Congress passes omnibus spending bill with 4.1 percent pay raise

Congress passed a $397 billion spending package late Thursday that included a 4.1 percent pay raise for federal civilian employees this year, retroactive to the first pay period of 2003.

The omnibus bill also included $500,000 to boost federal telework efforts and support for military-civilian pay parity. In November, Congress granted military service members a 4.1 percent average pay raise for 2003 in the fiscal 2003 Defense Authorization Act.

The omnibus legislation encompassed the 11 unfinished 2003 appropriations bills, including the Treasury-Postal appropriations bill, which contains the annual civil service pay raise. The House passed the spending package Thursday night by a vote of 338 to 83. The Senate later approved the legislation on a 76-20 vote.

In a statement, President Bush indicated his support for the measure. "I commend the Congress for finishing work on the 2003 appropriations bills," Bush said. "This budget will provide valuable resources for priorities such as homeland security, military operations and education, while adhering to the spending restraint set forth in my budget. I look forward to signing this legislation and to continuing a course of fiscal discipline." Last year the Bush administration proposed a 2.6 percent pay raise for federal workers in fiscal 2003. House lawmakers and a Senate panel approved a 4.1 percent raise, but Congress adjourned without passing the measure. As the year drew to a close, Bush issued an order granting employees a 3.1 percent increase with no additional pay based on labor costs in the areas where they work. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., House Government Reform Chairman Tom Davis, R-Va., and a delegation of Washington-area legislators vowed to get a retroactive raise of 4.1 percent included in the fiscal 2003 omnibus appropriations bill.

"Our country is at a critical juncture, facing difficult tests at home and abroad. Federal employees will play a key role in how successful we are in confronting these issues," Hoyer said in a statement Thursday. "It is important that we provide federal employees with fair pay adjustments if we are to retain quality employees and attract new ones."

Davis and Hoyer also fought to include "sense of Congress" language in the bill advocating military-civilian pay parity in future years, too.

The legislation also includes $500,000 to expand telework programs in the federal government. The money will pay for creating a training program to teach managers about the benefits of telework. According to Hoyer, the training program will focus on agencies that have less than 2 percent of their employees telecommuting.

"Traffic congestion is one of the most intractable problems plaguing communities around the country," said Hoyer. "Telecommuting can help alleviate congestion, while providing workers more time with their families and improving their quality of life. I hope that this funding will help alleviate one of the obstacles to increasing telecommuting among federal employees."