Senate-approved omnibus bill includes 4.1 percent pay raise

After extensive delays and numerous objections, the Senate passed the fiscal 2004 omnibus budget bill Thursday which included a 4.1 percent average pay raise for civilian federal employees.

House lawmakers passed the legislation in early December, and the bill now goes to the White House for President Bush's signature. The bill includes a significantly larger civil servant pay raise than the Bush administration originally sought in its fiscal 2004 budget request. The administration proposed a 2 percent salary increase for civilian federal employees and a 4.1 percent pay raise for military employees.

Congress has final authority over the increases, however, and included language in various pieces of legislation granting a 4.1 percent average pay raise for both civil servants and military personnel.

The delay in passing the omnibus bill meant federal employees saw only a 2 percent average pay raise this month. A similar situation occurred when Bush issued a Dec. 31, 2002 executive order granting all civil servants a 3.1 percent pay increase with no adjustment for locality pay. Congress overruled that move as well and included a 4.1 percent raise for civilian federal employees in its fiscal 2003 omnibus spending measure. That legislation was also heavily delayed, remaining mired in Congress until February 2003.

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., who has long campaigned for federal pay increases, praised the bill.

"The federal workforce will be rewarded for their dedication to serving our country," he said. "It is imperative that we provide federal employees with a fair pay adjustment so that the federal government can retain quality employees, and attract the best new workers entering the job market."

On Thursday, union leaders criticized President Bush for not supporting military-civilian pay parity.

"The president could have--and should have--put the 4.1 percent pay raise in place administratively before now," said Colleen Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union. "There has been bipartisan support in Congress for the 4.1 percent pay raise throughout the year."

The president "continues to lowball pay increases for federal workers, ignoring the tradition of pay parity between military and civilian federal employees," said John Gage, president of the American Federation of Government Employees. "Thankfully, members of Congress recognize the valuable contributions of federal employees."

Wage grade workers will also receive a 4.1 percent pay raise under the legislation.

On Wednesday, a coalition of Washington-area lawmakers began lobbying for military-civilian pay parity in 2005.