Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 3, 1993 TAG: 9311030411
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RON FOURNIER ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
An embarrassment in any office, the publication of salaries angered some White House workers, embarrassed others, and was prime news inside the Beltway. Never mind Somalia and Haiti; did you see what Dee Dee makes?
"It's going to be nasty," one middle-level aide said grimly after the Monday morning staff meetings.
In a comical understatement, White House press secretary Dee Dee Myers said the list "has created a little curiosity." Her salary: $100,000.
The list unveiled a White House pay scale that doesn't always make sense:
Myers makes $19,500 less than Marla Romash did as spokeswoman for Vice President Al Gore, and $18,000 less than Rahm Emanuel, an aide in the communications operation.
Clinton's economic policy director, Wall Street millionaire Robert E. Rubin, makes $100,000, which is $5,000 less than his aide, Gene Sperling. Rubin, who originally was going to work for free, set his own salary and spread the extra salary dollars among his staff.
Sandy Berger, the No. 2 man in the National Security Council, earns $110,000; and Gore's national security chief, Leon Fuerth, makes $119,500.
But no matter how the salaries compare in Washington, there will be little sympathy from a public with a median household income of $30,786.
"I think it would cause discussion in any organization to have the salaries of everybody publicized," Myers said. "We've tried as best we can to see to it that everybody's salaries match their responsibilities. Nothing can be done perfectly."
She refused to comment on her own salary, but two sympathetic insiders sniffed that Myers' pay might be higher if she were a man. They hoped Myers might be able to use the publication of the list as leverage to get a raise.
Of the 17 people listed with salaries of $125,000, four are women. Of the 26 listed who make at least $100,000 but less than $125,000, 13 are women.
Knowing the list would enrage workers, the White House refused for months to release the salary figures. Even on Monday, the list's accuracy was confirmed by an official who spoke only on condition of anonymity. Most employees refused to speak on the record, given the sensitive nature of the paycheck issue.
The White House may find a silver lining in the publication of the list: It appears to show that President Clinton, who makes $200,000, has kept his promise to pay his employees less than the previous administration did.
The highest salary is $125,000, compared to $134,000 for the highest-level salaries in the Bush administration. Lower-level employees suffered the same pay cuts.
That didn't seem to bother White House workers. What hurt was scanning the list and seeing better-paid colleagues.
One aide spit out a colleague's name and sneered, "I've got to meet with Mr. $118,000."
\ SOME WHITE HOUSE SALARIES
Mack McLarty: chief of staff, $125,000.
David Gergen: counselor to the president, $125,000.
George Stephanopoulos: senior adviser to the president, $125,000.
Carole Rasco: domestic policy adviser, $125,000.
W. Bowman "Bo" Cutter: deputy assistant for economic policy, $110,000.
Keith Laughlin: associate director for pollution prevention, $85,000.
Melissa Banks: staff assistant for legislative affairs, $25,000.
David Seldin: assistant in press office, $25,000.
by CNB