House appropriators approve 3.5 percent military pay raise

A House panel on Wednesday passed a bill granting members of the military a 2008 pay raise of 3.5 percent, a figure equal to the adjustment already approved by the House for civilian federal employees.

The House Appropriations Committee approved the military raise during the markup of the fiscal 2008 Defense spending bill. The increase would be half a percent higher than that proposed by the Bush administration.

Last month, the full House approved a 3.5 percent pay increase for civilian federal employees, and earlier this month, the Senate Appropriations Committee followed suit by approving the same figure for civilians.

Wednesday's approval of the military raise drew praise from federal labor unions, which have been lobbying for parity between the military and civilians, as well as a raise higher than the president's request. The National Treasury Employees Union pushed for a 3.5 percent raise, while the American Federation of Government Employees lobbied for 4 percent.

"NTEU will continue its efforts to turn this bipartisan support into a fair pay raise, amounting to 3.5 percent, for both groups of federal employees, who work side-by-side in defending our homeland and faithfully serving our country," said Colleen Kelley, the union's president.