May 24, 1999
Web posted at: 6:30 p.m. EDT (2230 GMT)

WASHINGTON (May 24) -- A House panel looking into the first presidential pay raise in 30 years was urged by a group of former presidential advisers Monday to at least double the chief executive's annual salary to $400,000 or more.

House legislation to double the current presidential salary of $200,000 would first apply to President Bill Clinton's successor in January 2001. The provision has been included in a $13.7 billion spending bill for the Treasury, White House and other agencies approved by a House Appropriations subcommittee.

Another House subcommittee held hearings on the matter Monday. They heard from seven former top presidential aides, representatives of think tanks and private specialists in executive compensation who nearly all said the proposed salary increase was justified and overdue.

"This is not even a close call," Kenneth Duberstein, President Reagan's chief of staff from 1988 to 1989, told a House Government Reform subcommittee. "This needs to be addressed now. It is a case of simple equity."

The measure has the bipartisan support of Republicans congressional leaders and the Clinton Administration.

The last time the president's pay was adjusted as in 1969. One reason for raising the president's salary: other officials, like the chief justice, get annual cost of living increases and in a few years, they'd wind up making more than the president.

If the current $200,000 had been adjusted annually for inflation as measured by the consumer price index, it would now be $923,000, said Jane Weizmann, senior consultant for Watson Wyatt Worldwide, a human resources consulting firm.

Freezing the salary at $200,000 has caused "pay compression," the witnesses told lawmakers Monday, meaning other top federal salaries are being held down for fear of surpassing the president's. This has created recruiting problems because talented people could make more money in the private sector, said the witnesses.

The first Congress voted to pay George Washington, the first president, $25,000 a year, which was a lot of money back then. Washington, a successful man, didn't take the money.

The salary went up to $50,000 for Ulysses Grant's second term, making him one of the world's best paid heads of state at the time. William Howard Taft was in office in 1909 when figure was raised another $25,000 to $75,000.

The salary was raised to $100,000 during Harry Truman's second term and a $50,000 expense account was also established. Congress last raised the pay to $200,000, with the amount alloted for expenses holding still; Richard Nixon, in his second term, was the first beneficiary, and the salary has sat there ever since.

Of course, presidents get other perks, like classy public housing. But they pay for food and drink; Thomas Jefferson left the White house in debt, having spent $10,000 just on wine.

Presidents get an airplane to travel in, and on top of their expense account they have an entertainment allowance. And the pension is good: the same as a cabinet officer's salary, just over $148,000 a year.

Do U.S. presidents need the money? Well, some, like Franklin Roosevelt, came to office rich, but others, like Truman, did not. Only one, aside from Washington, ever refused to accept a salary: John Kennedy.

CNN's Bruce Morton and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Monday, May 24, 1999

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• Congress considering a presidential pay raise
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• Pataki endorses Bush for 2000
• On latest New York trip, first lady helps raise dollars for Lowey
• Elizabeth Dole pushes gun control
• Mfume won't run for Baltimore mayor
• Hastert is assertive but softspoken
• Without term limits, a quiet primary in Kentucky
• Offer to trade White House for academia made to Clinton
• WASHINGTON YESTERDAY: The dome rises and a feud boils
• GOP unsure how to avoid autumn showdown over budget

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