Congressional appropriators announced late Tuesday that the fiscal 2010 omnibus spending package would include a 2 percent total pay adjustment for federal workers next year.
While the 2 percent overall raise is in line with President Obama's proposal, the bill rejects his request to freeze locality pay, meaning federal workers would receive a 1.5 percent base pay increase plus an average 0.5 percent increase in locality pay in 2010. The locality pay increase would help federal pay inch closer to comparability with the private sector, particularly in areas where the pay gap has increased and the cost of living is high.
Unlike previous years, however, the measure does not ensure pay parity between federal civilian workers and members of the military. The 2010 National Defense Authorization Act includes a 3.4 percent military raise, and lawmakers will finalize a figure as part of the Defense appropriations bill.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said on Tuesday that he was disappointed that Obama's proposal did not set the precedent for civilian-military pay parity. But Hoyer also relayed assurances he has received from the Obama administration that pay parity will be included in the fiscal 2011 budget proposal.
"While I believe that this year's adjustment is reasonable in light of an economic downturn where millions of Americans have lost their jobs, I am disappointed that parity was not achieved," Hoyer said. "Like their military counterparts, civilian federal employees have made significant contributions to help our country respond to the challenges we face both domestically and abroad, and I believe their pay adjustments ought to reflect that."
Brittany Ballenstedt
Brittany Ballenstedt writes Nextgov's Wired Workplace blog, which delves into the issues facing employees who work in the federal information technology sector. Before joining Nextgov, Brittany covered federal pay and benefits issues as a staff correspondent for Government Executive and served as an associate editor for National Journal's Technology Daily. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Mansfield University and originally hails from Pennsylvania. She currently lives near Travis Air Force Base, Calif., where her husband is stationed.
JOIN THE DISCUSSION
By using this service you agree not to post material that is obscene, harassing, defamatory, or otherwise objectionable. Although Nextgov does not monitor comments posted to this site (and has no obligation to), it reserves the right to delete, edit, or move any material that it deems to be in violation of this rule.