Senate approves 3.6 percent raise

The Senate Thursday resolved a dispute over staffing at the Federal Election Commission, clearing the way for passage of a $29.9 billion fiscal 1999 Treasury-Postal appropriations bill, the Associated Press reported. The bill provides for an average 3.6 percent pay raise for federal employees next year.

The bill had been pulled from the Senate floor in late July because of Democratic objections to a Republican amendment that would have made it easier to remove the FEC's staff director and general counsel. With resolution of that issue, the bill passed 91-5 Thursday without further debate.

The disputed amendment by Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., sought to limit the terms of the two officials, which are currently open-ended, to four years and to require the approval of four of the FEC's six commissioners before those terms could be extended.

Each party selects three of the commissioners, and Democrats, led by Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, contended the amendment would let one party remove an official they did not like, undermining the agency's independence.

They also charged that McConnell, who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, was trying to remove FEC general counsel Lawrence Noble because of his investigations into unregulated soft money contributions. McConnell has denied he was targeting Noble.

Under a compromise worked out with Levin, the current general counsel and staff director would not have term limits, future service would be set at six years and it would take only three commissioners to approve an extension.

"We've removed the hooks out of this amendment that were aimed at pulling Noble out" of his job, Levin said. The $27 billion House bill, which passed in July, does not include language on the FEC staffers.

The Senate also accepted an amendment by Sen. John Glenn, D- Ohio, adding $2.8 million to the FEC budget, bringing it up to the $36.5 million requested by the administration.

While the bill allows for pay increases for executive branch civil servants, it freezes salaries for members of Congress.

The bill also contains an amendment that would require federal employee health plans that cover prescription drugs to provide coverage for contraceptives.