House members press for military-civilian pay parity

Ten House members from the Washington area on Wednesday kicked off discussions over the 2009 federal pay raise by sending President Bush a letter calling for civilian-military pay parity.

The lawmakers asked Bush to incorporate the principle of pay parity in his fiscal 2009 budget request, scheduled to be released on Feb. 4. The appeal was similar to those issued during past budget cycles, and noted that civilian federal employees and military members have received equal raises almost every year for the past two decades.

"We cannot express strongly enough the importance of continuing the tradition of pay parity between military and civilian employees in the coming fiscal year," the lawmakers wrote. "As we fight the war on terrorism at home and abroad, both the armed services and the federal civilian workforce are integral in fulfilling the role of government for the American people."

As in past years, the lawmakers said parity also is necessary to recruit and retain quality employees in the face of an upcoming retirement wave.

A 2004 law mandates military pay raises equal the change in the Labor Department's annual Employment Cost Index for the private sector's wages. That change was 3.4 percent, according to figures released in late October.

The signatories of the letter were House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md.; Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C.; and Reps. Tom Davis, R-Va.; James Moran, D-Va.; Frank Wolf, R-Va.; Elijah Cummings, D-Md.; C.A. "Dutch" Ruppersberger, D-Md.; John Sarbanes, D-Md.; Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.; and Albert Wynn, D-Md.

Colleen Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, on Monday issued a statement supporting the call for pay parity.

Pay parity "is a vital step in securing the kind of fair pay raise critical to attracting and retaining in government service the skilled, dedicated women and men who form the backbone of every federal agency," she said.