[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 38 (Monday, March 14, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1605-S1606]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. Hatch, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Graham, 
        Mr. Reid, Mr. Lee, Mr. Inouye, Mr. Bingaman, Mr. Lieberman, and 
        Mr. Kerry):
  S. 569. A bill to provide for fairness for the Federal judiciary; to 
the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Federal 
Judicial Fairness Act of 2011.
  I want to thank Senator Hatch, as well as Senators Leahy, Graham, 
Reid, Lee, Inouye, Bingaman, Lieberman, and Kerry, for working with me 
as cosponsors of this important bill.
  The Federal Judicial Fairness Act is a straightforward bill that 
would ensure that Federal judges receive cost-of-living adjustments to 
their salaries on the same terms as other Federal civilian employees.
  Let me be clear from the outset: This bill would not provide a 
judicial pay raise. In fact, it would not even guarantee a cost-of-
living adjustment for this year, the next year, or the next. Instead, 
it would simply guarantee that in years in which other Federal civilian 
employees receive cost-of-living adjustments to their salaries to 
account for inflation, Federal judges will as well.

[[Page S1606]]

  Under current law, two procedural requirements prevent this from 
happening.
  First, the ``linking'' of judicial and Congressional salaries means 
that judges cannot receive a cost-of-living adjustment unless Congress 
first votes to provide an adjustment for its own Members.
  Second, due to a 1981 provision known as ``Section 140,'' even if 
Congress votes to adjust its own Members' salaries, Congress must pass 
a second, special provision stating that judges should receive this 
adjustment as well.
  The Federal Judicial Fairness Act's would amend this pay structure 
and provide that Federal judges should receive adjustments on the same 
term as other Federal civilian employees.
  Why is this important?
  Article III of the United States Constitution requires that Federal 
judges shall ``receive for their services, a compensation, which shall 
not be diminished during their continuance in office.''
  This is a constitutional guarantee, entitled to due respect. Serious 
concerns arise when, as is the current system, political pressures 
result in the real value of judicial salaries diminishing and declining 
over time. Justice Kennedy expressed it this way in his 2007 testimony 
before the Senate Judiciary Committee:

       Please accept my respectful submission that, to keep good 
     faith with our basic charter, you have the unilateral 
     constitutional obligation to act when another branch of 
     government needs your assistance for the proper performance 
     of its duties. It is both necessary and proper, furthermore, 
     that we as judges should, and indeed must, advise you if we 
     find that a threat to the judiciary as an institution has 
     become so serious and debilitating that urgent relief is 
     necessary. In my view, the present Congressional compensation 
     policy for judicial officers is one of these matters.

  Additionally, as members of the Senate, I believe we have a 
responsibility to make every effort to recruit and retain the very best 
for the Federal bench. Both recruitment and retention become far more 
difficult when we cannot assure candidates that the salary provided at 
the beginning of a life appointment will hold its value over time. This 
assurance is basic for other Federal employees and should be for our 
Federal judges as well.
  The Federal Judicial Fairness Act is a commonsense, good government 
bill. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting it.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                 S. 569

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Judicial Fairness 
     Act of 2011''.

     SEC. 2. JUDICIAL COST-OF-LIVING INCREASES.

       (a) Repeal of Statutory Requirement Relating to Judicial 
     Salaries.--Section 140 of the resolution entitled ``A Joint 
     Resolution making further continuing appropriations for the 
     fiscal year 1982, and for other purposes.'', approved 
     December 15, 1981 (Public Law 97-92; 95 Stat. 1200; 28 U.S.C. 
     461 note), is repealed.
       (b) Automatic Salary Adjustments.--Section 461(a) of title 
     28, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
       ``(a) 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 sections 5303 and 
     5304 of title 5 in the rates of pay under the General 
     Schedule, each salary rate which is subject to adjustment 
     under this section shall be adjusted by an amount, rounded to 
     the nearest multiple of $100 (or, if midway between multiples 
     of $100, to the next higher multiple of $100) equal to the 
     percentage of such salary rate which corresponds to the 
     overall average percentage of the adjustment in the rates of 
     pay under the General Schedule.''.
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