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Resolution Clears Constitutional Snag for Interior Nominee Salazar
The House Wednesday approved by voice vote a resolution that clears the way for Sen. Ken Salazar (D-CO) to become secretary of the Interior Department under an Obama administration.
The resolution gets Salazar past the so-called “emoluments clause” of the U.S. Constitution, which bars senators or representatives from being appointed to an executive post if the pay for the job was increased during a lawmaker’s term in office.
As a fix, the House-passed resolution would reduce the Interior secretary’s annual salary to $181,100, which was the compensation level when Salazar began his Senate term in January 2005, CQ Today reported. The current salary is $191,300.
The Senate passed the resolution by unanimous consent Tuesday. It has been forwarded to the White House for President Bush’s signature.
The framers of the Constitution adopted the “emoluments clause” to avoid corruption and self-dealing in the legislative process, and to reinforce the separation of power between the legislative and executive branches of government.
President-elect Obama in mid-December tapped Salazar for the tough assignment of cleaning up the troubled Interior agency whose image was scarred by scandal throughout last year (see Daily GPI, Dec. 18, 2008).
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