FMA IN FEDERAL TIMES ON DISAPPOINTMENT WITH HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE REGARDING FED PAY RAISE - July 8, 2009

House panel approves 2 percent raise for feds in 2010

By Stephen Losey, Federal Times reporter

The House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday approved a 2 percent pay raise for federal employees in 2010 — much lower than the pay raise slated for military service members.

The move is a surprise because Congress typically backs pay parity for federal civilian employees — that is, they extend the same pay raises to civilian employees as to military personnel, who are likely to receive a 3.4 percent raise in 2010.

President Barack Obama in February proposed a 2 percent raise for civilian employees next year.

The financial services and general government appropriations bill approved Tuesday by the committee does not address federal pay raises, which means Obama’s recommendation is likely to be enacted.

The Federal Managers Association said in a statement today that it was “deeply disappointed” that the committee is abandoning the principle of pay parity between federal civilian employees and military members, and said lawmakers “dismissed decades of legislative precedent.”

“By offering civilian federal employees a pay raise unequal to that afforded by the military, however, Congress and the administration are expressing their belief that the work conducted by these public servants on a daily basis does not deserve the recognition conferred upon the armed forces,” FMA National President Darryl Perkinson said in a statement.

“This oversight occurs despite the fact civilian employees serve on battlefields overseas, conduct scientific research leading to breakthroughs in the fight against disease, and provide products and services the American people depend on every day,” he added.

Obama had asked for a 2.9 percent raise for military service members; the House approved a 3.4 percent raise in the 2010 Defense authorization bill. The Senate Armed Services Committee also approved a Defense authorization that would approve a 3.4 percent raise.

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