Quayle, Other Officials to Get Raises--But Not the President

Vice President Dan Quayle will receive a raise to $166,200 when the new year begins and there will be a bigger paycheck for others who work for the federal government, but not for President Bush.

Ironically, it took an order by Bush to put into effect 4.2% increases for the uniformed services and 3.5% raises for federal civil service employees. But the President is locked into his current $200,000 annual salary by a provision in the Constitution that says the chief executive’s pay “shall neither be encreased (sic) nor diminished during the period for which he shall have been elected.”

Quayle’s pay, the highest in the federal government after the President’s, is matched by that of the Speaker of the House and the chief justice of the Supreme Court. The vice president currently makes $160,600.

Top government executives and Cabinet secretaries will receive $143,800 a year under the new pay schedule. Those in the senior executive service will get as much as $112,100.

Members of Congress are on an equal footing next year as far as pay is concerned. Members of both the House and the Senate will receive $129,500 a year.