroller General of the
United States, Librarian of
Congress, and Architect of the
Capitol......................... 125,000
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 United States.. 175,000
Associate Justices of the Supreme
Court........................... 165,000
Judges:
U.S. Courts of Appeals...... 140,000
Court of Military Appeals... 140,000
U.S. District Courts........ 135,000
Court of International Trade 135,000
Tax Court of the United
States.................. 135,000
U.S. Claims Court........... 135,000
Sincerely,
Ronald Reagan.
\1\ Editorial note. This is the text of identical letters addressed
to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the
Senate, which were transmitted on January 9, 1989.
Disapproval of Salary Recommendations for 1989 Increases
Pub. L. 101-1, Feb. 7, 1989, 102 Stat. 3, provided: ``That the
Congress disapproves in their entirety the recommendations transmitted
to the Congress by the President on January 9, 1989, under section
225(h) of the Federal Salary Act of 1967.''
Prior Salary Recommendations
A prior recommendation of the President for increases in executive,
legislative, and judicial salaries, which was transmitted to Congress on
Jan. 5, 1987 (52 F.R. 4125; 101 Stat. 1967), was disapproved by Pub. L.
100-6, Sec. 3, Feb. 12, 1987, 101 Stat. 94. However, such recommendation
became effective pursuant to section 359 of this title.
A prior recommendation of the President for increases in executive,
legislative, and judicial salaries, which was transmitted to Congress on
Jan. 7, 1981 (H.Doc. No. 97-6, Cong. Rec., vol. 127, pt. 1, p. 241, Jan.
9, 1981), was disapproved by House Resolution No. 109, Ninety-sixth
Congress, Mar. 12, 1981, Senate Resolution No. 89, Ninety-sixth
Congress, Mar. 12, 1981, Senate Resolution No. 90, Ninety-sixth
Congress, Mar. 12, 1981, Senate Resolution No. 91, Ninety-sixth
Congress, Mar. 12, 1981, and Senate Resolution No. 92, Ninety-sixth
Congress, Mar. 12, 1981.
A prior recommendation of the President for increases in executive,
legislative, and judicial salaries was transmitted to Congress on Jan.
17, 1977 (42 F.R. 10297; 91 Stat. 1643).
A prior recommendation of the President for increases in executive,
legislative, and judicial salaries was transmitted to Congress on Jan.
15, 1969 (34 F.R. 2241; 83 Stat. 863).
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 359, 360, 362 of this title.