Senator Feinstein Introduces Measure
to Raise Salaries of Federal Judges
July 11, 2001

Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today introduced legislation to raise the pay of federal judges by guaranteeing automatic and annual cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) just like other federal employees.

The bill, which is cosponsored by Senator Fred Thompson (R-Tennessee), would also give judges a one-time salary increase of 9.6 percent. In the past decade, federal judges have been denied cost-of-living adjustments in four separate years from 1994-1996 and also in 1998. Since 1993, the average salary of federal judges when adjusted for inflation has declined by 13 percent.

"This legislation will restore pay equity for our Federal judges," Senator Feinstein said. "Federal judges bear enormous responsibility as they preside over our nation's most pressing legal issues. For this vitally important work, they deserve appropriate compensation."

As of January 2001, Federal district judges receive an annual salary of $145,000. If judges had received the cost of living increases to which they were entitled over the past decade, the salary would climb to $164,700.

"Today, some first year associates at major national law firms are offered salaries topping $125,000 per year which is nearly the amount of our Federal judges," said Feinstein. "We simply cannot expect to keep our nation's best lawyers interested in serving on the Federal bench if we continue to denigrate the salary of the post."

"Attorneys should not expect to become wealthy through an appointment as a Federal judge. But at the same time, judges should be able to expect that Congress will not erode their salaries out of failure to enact cost of living adjustments. The bottom line is that preserving judicial salaries is vital to maintaining the high quality of our Federal Judiciary."

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