Pay Issue Seen as Slowing Congress : Democrats Fear It Could Hamper Their Legislative Agenda

House Democrats, under fire over a controversial 50% pay raise, voiced fears Friday that the issue would plague the new Congress and slow action on their legislative program.

Discussion of the “P issue,” as one member called it, dominated conversations aboard a special train carrying members to a weekend conference at the elegant Greenbrier Hotel here.

Illustrating its divisive impact, Rep. Tony Coelho (D-Merced), the party whip, accused the Senate, which also is controlled by the Democrats, of hypocrisy for voting against the raise, which he said the senators really want.

Rejected by Senate

“They vote it down and let the House take the heat,” Coelho told reporters about the Senate vote Thursday night to reject the pay raise, which would increase congressional salaries to $135,000 from $89,500.

But he said that the House will fight back by approving a scaled-down 30% raise next Thursday, coupled with a ban on accepting honorariums from special interest groups, and then daring the Senate to follow suit.

However, some Democrats outside of the House leadership grumbled that Speaker Jim Wright’s surprise decision to attempt to scale down the raise may lead to a yearlong dispute without resolving the issue.

Sees Issue Dragging On

“I can see it dragging out month after month, and it could ruin what otherwise would be a very productive session,” Rep. Thomas J. Downey (D-N. Y.) said.

“The longer it drags out, the worse it will be,” he added morosely.

Rep. Thomas McMillen (D-Md.), who noted that his office is getting 20 calls an hour from citizens hotly condemning the pay raise, said that he probably will vote for the Wright plan.

“But it’s doubtful if the Senate will buy it,” he said. “If the 50% raise stays in effect, we could have another vote in July or August on the actual appropriations for it.”

Although the average voter might not object to a modest raise approved in the open, McMillen said, it might take weeks or months for that to occur.

“In the meantime, the drama continues,” he said.

Aides to House members said that the issue is splitting the leadership as well as rank-and-file Democrats.

“We’ve got to make a deal,” one aide said.

Some Democrats blamed Wright for what Rep. Vic Fazio (D-Sacramento) called “changing the game plan the day before the big game.”

One veteran Democrat, speaking on condition that his name be withheld, said that the level of affection for the Speaker is “not high.”

Others, however, said that Wright is sincere in trying to reduce the size of the increase to 30% while eliminating honorariums, which, for House members, may amount to 30% of their congressional salary.

“That’s dollar for dollar, and I think people will understand that,” said Rep. Thomas C. Sawyer (D-Ohio).

A freshman member, Rep. Bill Sarpalius (D-Tex.), said that he would vote for Wright’s package and use the 30% extra money to pay for trips to Washington by outstanding high school students.

“In the end, it may even be a plus,” he declared.

Called to Crisis Talks

Wright and House Majority Leader Thomas S. Foley of Washington did not take the six-hour train trip to West Virginia because they were called to a White House meeting on the crisis facing thrift institutions.

However, they planned to fly to the conference later for a weekend designed to promote party unity.

Coelho focused on a favorite House target--the Senate--in trying to still criticism of the uncertain House response to the pay raise plan.

“The Senate voted against the 50% because they expected us not to vote, so they would get the 50% and we’d get the heat,” he charged.

Judges Also Benefit

Under the law that led to the proposed pay increase, both the Senate and the House must vote against it before midnight on Feb. 7 or it takes effect automatically. Also to receive the increase are 9,465 judges and executive branch officials.

An aide to one House Democrat said that the level of hypocrisy is difficult to exaggerate.

“They all want the raise,” the aide said. “They are just afraid to say so.”

That was the theme sounded Friday morning by two dozen demonstrators who appeared at Union Station in Washington to picket the departing Democrats.

“House of greed,” read one banner, and another bluntly said: “Wright is a crook.”

“You can run but you can’t hide,” the demonstrators chanted as the train headed across the Potomac.