The Nation - News from May 4, 1989

Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, in an extraordinary personal appearance before Congress, tried to rally support for raising federal judges’ salaries 30%. The first chief justice in about 50 years to testify before Congress, Rehnquist acknowledged that many Americans think federal judges already are paid handsomely. But he called current judicial salaries inadequate and said they would cause “more resignations from the bench, more damage to the morale of those judges who remain and more difficulty in recruiting new judges.” Rehnquist told the House Post Office and Civil Service Committee that a 30% pay hike is needed immediately, but Chairman William D. Ford (D-Mich.) indicated the committee is not likely to take any action until next fall at the earliest. A 30% increase would boost the chief justice’s annual salary from $115,000 to $149,500. Salaries of Supreme Court justices would rise from $110,000 to $143,000 and appeals court judges from $95,000 to $123,000.