Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Officials: Process for Adjusting Pay and Current Salaries Page: 2 of 19
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Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Officials: Process for Adjusting Pay
Summary
Leaders and Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives, the Vice President,
individuals in positions on the Executive Schedule (EX), and federal justices and judges-all
hereafter referred to as federal officials-are to receive an annual pay adjustment under the Ethics
Reform Act of 1989, P.L. 101-194 (103 Stat. 1716, at 1769, 5 U.S.C. 5318 note). The percentage
change in the wages and salaries for the private industry workers element of the Employment
Cost Index (ECI), minus 0.5% (December indicator), provides the basis for the pay adjustment. In
January 2009, legislative and executive officials received a 2.8% salary increase. Justices and
judges have not received the pay adjustment because Congress has not authorized the salary
increase as required by law. Section 140 of P.L. 97-92, enacted on December 15, 1981, provides
that any salary increase for justices and judges must be specifically authorized by Congress. P.L.
110-329, the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act,
2009 (H.R. 2638), enacted on September 30, 2008, which provides funds for government
operations from October 1, 2008, through March 6, 2009, does not include the authorization.
The 110 Congress considered, but did not enact, legislation that would have adjusted the pay of
federal justices and judges. The Federal Judicial Salary Restoration Act of 2008, S. 1638, as
reported, amended, and H.R. 3753, as ordered to be reported, amended, would have authorized
pay increases of 28.7%-28.8% over January 2008 salaries to district court judges, courts of
appeals judges, Court of International Trade judges, Associate Justices of the Supreme Court, and
the Chief Justice of the United States. The bills also would have repealed the provision of law that
requires Congress to specifically authorize any salary increases for justices and judges and
amended current law to provide that justices and judges would receive the same percentage pay
adjustment as is authorized each year for base pay under the General Schedule. S. 2353, the Fair
Judicial Compensation Act of 2007, would have authorized a 16.5% pay increase over January
2008 salaries to district court judges, courts of appeals judges, Court of International Trade
judges, Associate Justices, and the Chief Justice. The House Committee on the Judiciary ordered
H.R. 3753 to be reported, as amended, on a 28 to 5 vote on December 12, 2007. During a
December 13, 2007, markup, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, by voice vote, agreed to an
amendment that was offered by Senator Dianne Feinstein to amend S. 1638 to provide the same
compensation provisions as H.R. 3753. The committee resumed consideration of S. 1638 on
January 31, 2008, and ordered the bill to be reported, as amended, on a 10 to 7 vote the same day.
The committee reported S. 1638 (S.Rept. 110-277) on April 1, 2008. S.Con.Res. 70, the
Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for FY2009, as agreed to by the House and Senate, included
a provision at Section 229 on a deficit-neutral reserve fund for judicial pay.
EX pay rates provide limitations on maximum basic pay rates for Members of the Senior
Executive Service (SES), employees in senior-level (SL) and scientific and professional (ST)
positions, and on basic pay, basic pay and locality pay combined, and total compensation for
employees in General Schedule (GS) positions. This report will be updated as events dictate.Congressional Research Service
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Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Officials: Process for Adjusting Pay and Current Salaries, report, January 14, 2009; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc818890/m1/2/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.