Proposed pay raise for feds could mean more money for Congress

If federal employees receive a 0.5 percent pay increase in fiscal year 2013, as suggested by the White House – a number some called an insult after a two-year pay freeze – chances are members of Congress could get a bigger paycheck as well.

Although Congress has voted against giving itself a pay raise for the past couple of years, lawmakers could decide they too are eligible for a modest raise under the current formula, which links congressional and federal employees' pay, according to GovExec.

Unsurprisingly, this news didn’t sit well with readers, many of whom expressed their outrage over the story.

“This is a joke, right?” one GovExec reader asked. “Their salaries should be cut by at least 25 percent. Perhaps we should all aspire to be career politicians -- they'll all in the 1 percent, it seems.”

Obama’s Jan. 6 proposal for a 0.5 percent raise would be the first time federal employees have seen an increase in pay since late 2010, when the federal pay freeze went into effect. The proposal, which still need a congressional nod, has been met with mixed feelings. A Federal News Radio poll showed that significantly more considered the proposal an insult (50 percent) rather than a welcome gesture (9 percent).

What do you think of this proposal? Are lawmakers entitled to more money if federal employees get a 0.5 percent raise? How likely is Congress to deny itself more money?