Pay raise spared in Senate budget measure

A measure to eliminate a 3.1 percent average pay raise for federal employees was not included among the $35 billion in budget cuts approved by the Senate Thursday. But the proposal isn't dead yet.

Seven Republican senators calling themselves the "Fiscal Watch Team" proposed last week to freeze non-law-enforcement federal pay next year. The proposal is part of an effort to cut the budget by $125 billion to help fund Katrina recovery efforts.

But the senators did not end up introducing a federal pay amendment to Thursday's deficit reduction bill (S. 1932), which passed by a vote of 52-47. The bill contained language to increase premiums on student loans and make cuts in Medicare and Medicaid.

But Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., a member of the Fiscal Watch Team, will "absolutely" introduce separate legislation to stop the raise, either as a stand-alone bill or as an amendment, said Jack Finn, his communications director.

"It wasn't a case of choosing not to," Finn said. "It was just a matter of a lot of work that has to be done before we're ready to introduce it."

Federal employee unions have expressed strong opposition to the proposed wage freeze. In a Nov. 2 letter, the American Federation of Government Employees urged senators to vote against such an amendment.

"Congress's longstanding bipartisan commitment to providing the same annual pay raises to federal civilian employees and military personnel is a recognition of the crucial contributions these civilian workers make to your nation's safety and security," the letter stated.

In a press release announcing the proposal, Ensign said, "it has taken a lot of hard work and a lot of tough decisions, but we have crafted legislation that we believe provides responsible and necessary cuts in government spending to offset the much-needed relief efforts in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita."

The House still has to act on its budget bill. Although no House member has suggested a freeze on federal pay, a group called the Republican Study Committee has proposed calculating retirement annuities for federal employees based on an average of their five highest-earning years of service, instead of a three-year average. Adding two years of lower pay would reduce retirees' pension benefits.

The RSC members also recommended a reduction in the government subsidy for some federal retirees who participate in the Federal Employees Health Benefits plan.

After the House votes on its cuts, the two chambers need to come to an agreement on the budget bill before sending it to President Bush for his signature.

Both the House and the Senate previously approved a 3.1 percent raise for civilian employees, as part of the fiscal 2006 Transportation-Treasury appropriations bill.

The Senate also voted in support of a Transportation-Treasury amendment to eliminate its own pay raise for 2006. House and Senate negotiators must still reconcile differences on the Transportation-Treasury spending measure before it heads to Bush's desk.