Pay Parity Peril

One day after President Bush won the right to serve another four years in the White House, some congressional observers think the increased Republican margins in Congress could mark the end of military-civilian pay parity.

Some seats in the House are still undecided, but Republicans appear poised to increase their advantage in that chamber past 30 seats. In the Senate, Republicans gained 4 seats and now hold 55.

For the past several years, President Bush has proposed higher pay levels for military personnel than for civilian federal workers. The president has said that service members deserve their raises because of ongoing conflicts abroad. Several House Republicans, led by Rep. Ernest Istook of Oklahoma, have supported Bush's proposed budget. According to Istook, the federal government cannot afford to pay civil service workers the extra money. Each year, however, the move is blocked by a bipartisan group of lawmakers and equal pay raises are awarded to each group.

This year, Bush proposed a 3.5 percent pay raise for the military and a 1.5 percent raise for civilian employees in fiscal 2005. Congress rejected that plan and awarded a 3.5 percent raise to all federal employees.

With the influx of new Republican lawmakers, some legislators may feel energized to push Bush's disparate pay raises all the way through. Several Republicans, including representatives from the Washington area, have vowed to continue working for pay parity.

Micah Swafford, a spokeswoman from Istook's office, said the congressman would continue to fight against the equal raises no matter the result of the elections.

"You might not know Rep. Istook very well," Swafford said. "He continues to fight regardless of whether or not things have a chance."

Federal employees unions, meanwhile, appealed to Bush to take a more moderate approach in his second term and work for federal employees.

"Conventional wisdom suggests that part of the reason for such partisan policies was to shore up support among his conservative voting base for the 2004 election," said John Gage, president of the American Federation of Government Employees. "Now that the election has passed, President Bush need no longer pander to the extreme right."

Health Insurance Forums

Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., announced Wednesday that he will host two Federal Employees Health Benefits forums in suburban Maryland this month.

The forums are scheduled for Nov. 15 in Silver Spring and Nov. 17 in Rockville. According to Van Hollen's office, federal health insurance experts and health insurance company representatives will be present to discuss options and answer questions. Interested federal employees may call (301) 424-3501 for more information.