Pay Freeze

U.S. Senators faced a dilemma last week: not a landmark decision on war or peace, but a last-minute decision on whether or not to vote themselves a salary increase. Simply by not acting by week's end, members of Congress would have automatically assured themselves a raise approved by President Nixon, from $42,500 to $45,700 immediately and to $52,800 by 1976. The pay package would also have given increases to Cabinet members, federal judges and about 5,000 federal officials. Considering that inflation has eaten up nearly 30% of the last increase that Congressmen allowed themselves five years ago, the raises seemed modest and justified.

But fearing complaints from disgruntled, inflation-weary voters, the legislators pondered long and hard. They were particularly worried about opinion polls showing that the public holds Congress in particularly low esteem, largely because Watergate has tarnished the image of almost all politicians. In the end, caution prevailed, and the Senate voted 71 to 26 against the pay increase.

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