Evening star., 1955-02-01
$500 Pay Raise for Congress
And Federal District Judges
Voted by Senate Committee
Salaries Of Speaker
And Vice President
Set at $35,000

nual pay raise IOT members OF
Congress and District Court
judges.
In all, the proposed pay boosts
range from $1,000 to $500 but
all of them are $4,000 less than
the maximums proposed by the
Commission on Judicial and
Congressional Salaries.
Senator Kefauver. Democrat,
of Tennessee, who headed the
subcommittee which held hear
ings on the pay boost, said the
sums were sliced by the full
committee after checking with
various members of the Senate.
He said the subcommittee had
followed exactly the recommend
ations of the 18-member COM
mission set up by Congress in
1853 to study the pay question.
Medium Increase Arrived At.
The full committee. Senator
Kefauver explained, made the
cuts to arrive at the medium pay
increase that looked like it would
have the best chance of congress
sional passage.
One member, Senator LANCER,
Republican, of North Dakota,
notified the committee he might
oppose the bill. Senator Kefauver
also told newsmen that Demo-
cratic Senators Mcclellan, of
Arkansas and Daniel of Texas,
reserved the right to support
amendments. He said they indi-
Gated they might favor lesser in
creaSes. Otherwise. he reported.
the committee was unanimous.
These are the increases which
Senator Kefauver expected
would be brought up on the Sen
ate floor the week of Febru-
ary 21:
For the Chief Justice of the
United States-an increase from
$25, 900 to $35, 900.
For Associate Justices of the
Supreme Court An increase
from $25 900 to $34.500.
For judges of the United States
Court of Appeals. Court of
Claims, Court of Customs and
Patent Appeals, and Court Of
Military Appeals-an increase
from $17,500 to $25,500.
For judges of United States
District Courts and Customs
Courts-an increase from $15,-
900 to $22,500.
For Senators. Representatives,
Delegates from the territories
and the Resident Commissioner
for Puerto Rico-an increase
from $4,000 to $22,500.
For the Vice President. and
the Speaker of the House-an
increase from $4,000 to $4,000.
Congressional Mileage Raised.
The bill also provides for pay
ing the expenses of members of
Congress for up to five round
trips home year. This is in
addition to the one trip now pro-
vided at which mileage is paid at
the rate of 20 cents a mile.
The bill approved by the COM
mittee does not provide for an
other $4,000 each in expense al
lowances for the Speaker and
Vice President. They now each
get $4,000 for expenses and
that figure was retained.
A House Judiciary subcommit-
tee, meanwhile, reported out a
bill increasing salaries Of men,
bers of Congress and the Federal
judiciary. The measure would
raise congressional salaries to
$22,500 plus a $4,000 expense
allowance.
Representative Keating, Re-
publican, of New York. men,
ber of the subcommittee headed
by Representative Celler. Dem
ocrat, of New York, said he op-
posed the bill in its present form.
Scale for Stats Increased.
The House bill, which Mr.. Gel
Ter said would be submitted to
the full Judiciary Committee
early next week, also would per-
NIT House committee chairmen
to establish a higher basic COM
pensation for their committee
staff employees. The present
basic scale ranges from $4,000
to $4,000 a year. The proposed
increases would fix the scale at
$4,000 to $4,000.
Despite an urgent request
from the Justice Department.
the Senate committee bill did not
include increases for United
States attorneys and ranking
Justice Department officials be-
low the Attorney General. Sem
ator Kefauver explained, how
ever. that he expects legislation
will be introduced and hearings
will be held on pay increases for
United States attorneys, COM
missioner of the Court of Claims,
referees in bankruptcy and other
officers of the judiciary.