[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 146 (Monday, October 25, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H10740-H10743]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
AUTHORIZING PAY ADJUSTMENTS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGES
Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 915) to authorize a cost of living adjustment in the pay of
administrative law judges, as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 915
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. PAY OF ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGES.
Section 5372(b) of title 5, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``(A)'' after ``(1)''
and by striking all after the first sentence and inserting
the following:
``(B) Within level AL-3, there shall be 6 rates of basic
pay, designated as AL-3, rates A through F, respectively.
Level AL-2 and level AL-1 shall each have 1 rate of basic
pay.
``(C) The rate of basic pay for AL-3, rate A, may not be
less than 65 percent of the rate of basic pay for level IV of
the Executive Schedule, and the rate of basic pay for AL-1
may not exceed the rate for level IV of the Executive
Schedule.'';
(2) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking ``upon'' each time it
appears and inserting ``at the beginning of the next pay
period following''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(4) Subject to paragraph (1), effective at the beginning
of the first applicable pay period commencing on or after the
first day of the month in which an adjustment takes effect
under section 5303 in the rates of basic pay under the
General Schedule, each rate of basic pay for administrative
law judges shall be adjusted by an amount determined by the
President to be appropriate.''
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
Illinois (Mrs. Biggert) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert).
General Leave
Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their
remarks on H.R. 915, as amended.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Illinois?
There was no objection.
Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 915, sponsored by my esteemed
colleague the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Gekas). H.R. 915 is a
bipartisan bill to reform the process for setting the pay of the
Federal Government's administrative law judges, otherwise known as
ALJs. The Federal Government employs over 1,400 administrative law
judges. Their work is crucial and very important to the Federal
Government's operations. ALJs decide important cases, ranging from the
Social Security complaints of senior citizens to complex securities
litigation.
In order to recruit and retain qualified administrative law judges,
steps must be taken to ensure their pay remains competitive.
Regrettably, circumstances are making this difficult. Each grade and
step of the current ALJ pay schedule is rigidly set as a fixed
percentage of Level IV of the Executive Schedule. As a result, pay
increases for ALJs have lagged behind those of their colleagues under
the general schedule or in the Senior Executive Service.
This situation creates a disincentive for highly qualified attorneys,
both in the Federal Government and in the private sector, to compete
and apply for these important positions. The disincentive is
particularly acute for private sector attorneys. While they must
generally start at the bottom of the ALJ pay scale, government
attorneys at least have the option to keep a comparable salary when
they become ALJs.
By reforming the pay-setting process, H.R. 915 will make ALJ
positions more attractive for attorneys across the board. Although the
bill retains the current grade and step structure for ALJs, H.R. 915
provides the President with more flexibility to adjust ALJ pay. Rather
than link each grade and step to a specific percentage of Level IV of
the Executive Schedule, H.R. 915 simply establishes minimum and maximum
rates of pay for ALJs. These are the same as the current minimum of 65
percent of Level IV and the current maximum of 100 percent of Level IV.
H.R. 915 also authorizes the President to adjust ALJ pay rates below
the maximum when employees under the general schedule receive an annual
pay adjustment. This mirrors the authority the President now has to
adjust the pay of the Senior Executive Service.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have this chance to offer H.R. 915 for
consideration by the House. I encourage the support of all Members.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
[[Page H10741]]
Mr. Speaker, Federal administrative law judges, often referred to as
the Federal Administrative Trial Judiciary, perform judicial functions
within the Executive Branch of Government. In adjudicating cases before
them, administrative law judges conduct formal trial-type hearings,
make findings of fact and law, apply agency regulations and issue
either initial or recommended decisions.
There are over 1,300 ALJs assigned to 31 Federal agencies. The agency
employing the largest number of ALJs, over 1,184, is the Social
Security Administration, which has its headquarters in my district in
Baltimore.
I am pleased that the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Gekas), the
author of the legislation before us today, was able to work with the
Office of Personnel Management to craft a bill that has bipartisan
support. H.R. 915, a bill to authorize a cost of living adjustment in
the pay of administrative law judges, makes a needed improvement in the
ALJ pay system.
Under current law, both Federal judges and ALJs are paid under the
Executive Schedule, as are Members of Congress. ALJs are the only
executive branch Federal employees whose pay is linked to Members of
Congress. From 1993 through 1996, ALJs and Federal judges received no
cost of living adjustments because Congress prohibited those subject to
the Executive Schedule from receiving a COLA.
When Executive Schedule pay goes unchanged, so does the basic pay for
ALJs. Consequently, ALJ pay levels have not kept pace with those of
other groups of Federal employees, such as the General Service and the
Senior Executive Schedule. Under H.R. 915, the pay adjustment process
for ALJs would mirror the process for setting the basic pay rates for
the Senior Executive Schedule. The structure of the ALJ pay system
would remain unchanged. The bill would retain the minimum and maximum
rates for the ALJ pay range, while eliminating the specific linkages to
executive pay within that range. The President would be authorized to
adjust ALJ pay within that pay range at the same time as SES basic pay
rates are adjusted, which is the time of the annual GS pay adjustment.
The top ALJ pay rate could still not exceed the statutory maximum,
which would remain the rate for the executive Level IV.
I urge my colleagues to support this legislation and bring the pay of
administrative law judges in line with other groups of Federal
employees.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to
the gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella).
Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me
time.
Mr. Speaker, I wholeheartedly support this bill. I think we do need
to include the administrative law judges under H.R. 915, and I hope we
will be able in the future to look to the Social Security appeals
judges also.
I am pleased to also support H.R. 915, which I think is very
important. I thank also the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings) and
the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) for their support of it.
Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), one who has been at the forefront
of protecting the rights of Federal employees and who has been a mentor
to me in regard to those kind of issues and many other issues.
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the former Speaker pro tem of the
Maryland House for his kind words.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 915, which, as
has been stated, is a bill that will provide the President with the
authority to provide annual cost of living adjustments to our Nation's
more than 1,300 Federal administrative judges, the same authority he
now has, frankly, with respect to members of the Senior Executive
Service. Currently the pay and step levels for administrative law
judges are tied to the Executive Schedule, so they are unable to
receive an increase in pay in the years when the Executive Schedule
remains unchanged. Since 1991, the basic pay for administrative law
judges has increased only three times, in 1992, 1993 and not until
1998, and only one time in the last 5 years, as the figures reflect.
{time} 1530
That is in contrast to employees under the General Schedule and the
Senior Executive Schedule, who have received a COLA increase in 4 of
the last 5 years. This legislation will bring the pay of administrative
law judges into line with career employees in the General Schedule and
Senior Executive Service.
Mr. Speaker, prior to 1990, administrative law judges fell under the
General Schedule and were paid at the GS-15 and 16 rates. In 1990, as
part of the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act, a legislation
which I had the honor of sponsoring, the judges had their pay linked to
the executive schedule.
While this legislation, H.R. 915, will not change the current grade
and step structures for administrative law judges, it will tie each
grade and step to fixed percentages of the SES.
I support this legislation, and hope this bill will provide increased
competition, and draw the highly qualified candidates that these
judgeship positions require for the sound administration of the Federal
Government and Federal rules and regulations.
I urge my colleagues to join me and the gentlewoman from Illinois and
the gentleman from Maryland in supporting this legislation.
Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I would just take a moment to urge my colleagues to vote
in favor of this very important legislation. As the gentleman from
Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) just stated, one of the things we are most
concerned about is making sure that we attract the very best to the
administrative law judge system.
Certainly, as much as we might not want to think it, pay is very
important. It is something that does attract. We want to make sure that
they are treated fairly. They do do an outstanding job over and over
again, and are sometimes overlooked because they are on the
administrative law judge level. The fact is, they do a very important
job.
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. CUMMINGS. I yield to the gentleman from Maryland.
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I think the gentleman's comments are very
important and relevant. We need to keep focused on that.
Too often we tend to denigrate Federal service at whatever level,
from the administrative law judge level to a file clerk. The fact of
the matter is they are very important to the fair and proper
administration of the people's government. We certainly want to make
sure that we have people at these positions who have sound judgment,
significant legal ability, and can wisely dispose of the issues that
confront them.
I also want to say that I very much appreciate the leadership of my
colleague, the gentleman from Maryland, who has been the ranking member
of this subcommittee, and as such has worked with the chairman in a
very positive way in ensuring that we have a sound, wise public
employee policy in this country. I thank the gentleman for his
leadership.
Mr. CUMMINGS. I thank the gentleman very much, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms.
Jackson-Lee).
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for
yielding time to me, and I thank him for his leadership. As well, I
thank the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) and also I thank the
gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert).
Let me offer to say, having worked with administrative law judges,
and in particular, serving on the Subcommittee on Immigration and
Claims, where there is an enormous body of administrative law judges
that deal with some of the issues that confront immigrants who are
seeking legal admission to the United States, I do know of the great
value of the service of the administrative law judges.
I wanted to offer my support for this legislation as a way of
equalizing the compensation equal to the amount of work and the amount
of service that the ALJs participate in.
My first exposure to ALJs was as a lawyer, but also as a member of
the
[[Page H10742]]
Houston City Council, because many times constituents, not knowing
which governmental agency to call, would call with social security
issues. Those issues invariably might be addressed at the level of the
ALJs.
I realize what a heavy caseload ALJs have had in a variety of areas.
Social security happens to be one. I think that many people do not
understand the ALJ tasks. They are not Federal judges in terms of not
being judges that are appointed with the advice and consent of the
Senate, they come through the administrative civil service process.
Yet, they serve a very important responsibility.
When I traveled to visit the detention centers, or at least one of
the detention centers in New York, I was able to see the work of ALJs
as they held court right in the detention centers, to give due process
to those individuals who had been detained who might have an
explanation or defense for their being detained as an illegal alien or
with some other concerns. It was the ALJ who presided over the
proceeding, and was considered the first line of defense, or at least
the first line of justice for these individuals.
So I say to the gentleman from Maryland, I simply wanted to add that
ALJs play an important role in the life of justice in the United
States. Although they are called administrative law judges, and they
respond to the administrative process and they come through a civil
service process, they are competent, they are qualified, they are
trained lawyers, and therefore, they are very much a cornerstone to the
justice system in this country.
I am delighted that we are now correcting or at least providing
adequate compensation in this manner.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to rise in support of H.R. 915, which
authorizes a Cost Of Living Adjustment (COLA), in the pay of
Administrative Law Judges. Specifically, H.R. 915 reforms the
compensation process for Administrative Law Judges (ALJ) by
establishing maximum and minimum salaries for Administrative Law
Judges.
Currently, Administrative Law Judges are appointed pursuant to Title
5 of the United States Code, establishing the Administrative Law Judge
as an independent decision maker who implements the Administrative
Procedure Act.
In an age where a good percentage of this country's legal minds are
practicing their craft in the private sector, government must do all it
can to attract and keep qualified practitioners of the Judiciary. Under
current law, both Federal Judges and Administrative Law Judges are paid
under the executive Schedule, as are members of Congress.
From 1993 through 1996, Administrative Law Judges and Federal Judges
received no Cost Of Living Adjustment (COLA) because Congress
restricted those subject to the Executive Schedule from receiving a
COLA. When the Executive Schedule pay remains unchanged, so does the
basic pay for Administrative Law Judges. As a result, the pay of
Administrative Law Judges has not kept pace with those of other groups
of federal employees, such as the General Schedule and the Senior
Executive Schedule.
H.R. 915 seeks to address these concerns by adjusting the pay process
for Administrative Law Judges to mirror the process for setting the
basic pay rates for the Senior Executive Service. This bill would
authorize the President to adjust the pay for Administrative Law Judges
within the pay range at the same time that Senior Executive Service
basic pay rates are adjusted, which is the time of the annual General
Service pay adjustment. The top Administrative Law Judge pay rate will
still not exceed the statutory maximum, which would remain the rate for
Executive Level IV. As a result, instead of adjusting Administrative
Law Judges's rates only when there is an increase in executive pay, the
President could adjust any Administrative Law Judge pay rate, which had
not reached the statutory maximum.
Mr. Speaker, dear colleagues, this is a well-needed bill that will
compensate our judges for a job well done. I urge its adoption.
Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman for what she had to say.
As I was listening to the gentlewoman, I could not help but remember,
in law school one of the things we learn early on is before one gets to
court, they have to exhaust their administrative process first, so they
do play a very important role. Many cases are resolved before they get
to the courts. Our courts would certainly be clogged if they were not
resolved.
I want to thank the gentlewoman for her comments. I am sure it means
a lot to all of our administrative law judges who might be listening or
may read this transcript.
Mr. Speaker, again, I would urge all Members to vote in favor of this
very important legislation. I also want to thank the gentlewoman from
Illinois (Mrs. Biggert) for her efforts with regard to this, and also
the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Scarborough), the chairman of our
subcommittee, and certainly the chairman of the full committee and the
ranking member.
Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 915 is supported by the administration, the
Association of Administrative Law Judges, the Federal Administrative
Law Judges Conference, the American Bar Association, and the Federal
Bar Association.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 915 is good public policy, and will help attract
some of the best and brightest legal minds to serve as administrative
law judges. I thank the sponsor of this bill, the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Gekas) for his work on this important issue. I also
applaud the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings) for his leadership
in this legislation. I urge all Members to vote for H.R. 915.
Mr. DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I strongly support H.R. 915 and I
am proud to have been a co-sponsor of this important legislation. I
would like to thank my good friend and colleague from Pennsylvania, Mr.
Gekas, for introducing this important legislation. I would also like to
thank the Civil Service Subcommittee and Chairman Joe Scarborough for
acting on this legislation in such a timely manner. It is a fair bill
and is sorely needed. With the recent passage of legislation to grant
virtually all Federal civilian and military employees a 4.8 percent pay
raise, this bill would finally permit a small number of administrative
law judges, also career employees, the right to have their pay
adjustment determined by the President on an annual basis.
At the present time, ALJs are on the Executive Pay Schedule which
includes Members of Congress, Cabinet Secretaries, and Federal District
Court Judges. As a result of this classification, ALJs have received
only two cost-of-living-adjustments in the past 8 years. Unfortunately,
ALJs have been caught in the middle of the controversial political
debate surrounding pay raises for Members of Congress and have not
received a pay increase. This is despite the fact that their salaries
are commensurate with that of the Senior Executive Service (SES), or
General Schedule employees. Clearly, it is appropriate to decouple ALJ
pay raises from congressional pay raises and not freeze their salaries.
These career employees are among the very few career Federal
employees who pay is still tied to congressional salaries. H.R. 915
will place them on the same level as the Senior Executive Service. This
change is supported by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and was
included in the President's FY 2000 budget request. The President will
make the final decision each year as to what, if any pay adjustment
these employees will have. This change is critically important to
encouraging qualified individuals to serve as ALJs and to begin to
adequately compensate those who are currently working as ALJs.
Mr. Speaker, many ALJs live in my congressional district in Northern
Virginia. I am glad to see that we are taking action on this
legislation before the end of the year. ALJs have had to wait too many
years for the appropriate level of compensation. This bill is good
public policy and will encourage the best and the brightest to serve
their government. I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 915
today. Again, I would like to thank my colleague from Pennsylvania, Mr.
Gekas for introducing this legislation and working tirelessly to
shepherd it through the legislative process.
Mr. GEKAS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support for H.R. 915, a bill
that will change the manner in which the approximately 1,300
administrative law judges (ALJs) in Federal agencies receive annual
cost of living adjustments. I want to thank Chairman Burton for his
leadership in steering the bill through the Government Reform
Committee, along with both the current and former Civil Service
Subcommittee Chairmen Scarborough and Mica for their help in bringing
this bill forward, and for their continued efforts to correct the
injustice done to ALJ compensation. I would also like to thank OPM for
their time and technical expertise in helping to put this bill
together.
H.R. 915 is a bipartisan and noncontroversial bill that passed
through both the Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and
Administrative Law and the Civil Service Subcommittee and the full
government Reform Committees by unanimous consent on voice votes
without objection. The bipartisan cosponsorship of
[[Page H10743]]
H.R. 915, as well as the support of the administration, expressed in a
May, 1999 hearing in my Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and
Administrative Law, are a testament to the strong support for this
legislation.
Administrative law judges serve a vital role as an administrative
judiciary to insure agency compliance with the Administrative Procedure
Act. In fact, the average citizen is far more likely to appeal to these
judges for redress of claims against the government than to the Federal
courts.
The ALJ position demands commitment and a high degree of professional
legal competence as a senior trial attorney. Therefore, it is important
that Federal agencies maintain the ability to attract high quality
lawyers to serve as ALJs.
In 1990 in recognition of the ALJ's unique role as independent
decision makers, Congress and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
created a judicial pay classification for the ALJs, at 60 percent to 90
percent of level four of the Executive Schedule. The new classification
is above the General Schedule 16 classification, and was to compensate
ALJs at a level similar to Senior Executive Service (SES) employees.
Unfortunately, according to OPM, ALJ pay has fallen to the level of
GS 15 pay and has not maintained the level of SES pay. As a result,
OPM, the American Bar Association, and the Federal Bar Association have
all expressed concerns that the high quality of ALJ candidates will be
diminished if ALJ compensation is not competitive with other senior
level Federal employees.
I have sought to correct this erosion in the ALJ pay since the last
Congress, when I introduced H.R. 1240 last session to provide ALJs a
cost of living adjustment (COLA) when the General Schedule received a
COLA. H.R. 1240 passed the full House Judiciary Committee last year by
voice vote without any objection, and was included in the draft Civil
Service Subcommittee reform package.
OPM proposed some changes to that approach, and I have embodied those
changes in the text for H.R. 915 this year, which would treat ALJs the
same as SES for COLA purposes. It does not grant an automatic COLA, but
instead gives the President the discretion and authority to grant a
COLA and the rate.
Additionally, I would like to point out that H.R. 915 would for the
first time allow ALJs to have access to the COLA funds already
contained in the budgets of the agencies where they sit, requiring no
new appropriation of funds. Currently, these already appropriated ALJ
COLA funds go to pay additional bonuses for SES personnel.
Enactment of H.R. 915 is a modest step to maintain a competent and
independent Federal ALJ corps, and I urge its passage by the House.
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 915, legislation
to authorize a cost of living adjustment in the pay of administrative
law judges. Furthermore, I want to thank the sponsor of this H.R. 915,
my friend and colleague the gentleman from Pennsylvania, George Gekas
and Civil Service Subcommittee chair, Joe Scarborough for all of their
hard work on this important legislation. H.R. 915 will adjust the basic
pay for the more than 1,300 administrative law judges employed by the
Federal Government and will authorize to the President the same
authority to provide annual pay adjustments to ALJs who now serve in
the Senior Executive Service.
The pay for ALJs has not kept pace over the years with those in other
Federal employee positions, making it extremely difficult to attract
and retain qualified and experienced attorneys to serve as ALJs.
Throughout my tenure in Congress I have had the opportunity to work
with many of our ALJs and have always found their abilities and
commitment to public service second to none. The bill before us today
will not only reward our ALJs for their tireless dedicated years of
public service, but will insure that the Federal Government will
continue to maintain an exceptional ALJ roster.
Accordingly, I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation.
Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Goodlatte). The question is on the
motion offered by the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert) that the
House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 915, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________