Federal employees inched one step closer Thursday to receiving a 3.1 percent pay increase in 2006. Following the lead of the House Appropriations Committee, the House Thursday approved a 3.1 percent pay raise for about 1.8 million federal civilian workers as part of the FY 2006 Transportation, Treasury and Housing and Urban Development spending bill.
The administration, as has happened virtually every year since the early 1990’s, proposed a smaller increase for federal civilian workers than for members of the military. This year was no different as the administration initially proposed a 2.3 percent pay increase for federal civilian employees and 3.1 percent for the military.
As happens every year, a bipartisan coalition of Congressional representatives with large numbers of federal civilian workers as constituents work to get a pay parity initiative passed to ensure that federal civilian workers get the same percentage pay increase as their military counterparts.
The good news for federal civilian workers is that the scenario seemingly will be repeated in 2006 after the House approved the bill prior to departing for the July 4 recess. The pay parity bill was again sponsored by Reps. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Frank Wolf (R-Va.), James Moran (D-Va.) and Tom Davis (R-Va.).
