WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats are going to strip a cost-of-living pay raise for federal judges from a bill that would provide $14 billion in taxpayer-subsidized loans to bail out the Detroit-based automakers.

Democratic officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal strategy, said the judicial pay provision was draining votes from the already teetering bailout measure.

The development came after freshman Democrat Claire McCaskill of Missouri announced on the Senate floor she would oppose the bill unless the pay provision, which would give federal judges a raise of almost $5,000, is stripped from the auto bailout.

"Wrong time. Wrong place," McCaskill said. "We have the highest unemployment in this country that we have had in decades. ... Federal judges get lifetime appointments, and they never take a dime's cut in pay."

Members of Congress, however, who presently make $169,300 a year, will automatically receive a raise of almost $5,000 on Jan. 1.

By The Associated Press