Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1949-01-23
Johnston Group
To Review All
Pay Raise Bills
Special Senate Unit
To Discuss Plans for
D. C., Federal Pay
By Harold B. ROGERS

Chairman Johnston of the Senate
Civil Service Committee plans to.
appoint a special subcommittee
soon to survey the complicated,
pending legislation for raising pay
of both Federal and District en-
ployes.
The South Carolina Democrat
said yesterday the pay raise prob
lem will be thoroughly discussed
at the organization meeting of the
committee Tuesday morning.
One of the first things facing the
committee, however. he said, will be
the nomination of James M. Mitch
ell as a member of the Civil Service
Commission succeeding Arthur S.
Fleming who resigned Mr.. Mitchell
is serving under a recess appoint
ment made last October
No objection to the nomination
has been heard from committee
members, Senator Johnston said.
Unless some unforeseen opposition
arises, it appears likely that Mr..
Mitchell will be approved BY the
committee and recommended to
the Senate for confirmation, he
added.
Several Bills Involved.
The pay raise problem is before
the committee in several different
bills.
OF specific interest to District
government workers is the new BIZ
partisan measure introduced last
week to take care of city employees.
Sponsored by Senators johnson,
O'Conor. Democrat. of Maryland;
LANCER, Republican, of North
Dakota, and Baldwin, Republican.
of Connecticut, the bill has two
purposes. First it would give a $3.50
raise effective July l to District
classified workers, teachers, police
and firemen This would adjust their
pay in relation to that of Federal
employees in the classified service.
who got a $3.50 raise from the last
Congress.
On top of this. the bipartisan
measure would give all Federal and
District classified workers a $3.50
annual raise, effective January /
this year.
Early Action Sought.
Senator johnson is particularly
concerned that the District workers
be taken care of soon. If hearings
on the $3.50 raise for classified work.
ers last too long, the Senator wants
to separate the District equalizing
| feature from the bill and give it
speedy attention.
In the meantime the committee
also has before it the knotty prob
lem of handling different legisla-
ton to raise the pay of top Federal
administrators. When Congress ap-
proved increases last week for the
President, Vice President, and House
Speaker. it cut off these three top
officials from the rest of compre-
hensive bill of 223 executives, in
Guiding Cabinet officers and heads
OF policy making agencies.
Opposition to the bill for those
high-level pay increases was raised
in some quarters because it left out
some well-known officials such as
the head of the FBI. Senator Johns
ton promised the Senate during de-
bate on the floor that careful con-
sideration would be given to all
problems which come up.
On the House side, spokesman
/ for the Civil Service Committee
said no date had been set for an
organization meeting, but it prob
ably would be fixed soon.
Davis Bill Pending.
Pending in the House committee
are several pay raise bills. These
include one to take care of the
high-level salaries and one to raise
District workers by $3.50.
A different measure, introduced by
Representative Davis, Democrat, OF
Georgia, now pending before the
House District Committee. would
give the delayed $3.50 pay raise to all
employees of the city except the
superintendent of schools.
The House District Committee,
headed by Representative Mcmillan.
Democrat, of South Carolina, will
organize it's subcommittee at ses-
sion 1920 am Wednesday. Origl-
nally this meeting had been tenta-
lively scheduled for tomorrow but
was postponed to Wednesday.
One of the issues to be placed be-
fore the new District unit will be
whether to set up subcommittee on
Home Rule and Reorganization OF
the District, or refer the problem OF
home rule to the Judiciary subcom-
mittee.
The District Committee also faces
the vexing problem of how to raise
sufficient new funds from new rev.
enue sources to help meet the ex-
penditures recommended by the
pending District budget for the ifs
cal year beginning July l.
The record-breaking 100000, 600
budget, depending on enactment OF
sales tax to bring it in balance,
does not include any estimate for