Published every Monday by the Office of the Federal Register, The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents is pub- tions prescribed by the Administrative Committee of the Federal Register, approved by the President (37 FR 23607; 1 CFR Part Distribution is made only by the Superintendent of Docu- ments, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents will be furnished There are no restrictions on the republication of material ap- Week Ending Sunday, December 31, 1989 Executive Order 12698-Adjustments of Certain Rates of Pay and Allowances December 23, 1989 By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America, including section 619 of Public Law 101-136, section 601 of Public Law 101-189, sections 702 and 1101 of Public Law 101-194, and section 11002(a)(3) of Public Law 101-239, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1. Statutory Pay Systems. The rates of basic pay or salaries of the following statutory pay systems are set forth on the schedules attached hereto and made a part hereof: (a) The General Schedule (5 U.S.C. 5332(a)) at Schedules 1-A and 1-B; (b) The Foreign Service Schedule (22 U.S.C. 3963) at Schedule 2; and (c) The schedules for the Veterans Health Services and Research Administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs (38 U.S.C. 4107) at Schedules 3-A and 3-B. Sec. 2. Senior Executive Service. Pursuant to section 5382 of title 5, United States Code, the rates of basic pay for members of the Senior Executive Service are set forth on Schedule 4 attached hereto and made a part hereof. Sec. 3. Executive Salaries. The rates of pay or salaries for the following offices and positions are set forth on the schedules attached hereto and made a part hereof: (a) The Executive Schedule (5 U.S.C. 5312-5316) at Schedules 5-A and 5-B; (b) The Vice President (3 U.S.C. 104) and Congress (2 U.S.C. 31) at Schedules 6-A and 6-B; and (c) Justices and judges (28 U.S.C. 5, 44(d), 135, and 252) at Schedules 7-A and 7-B. Sec. 4. Uniformed Services. Pursuant to section 601 of Public Law 101-189, the rates of monthly basic pay (37 U.S.C. 203(a)), the rates of basic allowances for sub sistence (37 U.S.C. 402), and the rates of basic allowances for quarters (37 U.S.C. 403(a)) for members of the uniformed services are set forth at Schedules 8-A and 8-B attached hereto and made a part hereof. Sec. 5. Effective Dates. (a) The rates of monthly basic pay and allowances for subsistence and quarters for members of the uniformed services provided for at Schedule 8-A are effective on January 1, 1990. The rates of basic pay or salaries provided for at Schedules 1-A, 2, 3–A, 4, 5–A, 6–A, and 7-A are effective on the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning on or after January 1, 1990. (b) Pursuant to sections 702 and 1101 of Public Law 101-194 and section 11002(a)(3) of Public Law 101-239, the rates of month ly basic pay and allowances for subsistence and quarters for members of the uniformed services provided for at Schedule 8-B shall supersede the rates provided for at Schedule 8-A on February 1, 1990, and the rates of basic pay or salaries provided for at Schedules 1-B, 3-B, 5-B, 6-B, and 7-B shall supersede the rates of basic pay or salaries provided for at Schedules 1-A, 3-A, 5-A, 6A, and 7-A, respectively, effective on the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning on or after January 31, 1990. Sec. 6. Executive Order No. 12663 of January 6, 1989, is superseded. The White House, December 23, 1989. George Bush [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 4:31 p.m., December 26, 1989] Note: The Executive order was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on December 26. The schedules were printed in the "Federal Register" of December 28. Statement by Press Secretary Fitzwater on the Situation in Panama December 26, 1989 President Bush received his morning intelligence briefing at Camp David, which included an extensive update on the situations in Panama and Romania. General Brent Scowcroft [Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs], Gen. Colin Powell [Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff], and Secretary of Defense Cheney will join the President for lunch at Camp David today and provide him with personal briefings on these issues. Secretary Cheney reports from his trip to Panama yesterday that morale among U.S. soldiers is high, a degree of normalcy is returning to Panama City, and the PDF [Panama Defense Forces] continues to surrender or otherwise report themselves to U.S. forces. The American military continues to find tens of thousands of weapons in warehouses at various locations. These include grenade launchers, rocket-propelled grenades, heavy machineguns, and other military weapons. We continue to see encouraging signs of support for the Endara government, including the widespread showing of white flags, the traditional symbol of the opposition parties. The Endara government is making significant steps in the process of reconstruction. Their cabinet has met. Plans are being made to meet food and housing needs. A special economic group from the Endara government will meet with the administration's Economic Reconstruction Task Force this afternoon. This task force includes State and Treasury Department representatives who are assessing the needs of the Panamanian people. The exact time and location of the meeting is yet to be determined. The United States continues to operate refugee centers, help with restoring law and order in the streets of the city, and the providing of medical assistance. The military is airlifting some 1,200 tons of food and medical supplies into Panama this week. Our training of the security forces is going well, with nearly 1,000 former PDF members now joining the U.S. military on street patrols. More than 5,000 U.S. troops are on patrol. The United States continues its efforts to bring General Noriega to the United States for justice. We are having discussions through established diplomatic channels with all parties involved, including the Endara government and the Papal Nuncio. We will not comment on the nature of those discussions or any specific reactions. The only other member of the PDF indicted by U.S. courts besides Noriega, Col. Luis del Cid, has been apprehended and returned to the United States. He is currently in the custody of U.S. Marshals and will be arraigned today in the Federal Court in Miami. The Panama Canal is now open 24 hours per day. The two major airports in Panama City, Torrijos and Tocumen, are now open for operation during limited hours. The Treasury Department has expedited the return of escrow funds to Panama. That money is now going to the Endara government to help with the reconstruction process. There is roughly $371 million in total Panamanian Government assets blocked in the United States. Our Ambassador has allocated $25,000 in emergency/disaster relief funds immediately for food and medicine for refugees. President Bush is pleased with the progress that has been made in helping the Panamanian people resume a new life under freedom and democracy. He is monitoring the progress of U.S. economic assistance. He commends the U.S. military for the impressive job it has done in carrying out all phases of this operation. Remarks and a Question-and-Answer Session With Reporters in Corpus Christi, Texas December 27, 1989 Situation in Panama The President. I want to thank the mayor, Her Honor, for coming out to greet me. It's great to be back at Corpus Christi Naval Air Station, where I learned to fly airplanes in 1943. But in any event, I'm very pleased with the turn of events in Panama. Noriega turn ing himself in was about as good a Christmas present as our soldiers and marines, airmen and the American people could want. We are sending a reconstruction task force down there next week to help with some financial planning. And indeed, they've had a couple of their top people in Washington, I think, yesterday-maybe today. I know one team went to see Secretary [of the Treasury] Brady at his home in New Jersey. Things on the ground, I'm told, checking just before we got here, are quiet-certainly far quieter than they've been. And there is no evidence of people going to the hills to fight on. There seem to be stories to that effect, but we have no hard evidence of that at all. The latest estimate was something like 40,000 weapons taken. That's quite a bit for a force that's about 20 percent that size in terms of numbers of people—maybe less—I don't know the exact numbers. They estimate now that there was something like $5 million in cash taken from Noriega's home, which will, of course, be turned over to the Endara government. In conclusion, I'd simply say that the military, and the country team as well, did a first-class job. And for those who are unfamiliar with the complexity of an operation of this nature, you ought to study it and learn from it because it was an amazingly well coordinated, superbly executed oper ation. Now, inasmuch as this is a vacation, I thought I'd take a question or two to get the year ending up in reasonably good fashion, but not too many. Wait a minute. We've got the wires who have to be on my protocol? All right, let's follow protocol. General Noriega of Panama Q. We have charges against Noriega in this country, but Panama wants to bring him to justice as well. Would we continue to press our demands for extradition if the government of President Endara wants to bring Noriega to justice in their country? The President. I think that would require a lot of consultation, because we don't want to do anything that implies undermining the sovereign power of Panama or the fact that this government is operating with the trust of the people. So, we'd have to have some real serious negotiations if it comes to that. That's not the way it appears to be leaning, but I wouldn't want to go against the will of the Endara government. Here we go. UP [United Press International], and then we'll get a couple of others. Q. Could you tell us the status of the efforts to break the impasse on getting The President. Just ongoing talks, and I think the Nuncio is awaiting instructions from the Vatican. We've made clear our preference, and that is to bring the man to trial and subsequently to justice because of this indictment that's against him. Q. Mr. President, a lot of people think the Vatican is wrongheaded in these doing is the Vatican being wrongheaded in not turning him over immediately? What do you think the legal issues are here? The President. How would you like it if people were negotiating and talking and then somebody jumped up and said they were wrongheaded, especially at this time. of the year, especially since it's the Vatican? Q. But are they? [Laughter] What are the legal issues? The President. We're not posturing ourselves, calling people to task at this point at all. We're trying to solve a difficult problem here, and we're totally engaged. The Secretary of State and I will be talking about it in just a few minutes more. But I'm not going to start name-calling at a time when we're trying to solve a very important problem for the United States system of justice. Q. You just said, when asked about Panama taking him-you said that's not the way it's leaning, as if it's leaning in some direction. Where is it leaning? on The President. Well, I can't help you Q. And secondly, if the Vatican decides that it will be a third country, will we do something to stop that? The President. Well, it's too hypothetical. And where it's leaning? I hope it's leaning for his being returned to the United States. But again, I think that the question that was asked about officials in Panama has to very much be on our mind. And we will obviously want to see him extradited to the United States, and that may determine where he |