Evening star., 1943-03-27
Senate Action
On Pay Raises
Due Next Week
New Measure Sets
Minimum Increase
Of $500 q Year

senate action is expected De1OT0
the end of next week on the new
wartime pay bill for Federal and
District employees generally, follow
ing passage by that body yesterday
of the separate 5000 increase for
field workers in the postal service.
The postal pay measure previously
had passed the House, but goes back
there for concurrence in several
minor changes made by the Senate.
1t covers all postal workers. except
classified employees in the Post Of
flee Department, who are governed
by the general pay bill.
Those postal groups paid on an
hourly, part-time or fee basis would
get a Is per cent increase, but not
to exceed 5000.
Correct Printing Error.
Meanwhile both the House and
Senate yesterday approved a con-
current resolution restoring two
commas which the White House
legal sleuths had found absent with
out leave from the District pay bill
as drafted by the House District
Committee.
BY advice of counsel the President
declined-temporarily--to sign the
bill, until the commas had been
put in.
The new resolution approved by
Senate and House merely requests
the President to return the bill to
Congress to be re-enrolled by the
Secretary of the Senate.
This is one of the most interest
ing incidents of the sor7 that Senate
and House have had brought to
/ their attention in many years, and
emphasized the extreme care eXer-
cised at all times before the final
action is taken by having any meas
ure become law through signature
of the President.
error. and the exact time in the
legislative procedure at which the
commas were dropped out has not
yet been determined, but the White
House legal sleuths insisted that
| unless the commas were replaced 1t
might be possible for some District
employees to be given double pay
increases. The intent of the orig
inal draft was obviously not to allow
such possible double increases, and
it was so stated when the bill was
under consideration in Congress.
Group List Affected.
/ The commas were left out OF a
paragraph which lists all the varl-
Gus groups of municipal employees
which were to receive the $500
emergency increases. Then fol-
lows this paragraph:
"All other employees of the Dis
trict of Columbia Government, ex-
cept employees whose wages are
fixed . by wage boards or SIM
liar administrative authority serv-
ing the same purpose, not covered
by (the Federal overtime bilN.7
The commas after Government"
and purpose were missing in the
bill sent to the White House for
the Presidents approval.
The general pay bill, on which the
Senate Civil Service Committee filed
its favorable report yesterday after
noon, adheres to the basic features
in the temporary December law Of
a 2l6 per cent raise for a 48-hour
week. One change, however. to
benefit those in the lowest brackets,
provides for minimum increase OF
$500 a year.
$1,000 Ceiling Eliminated.
For those whose hours cannot be
computed on regular schedule, in
Guiding the legislative and judicial
branches, the new bill grants $500
increase instead of 10 per cent on
the first $4,000 of salary, which has
applied to those groups since De-
cember.
The new bill also eliminates the
provision in the temporary law
which prohibited any increase that
would run salary over IS 900, This
will permit persons now drawing
$4,000 or more to get an increase,
but computed only on the first $4,000
of their salary.
The Civil Service Committee COM
pleted action on the bill yesterday
when 1t agreed to the amendment
that would withhold the pay increass
from any person who is a member
of any local union the members OF
which are employed in any govern
mental organization which dis
eliminates or denies membership to
any person because of race, color or
creed.
N%H \A/ II.at