Top federal executives would get their second pay increase in seven years as a result of the House's decision last week to allow a congressional pay raise.
In passing the fiscal 2000 Treasury-Postal appropriations bill, the House gave its OK to an automatic cost-of-living increase of 3.4 percent for lawmakers, effective Jan. 1, 2000. Because caps on pay for members of the Senior Executive Service are tied to congressional pay, the House action means the growing number of federal executives whose pay has reached the caps will get a boost in pay next year as well.
Since 1993, the caps on executive pay have been raised only once-by 2.3 percent last year. Because of the cap on base pay plus locality pay, executives in 27 metropolitan areas at the ES-6 level, 27 areas at the ES-5 level, 22 areas at the ES-4 level and two areas at the ES-3 level have bumped into the pay caps since 1994. The Senior Executives Association has been fighting against such "pay compression" throughout the 1990s, arguing that top-ranked executives should get paid more than lower-ranked SESers.
The House's version of the Treasury-Postal bill also includes a variety of other measures affecting employees and operations across government, such as:
- A sense of Congress statement that military and civilian pay increases should be the same next year.
- An increase in the next President's salary from $200,000 to $400,000.
- Increasing the Customs Service commissioner's pay to Level III of Executive Level pay ($125,900 this year), up from Level IV ($118,400 this year).
- Buyouts of up to $25,000 for employees of the Office of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration through Jan. 1, 2003.
- Buyouts of up to $25,000 for employees of the Chicago Financial Center of Treasury's Financial Management Service until Jan. 31, 2000.
- A provision allowing breastfeeding on all federal property. Women have complained to members of Congress that they have been told to stop breastfeeding in national parks and in federal buildings.
- A measure requiring agencies to offer managers reimbursement for professional liability insurance.
- A measure authorizing agencies to subsidize child care for low-income workers.
- Mandatory contraceptive coverage and a ban on the funding of abortions in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.
- A ban on any training for federal employees that includes "content associated with religious or quasi-religious belief systems or 'new age' belief systems."
- The establishment of a Chief Financial Officer's Office at the White House.
The bill also cuts $139 million from the IRS budget request. IRS Commissioner Charles Rossotti told members of Congress the cut would impede the service's restructuring efforts. Also cut was funding for several federal building projects, including $4.3 million to replace the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York City, $55.9 million to consolidate Food and Drug Administration operations and $15 million for a more secure headquarters building for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
The White House said it opposes the funding cuts.
The Senate passed its version of the Treasury-Postal appropriations bill at the beginning of the month. The Senate and House will next hold a conference to iron out differences between the two versions.