Date: 1981-03-12
Speaker: ROBERT C. BYRD (democrat)
Chamber: S

Mr. President. before the Senate completes action on these pay raise resolutions. I would like to recount for the record the Senates recent history with respect to preventing pay raises for Members of Congress and other Federal officials. On September 9. 1980. I introduced printed amendment No. 2302 to H.R. 7590. the Energy and Water Development Appropriation Act of 1981. This amendment was designed to impose a ceiling on pay of higher level Government employees. I also entered notice that I intended to seek suspension of paragraph 4 of rule XVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate to permit the offering of an amendment which was both legislative in nature and which was not germane to the subject matter of a general appropriation bill. On September 10. 1980. by a vote of 84 yeas to 5 nays. twothirds of the Senate having voted In the affirmative. the Senate agreed to suspend paragraph 4 of rule XVI to allow the consideration of my amendment. Subsequently. by a vote of 78 yeas to 13 nays. the Senate adopted the amendment I offered to Impose a ceiling on the pay of high level Government employees in all three branches of the Governmentincluding judges. Members of Congress. and high level civil servants in all three branches of Government. On September 29. 1980. the Senate adopted the first fiscal year 1981 continuing resolution by a vote of 58 yeas to 27 nays. Included in the legislation was the very same pay cap which I had first proposed on September 10 and the Senate had adopted overwhelmingly at that time. Now the legislative situation regarding the pay cap gets more complicatedbut not confused. The Senate has consistently voted for imposing the pay cap and against removal of*the cap. On December 10. 1980. the Senate adopted by a vote of 69 yeas to 21 nays. an unprinted amendment offered by the able and distinguished junior Senator from Tennessee to House Joint Resolution 637 designed to continue in effect a salary pay cap limitation for executive. legislative. and judicial employees and officials through September 30. 1981. The substance of this amendment was identical to the legislation the Senate adopted on September 10 and 29. On December 13. 1980. I offered a motion to House Joint Resolution 637 designed to restore the salary pay cap limitation for executive. legislative. and judicial employees and officials. This amendment carried by a vote of 62 yeas to 8 nays. This marked the fourth time in a little over 3 months that the Senate had voted overwhelmingly to adopt the pay cap limitation that I had first offered on September 10. 1980. Finally. on Monday. December 15. 1980. the Senate passed by voice vote House Joint Resolution 644. which included the pay cap limitation. Obviously. Mr. President. this is not a new issue. The Senate has already voted on this matter five timesfour rollcall votes and one voice votein the past 6 months. Nevertheless. I think It is important that the Senate take this opportunity to further strengthen its record against a pay raise. It will have to do it once again in Junewhen the continuing resolution we adopted last session expires. The American people must be convinced that we intend to bring Government spending under control if at all possible.