II 

Calendar No. 614 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1638 

To adjust the salaries of Federal justices and judges, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 15, 2007 

Mr. LEAHY (for himself, Mr. HATCH, Mr. REID, Mr. MCCONNELL, Mrs. 

FEINSTEIN, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. BINGAMAN, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. KERRY, Mr. BENNETT, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. DOMENICI, Mr. 

LAUTENBERG, Mr. WARNER, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. INOUYE, Mr. SMITH, Ms. 

LANDRIEU, Mr. PRYOR, and Mr. CORKER) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

MARCH 10, 2008 

Reported by Mr. LEAHY, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To adjust the salaries of Federal justices and judges, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Judicial Salary 

5 Restoration Act of 2007’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. RESTORATION OF COMPENSATION. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi3 sion of law, the annual rate of salary of— 

4 (1) the judges of the district courts, as estab5 lished under section 132 of title 28, United States 

6 Code, shall be adjusted to $247,800; 

7 (2) the judges of the Court of International 

8 Trade, as established under section 251 of title 28, 

9 United States Code, shall be adjusted to $247,800; 

10 (3) the judges of the courts of appeals, as es11 tablished under section 44 of title 28, United States 

12 Code, shall be adjusted to $262,700; 

13 (4) the Associate Justices of the Supreme 

14 Court, as described under section 1 of title 28, 

15 United States Code, shall be adjusted to $304,500; 

16 and 

17 (5) the Chief Justice of the United States, as 

18 described under section 1 of title 28, United States 

19 Code, shall be adjusted to $318,200. 

20 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect 

21 on the first applicable pay period beginning on or after 

22 the date of enactment of this Act. 

23 SEC. 3. COORDINATION RULE. 

24 If a pay adjustment under section 2 is to be made 

25 for an office or position as of the same date that any other 


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1 pay adjustment would take effect for such office or posi2 tion, the adjustment under this Act shall be made first. 

3 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

5 as necessary to carry out this Act. 

6 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

7 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Judicial Salary 

8 Restoration Act of 2008’’. 

9 SEC. 2. RESTORATION OF COMPENSATION. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Effective the first applicable pay 

11 period beginning on or after the date of enactment of this 

12 Act, the salaries of the following categories of Federal judi13 cial officers shall be as follows: 

14 (1) The judges of the United States district 

15 courts appointed under section 133(a) of title 28, 

16 United States Code, shall be adjusted to $218,000. 

17 (2) The judges of the United States Court of 

18 International Trade appointed under section 251(a) 

19 of title 28, United States Code, shall be adjusted to 

20 $218,000. 

21 (3) The judges of the United States courts of ap22 peals appointed under section 44(a) of title 28, 

23 United States Code, shall be adjusted to $231,100. 


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1 (4) The associate justices of the United States 

2 Supreme Court provided for in section 1 of title 28, 

3 United States Code, shall be adjusted to $267,900. 

4 (5) The Chief Justice of the United States pro5 vided for in section 1 of title 28, United States Code, 

6 shall be adjusted to $279,900. 

7 (b) COORDINATION RULE.—If a pay adjustment under 

8 subsection (a) is to be made for an office as of the same 

9 date that any other pay adjustment would take effect for 

10 such office, the adjustment under subsection (a) shall be 

11 made first. 

12 SEC. 3. REPEAL OF PROHIBITION ON SALARY INCREASES. 

13 Section 140 of Public Law 97–92, as amended by Pub14 lic Law 107–77 (28 U.S.C. 461 note), is repealed. 

15 SEC. 4. RETIREMENT PROVISIONS. 

16 (a) RETIREMENT FROM THE OFFICE.—Section 371 of 

17 title 28, United States Code, is amended— 

18 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘subsection (c)’’ 

19 and inserting ‘‘subsection (c)(1)’’; 

20 (2) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘subsection 

21 (c)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (c)(2)’’; and 

22 (3) by amending subsection (c) to read as fol23 lows: 

24 ‘‘(c) AGE AND SERVICE REQUIREMENTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) RETIREMENT ON SALARY.—The age and 

2 service requirements for retirement under subsection 

3 (a) are as follows: 

‘‘Attained Age: Years of Service: 

67 ............................................................................................... 17 

68 ............................................................................................... 16 

69 ............................................................................................... 15 

70 ............................................................................................... 14 

71 ............................................................................................... 13 

72 ............................................................................................... 12 

4 ‘‘(2) RETIREMENT IN SENIOR STATUS.—The age 

5 and service requirements for retirement under sub6 section (b) are as follows: 

‘‘Attained Age: Years of Service: 

65 ............................................................................................... 15

66 ............................................................................................... 14

67 ............................................................................................... 13

68 ............................................................................................... 12

69 ............................................................................................... 11

70 ............................................................................................... 10’’. 

7 (b) ELECTION OF RETIREMENT FOR SITTING

8 JUDGES.—Any justice or judge of the United States who 

9 is in active service on the date of the enactment of this Act 

10 may elect to retire under section 371(a) of title 28, United 

11 States Code— 

12 (1) on the basis of the age and service require13 ments under section 371(c)(1) of title 28, United 

14 States Code, as amended by subsection (a) of this sec15 tion, or 


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1 (2) on the basis of the age and service require2 ments under section 371(c) of title 28, United States 

3 Code, as in effect on the day before the date of the en4 actment of this Act, 

5 except that the annuity of a justice or judge who makes 

6 the election under paragraph (2) shall be equal to the salary 

7 such justice or judge was receiving on the day before the 

8 date of the enactment of this Act. 

9 (c) WORKLOAD OF SENIOR JUDGES.—Section 

10 371(e)(1) of title 28, United States code, is amended— 

11 (1) in subparagraphs (A) and (B), by striking 

12 ‘‘three months’’ and inserting ‘‘4 months’’; and 

13 (2) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘3 months’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘4 months’’. 

15 SEC. 5. ANNUAL SALARY ADJUSTMENTS. 

16 Section 461(a) of title 28, United States Code, is 

17 amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(a) Effective at the beginning of the first applicable 

19 pay period commencing on or after the first day of the 

20 month in which an adjustment takes effect under section 

21 5303 of title 5 in the rates of pay under the General Sched22 ule (except as provided in subsection (b)), each salary rate 

23 which is subject to adjustment under this section shall be 

24 adjusted by an amount, rounded to the nearest multiple of 

25 $100 (or, if midway between multiples of $100, to the next 


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1 higher multiple of $100) equal to the percentage of such sal2 ary rate which corresponds to the percentage of the adjust3 ment taking effect under such section 5303 in the rates of 

4 pay under the General Schedule.’’. 

5 SEC. 6. INCOME LIMITATION ON RETIREMENT ANNUITY. 

6 (a) INCOME LIMITATION.—Beginning in calendar year 

7 2009, the amount of the annuity in a calendar year of a 

8 justice or judge of the United States who retires under sec9 tion 371(a) of title 28, United States Code, shall be reduced 

10 by the amount of any earned income of such justice or judge 

11 in such calendar year that exceeds the amount of the salary 

12 the justice or judge was receiving at the time of retirement, 

13 as follows: 

14 (1) For every $2 in excess of such salary, the an15 nuity shall be reduced by $1, except that the reduction 

16 in the annuity in a calendar year as a result of such 

17 excess earned income may not exceed 67 percent of the 

18 amount of such annuity. 

19 (2) The reductions made under paragraph (1) in 

20 a calendar year expire at the end of that calendar 

21 year. 

22 (b) APPLICABILITY.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to 

23 any individual who has retired under section 371(a) of title 

24 28, United States Code, before the date of the enactment 

25 of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 7. LIMITATION ON ACCEPTANCE OF HONORARY MEM2 BERSHIPS. 

3 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) GIFT.—The term ‘‘gift’’ has the meaning 

5 given under section 109(5) of the Ethics in Govern6 ment Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.), except subpara7 graphs (A) through (F) of that paragraph shall not 

8 apply. 

9 (2) JUDICIAL OFFICER.—The term ‘‘judicial offi10 cer’’ has the meaning given under section 109(10) of 

11 the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 

12 App.). 

13 (b) PROHIBITION ON ACCEPTANCE OF HONORARY

14 MEMBERSHIPS.—A judicial officer may not accept a gift 

15 of an honorary membership with a value of more than $50 

16 in any calendar year. 

17 SEC. 8. JUDICIAL TRAVEL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

19 (1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

20 ‘‘judicial officer’’ has the meaning given under section 

21 109(10) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 

22 U.S.C. App.). 

23 (2) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—In addition to 

24 the contents of reports required under section 

25 102(a)(2)(B) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 

26 (5 U.S.C. App.), each judicial officer shall include— 


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1 (A) a disclosure and itemization of the 

2 value of payments and reimbursements received 

3 for transportation, lodging, meals, and any other 

4 subsistence expenses; 

5 (B) a disclosure of any expenses paid or re6 imbursed for an accompanying spouse or de7 pendent child; and 

8 (C) a description of all meetings and events 

9 attended during travel. 

10 (b) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—Section 105 of the Ethics 

11 in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended 

12 by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(e) Notwithstanding subsection (b)(2), the Judicial 

14 Conference and the Director of the Administrative Office of 

15 the United States Courts shall make each report filed by 

16 a judicial officer under this Act (other than a report filed 

17 under section 107) available on the website of the Adminis18 trative Office of the United States Courts.’’. 

19 SEC. 9. APPLICATION OF ETHICS REGULATIONS TO THE SU20 PREME COURT. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Regulations of the Judicial 

22 Conference of the United States Under Title VI of the Ethics 

23 Reform Act of 1989 Concerning Outside Earned Income, 

24 Honoraria, and Outside Employment and the Regulations 

25 of the Judicial Conference of the United States Under Title 


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1 III of the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 Concerning Gifts shall 

2 apply to the Chief Justice of the United States, Associate 

3 Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, and 

4 officers and employees of the Supreme Court of the United 

5 States. 

6 (b) REVIEW.—Not later than 90 days after the date 

7 of enactment of this Act, the Judicial Conference shall con8 duct a thorough review of the regulations described under 

9 subsection (a). 

10 SEC. 10. JUDICIAL GIFTS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—A Federal judge or justice shall 

12 not— 

13 (1) accept, in connection with a single trip or 

14 event, travel, food, lodging, reimbursement, outside 

15 earned income, or anything that would be considered 

16 a gift under the Regulations of the Judicial Con17 ference of the United States Under Title III of the 

18 Ethics Reform Act of 1989 Concerning Gifts, valued 

19 at greater than $2,000, from a source other than— 

20 (A) the Federal Government or a State or 

21 local government (other than a public edu22 cational institution); or 

23 (B) a Federal, State, or local bar associa24 tion, a subject-matter bar association, a judicial 

25 association, the Judicial Division of the AmerVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:35 Mar 11, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1638.RS S1638

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1 ican Bar Association, or the National Judicial 

2 College; and 

3 (2) accept travel, food, lodging, reimbursement, 

4 outside earned income, or anything that would be 

5 considered a gift under the Regulations of the Judi6 cial Conference of the United States Under Title III 

7 of the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 Concerning Gifts, in 

8 connection with attending, as a speaker or partici9 pant, a program, a significant purpose of which is 

10 the education of United States Federal or state judges, 

11 from a source other than— 

12 (A) the Federal Government or a State or 

13 local government (other than a public edu14 cational institution); or 

15 (B) a Federal, State, or local bar associa16 tion, a subject-matter bar association, a judicial 

17 association, the Judicial Division of the Amer18 ican Bar Association, or the National Judicial 

19 College. 

20 (b) EXCEPTION.—Subsection (a)(1) shall not apply to 

21 any trip approved by the Department of State to promote 

22 the rule of law or developing legal systems in foreign coun23 tries, if the reimbursement for that trip is provided only 

24 for travel, meals, and lodging expenses. 

25 (c) VALUE LIMITS.— 


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1 (1) AGGREGATE LIMIT.—The total value of all 

2 travel, gifts, and other things regulated in subsection 

3 (a)(1) that are accepted by a Federal judge or justice 

4 within a single year shall not exceed $20,000. 

5 (2) ADJUSTMENTS.—The amounts referenced in 

6 paragraph (1) and subsection (a)(1) shall be adjusted 

7 by the 12-month percentage increase (if any) in the 

8 Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (or 

9 a successor index if any) based on the immediately 

10 preceding 12 months for which data is available. 

11 SEC. 11. UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS AC12 COUNTABILITY. 

13 Section 476 of title 28, United States Code, is amended 

14 by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(c) In this section, the term ‘judicial officer’ includes 

16 active and senior judges of the United States Court of Fed17 eral Claims.’’. 

18 SEC. 12. BANKRUPTCY TRUSTEES. 

19 (a) FEES.—Section 330(b)(2) of title 11, United States 

20 Code, is amended, in the undesignated matter following sub21 paragraph (B), by striking ‘‘$15’’ in each place it appears 

22 and inserting ‘‘$75’’. 

23 (b) NO ADDITIONAL FEES OR COSTS FOR INDIVIDUAL

24 DEBTORS.—No additional fee or cost charged to individual 

25 debtors or their attorneys shall be assessed to directly or 


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1 indirectly provide funding for any of the $60 increase in 

2 trustee payments provided for by the amendments made 

3 under subsection (a). 

4 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICATION.— 

5 (1) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take ef6 fect 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

7 (2) APPLICATION.—The amendments made by 

8 this section shall not apply with respect to cases com9 menced under title 11, United States Code, before the 

10 effective date of this section. 

11 SEC. 13. SEVERABILITY. 

12 If any provision of this Act or an amendment made 

13 by this Act, or the application of such a provision to any 

14 person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the 

15 remainder of this Act and the amendments made by this 

16 Act, and the application of this Act and such amendments 

17 to any other person or circumstance, shall not be affected 

18 by such holding. 

19 SEC. 14. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

20 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as 

21 may be necessary to carry out this Act. 

22 SEC. 15. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

23 This Act and the amendments and the repeal made by 

24 this Act take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act. 


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Calendar No. 614 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1638 

A BILL 

To adjust the salaries of Federal justices and 

judges, and for other purposes. 

MARCH 10, 2008 

Reported with an amendment 


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