TIME: Almanac 1990/1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso/time/070389/07038900.070

Text File | 1990-09-22 | 3KB | 45 lines

NATION, Page 16

Cashing In On Ethics

Congress may get a pay raise in exchange for major reforms


    Last February Congress tried to give itself a hefty raise by
playing the political equivalent of three-card monte: let the 51%
increase recommended by a special commission go into effect, then
appease constituents by voting against it, and keep the cash. But
scandal-weary voters saw through the game, and the pay hike for
Congressmen, federal judges and skilled federal employees died a
humiliating death. Ever since, the search has been on for a more
palatable proposal. Last week there were indications from House
Speaker Thomas Foley and aides to President Bush that new ideas for
boosting top Government salaries were in the offing, but they would
be tied to radical reforms of the way Congress does its business.

    The President is readying a package of reforms to fulfill his
campaign pledge to improve Government ethics. The sweetener for
Congress would be a pay raise, though Bush is unlikely to specify
an amount. In exchange, Bush would probably call for a ban on
speaking fees and strict limits on the use of campaign funds for
office or personal expenses. He might call for an outright ban on
political-action committees that are connected to labor or business
groups. To head off a congressional outcry about the lost sources
of campaign funds, the President may propose raising the $1,000
limit on individual political contributions to candidates.

    Foley is thinking along similar lines. Several proposals for
limiting honorariums (as lucrative speaking fees paid by
special-interest groups are euphemistically labeled) are being
considered by a bipartisan House panel. The plan considered most
likely to succeed would gradually phase out speaking fees as House
and Senate salaries increased from their present level of $89,500.
Thus a 7% pay raise would be accompanied by a 7% lowering in the
earnings allowed from speeches, which at present are 30% of salary
for a House member and 40% for a Senator.

    Foley also suggests that the traditional linking of Government
salaries should be ended, and judicial and Executive pay be
considered separately from that of legislators. In that, he is
responding to pressure from judges and the White House, which has
expressed concern about the departures of several highly skilled
professionals, particularly from NASA and the National Institutes
of Health. The latest loss: H. Robert Heller, a member of the
Federal Reserve Board, who resigned last week, citing his stagnant
pay.