European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - December 17, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 columns the stars and stripes Fred Wertheimer conflict of interest built into Congress pay setup when the 101st Congress convenes in Early january in will irn Mcdial Ety face a Long ignored ethics Issue thai impinges on the integrity and Quality of our government and the Way citizens Are served where anyhow do our senators and representatives get their income today senators get up to 40 percent and representatives up to 30 percent of their income beyond their salaries from special interest groups that pay them honorariums of up to 12,000 for giving a speech visiting a manufacturing Plant or just showing up for break fast. These hands that feed Are the same hands that seek legislative favors creating an intolerable conflict of inter Cost. -.-. This also has created a form of inst Lution Alicd corruption in which the honorarium is a Legal instrument for buying influence Over government decisions. Even when it comes to their govern ment salaries Congress members Are involved in another conflict of inter est they Vole on the size of their own paychecks As Well As those of other top government officials both conflicts need to be abolished Early in the next Congress the honorarium has become a vehicle for special interests to stick Money directly into the pockets of  1986 to 1987 there was a 30 per cent jump in honorariums reported by both houses members received almost$10 million in 1987 alone. In contrast officials in the executive ranch have Long been banned from taking honorariums that conflict wit their government responsibilities. As one former assistant attorney Genera William Weld has said if members of the executive Branch were to supple ment their salaries with fees for Job related activities the Way members of Charles Mohr Congress do they would be immediately clapped in  whal it comes Down to is that nonpublic official should serve two Mas ters. Members of Congress cannot credibly hold defense contractors accountable for example when they Are receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees from these same con tractors. Public officials ought to be paid for doing the Public s business by the Public not by any private inner ests. In turn the nation must have a Fairand orderly process for establishing appropriate compensation Levels for members of Congress and other government officials. The salaries of top officials arc not and should not be competitive with comparable leadership positions in the private sector there arc extraordinary rewards in having the privilege to help Lead the nation. On the other hand the average family income is not the appropriate yardstick either for determining compensation Levels for our nation s Lead ers. -. The salaries of Cabinet secretaries members of Congress Federal judges and other top officials should reflect their vital roles in our society. Today they do not. Historically attempts by members of Congress to adjust their own Sala Ries have been politically charged and Congress has been reluctant to carry out the task. The first increase in Cong is onal pay did not occur until 78years after the creation of Congress the salaries of All lop government officials have been held captive by this process since Congress will not establish salary Levels for Cabinet secretaries and Federal judges that Are higher than what member of Congress get Al present $89,500. Twenty Yean ago the salary wu142,500. If simply adjusted for inflation in would be 1137,000 today. In effect there has been a 35 percent decline in the purchasing Power of congressional Sala Ries Over uie last 20 years. Under existing Law a special National commission periodically reviews the Tal. Aries of lop officials in All three branches of government and makes recommendations to the president whose decision is reflected in his proposed budget con Gress then has 30 Days to reject the salary proposals otherwise they take effect Congress should Amend this process by repealing the 30-Day override provi Sion leaving the salary level decisions for members of Congress and other top government officials entirely to the National commission and the president. This week the National commission recommended raises in the so percent Range for members of the Cabinet $149,250 and Congress si35,000among others. Since the Constitution requires that congressional salaries be ascertained bylaw questions have been raised about the constitutionality of taking this Deci Sion Oul of the hands of the lawmakers. In fact a . Circuit court held Tail year that the Constitution does not require Congress to determine specific salaries. But Only to ensure thai they Are provided by Law a requirement that would be Mei by the process proposed Here. The new Congress must move quickly to Deal with its dual conflicts and As a consequence to strengthen its integrity. The nation would be better served if in primary legislators were off the private payroll of special interests and out of the business of determining their own salaries. Fred Wertheimer is the president of common cause. Congressional pay plan soils for Stormy seas congressmen had been paying themselves $6 for each Day they met when they voted in 1816 to increase their salaries to $1,500 a year. The Public out cry was so great the pay raise was repealed the next Yar -. And when congressional pay was raised from $5,000 to $7,000 a year in1873, rep. William Lawrence a Ohio said Only the Missouri Compromise and the attack on fort Sumter had aroused As much indignation so it went and soil goes. Last month Howard h.bakcrjr., a former Republican senator from ten Nessee and a former White House chief of staff told the commission on executive legislative and judicial salaries that he has begun to think that Congress is institutionally inca Pable of setting its own salary. It is the Granddaddy conflict of interest of All time.". Nonetheless the commission citing an alarming Drain of of High level government officials through Resig nations and a 35 percent reduction i congressional pay purchasing Power Over two decades voted to recommend increasing top salaries including those of congressional members the commission also recommended that honorariums be prohibited if the raise becomes Law. Many Congress members and some other government officials accept such payments for speaking appearances or for meeting with an interest group to balance their personal budgets. The commission s proposal would increase the salaries of All the 2,498most important officials in the executive legislative and judicial branches of the Federal government. To More than $100,000 for the first time. At present Only the president at $200,000 a year the vice president and speaker of the House each Al $115,000 a year and the supreme court justices Are paid in six figures. The presidential advisory panel also known As the quadrennial com Mission because it usually meets every four years recommended that con Gress increase the president s salary which has been unchanged since 1969. But since the Constitution says the president s salary cannot be increased in the term of office for which he is elected preside no elect George Bush could receive a raise Only if re elected. V the commission is Well aware of the Shoals that lie ahead of its recommendations. One is that president Reagan May still slash the recommended pay lev Els As he did in 1986, because of pub Lic concern about the Federal budget deficit. But James c. Miller Iii who was director of the office of manage ment and budget testified before the commission in november that salary increases could fit in & new budget with off using cuts in Overall govern ment personnel costs. Still the commission acknowledged that the reluctance of Many members of Congress to endorse presidential recommendations and vote to increase their own salaries which Are keyed to the pay rates of other top government officials is probably the major Obsta Cle to the raises. In 1986,. Congress got around the Law that requires a no vote within 30 Days id halt pay increases by taking 31 Days to express its disapproval thus allowing modest increases. Although two Laws now set a goal for government and. Business salaries to be competitive the commis Sion broke new ground by saying we believe that full pay comparability de spite the statutes is not Likely to be achieved Between the Public and Pri vate sectors nor in it necessarily a desirable goal.". The panel said a More responsible basis of comparison was to match Sal Aries in the Federal government with those in major non profit organizations like universities and Large cultural organizations. In arguing the ease for raises the group said that since 1969 Federal Sala Ries had risen so slowly that they were now Worth Only Aboul 65 percent of their Yalu then. Americans in private business saw the value of their wages adjusted for inflation increase by 1.5 percent the report said since 1969 the Cost of living Index has risen by 225 percent and the Cost of a House in the Washington area by 328 percent. The report said that prestige and the personal satisfaction of doing the nation s business were Strong motivations for Public service but that Edu Cating children and other family obligations were driving Many people out of senior government posts. According to the report the average tenure of High level officials in the executive Branch has fallen to is months. From 1953 to 1973 there were Only six resignations by Federal judges. R the opinions expressed to the col Nuu and cartoon on this Pae rep rent flu of the int Hora and Are in now a to be considered As representing the i cwt of the Star and stripes or on United states government