Support Builds for Cap on Contractor Executive Pay Three members of Congress urged the deficit-cutting super committee to cap the government’s reimbursement of contractor salaries at a level “significantly lower” than the current $694,000. The members did not suggest a figure. President Obama has proposed a $200,000 limit, the same as the salaries of cabinet members. His proposal would apply only to a contractor’s five most highly paid executives; the Congress members said the cap should apply to all contractor employees. The letter to the super committee was signed by Senators Barbara Boxer, D-CA, and Chuck Grassley, R-IA, and Rep. Paul Tonko, D-NY. They wrote, “We do not believe that taxpayers should fund government reimbursements for private contractor salaries that are more than three times higher than the pay earned by Cabinet secretaries.” (President Obama is paid a $400,000 salary plus a $50,000 expense account.) The allowable compensation cost affects only the amount the government will reimburse for executive pay; contractors are free to pay as much as they wish. Industry groups responded predictably. Stan Soloway, president of the Professional Services Council, said it is widely accepted that government pay scales are too low at the top levels, and applying that scale to contractors “is short sighted and illogical.” He said the current reimbursement formula, which is set by Congress, “is tied directly to what the government determines is fair and reasonable for a company of a similar size in a similar market.” President Obama said his proposal, to cap reimbursements for the top five executives, would save $3 billion over 10 years. The Congress members said extending the cap to cover all employees would save billions more. Bipartisan leaders of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs also endorsed a cap covering all contractor employees. Sens. Joe Lieberman, I-CT, and Susan Collins, R-ME, wrote that the super committee should order a study on whether the salary cap needs to be changed. The congressional super committee is due to report on its proposed budget cuts before Thanksgiving.