Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Officials: Process for Adjusting Pay and Current Salaries

Barbara L. Schwemle
Analyst in American National Government

Leaders and Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives, the Vice President, individuals in positions on the Executive Schedule (EX), and federal justices and judges—all hereafter referred to as federal officials—are to receive an annual pay adjustment under the Ethics Reform Act of 1989, P.L. 101-194 (103 Stat. 1716, at 1769, 5 U.S.C. §5318 note). The percentage change in the wages and salaries for the private industry workers element of the Employment Cost Index (ECI), minus 0.5% (December indicator), provides the basis for the pay adjustment. In January 2010, the Vice President and federal officials paid on the EX schedule received a 1.5% salary increase. Members of Congress did not receive a pay adjustment in January 2010; Section 103 of Division J of P.L. 111-8, the Omnibus Appropriations Act for FY2009, enacted on March 11, 2009, denied the adjustment. Federal justices and judges also have not received a January 2010 pay adjustment. Section 140 of P.L. 97-92, enacted on December 15, 1981, provides that any salary increase for justices and judges must be specifically authorized by Congress, and this authorization has not been provided for 2010. 

The pay adjustment for federal officials required under the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 would be 0.9% in January 2011, the same as the January 2011 base pay adjustment required under the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990, for federal civilian white-collar employees paid under the General Schedule (GS). For FY2011, however, the Budget of the U.S. Government included President Barack Obama's order to freeze pay for senior political officials—individuals in positions on the EX Schedule, non-career members of the Senior Executive Service, ambassadors who are not career Foreign Service, and senior White House staff with salaries of more than $100,000. The budget also reiterated that the policy prohibiting political appointees from receiving bonuses continues. 

Currently pending in the 111th Congress is legislation that would adjust the pay of federal justices and judges. The Federal Judicial Fairness Act of 2009, S. 2725, as introduced, would repeal the provision of law that requires Congress to specifically authorize any salary increases for justices and judges and amend current law to provide that justices and judges would receive the same overall average percentage pay adjustment as is authorized each year for the General Schedule (GS), the pay schedule that covers federal white-collar civilian employees in pay grades GS-1 through GS-15. 

EX pay rates provide limitations on maximum basic pay rates for members of the Senior Executive Service (SES), employees in senior-level (SL) and scientific and professional (ST) positions, and on basic pay, basic pay and locality pay combined, and total compensation for employees in General Schedule positions.


Date of Report: March 31, 2010
Number of Pages: 19
Order Number: RL33245
Price: $29.95

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