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Senate Budget Committee Chairman Don Nickles, R-Okla., included language in his fiscal 2005 budget proposal supporting equal pay adjustments for military and civilian federal employees. That proposal is scheduled for a vote in the full committee on Thursday.

In the fiscal 2005 White House budget proposal, President Bush proposed a 3.5 percent average pay increase for military personnel and a 1.5 percent average pay increase for civil servants. Bush has said that the military deserves the 3.5 percent raise because of continuing military operations abroad. A bipartisan group of lawmakers has protested the move, calling for equal pay adjustments.

In his " chairman's mark" of the fiscal 2005 budget resolution, Nickles said that "the rate of increase in the compensation of civilian employees should be equal to that proposed for the military."

Although it is still waits for a vote, the fact that the language was included in the mark represents a significant victory for supporters of pay parity. Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Chairwoman Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, criticized Bush's budget position on military and civilian pay Tuesday during a speech to the National Treasury Employees Union.

"I think [the difference in pay increases] is wrong and it needs to be changed," Collins said. Many civil servants "work side by side" with military personnel, performing the same tasks, she noted. In the same speech, Collins told NTEU members that she would push to have the language included in budget legislation.

Nickles' proposed resolution said that compensation for military and civilian personnel "must be sufficient to support our critical efforts to recruit, retain, and reward quality people effectively and responsibly."

The American Federation of Government Employees, which has been among the most vocal supporters of equal pay raises, applauded the move.

"AFGE is pleased that the chairman's mark of the Senate Budget Committee reaffirmed the longstanding bipartisan tradition of pay parity," said AFGE President John Gage.

The pay parity effort faces considerable opposition. The White House has said equal raises would be fiscally irresponsible and a sizeable contingent of House lawmakers have lined up behind Rep. Ernest Istook, R-Okla., in opposing the equal pay adjustments. Istook has said that to bring civilian pay increases up to the level of the military would cost the federal government an additional $2 billion next year.

COMMENTS

• Someone in the administration must be promising Rep. Istook a real "plum" for him to be leading the cause to "Stick it to the Civil Servants". He needs to take his following in the House and "march into the Reflecting Pool". Mr. Istook, please "pull your head out"...listen to senior people like Sue Collins and Don Nickles; do something FOR US, not "to us" all the time. By the way, GovExec, thank you for another OUTSTANDING article. Fellow Civil Servants: GET THE LEAD OUT, call or write both your Senators and your Representative NOW; without your VOICE they may follow the flawed thinking of Rep Istook. GovExec.com reader Posted March 4, 2004 2:02 PM
• I wonder if Rep. Ernest Istook has enjoyed his term thus far as likely it will also be his last term to have the opportunity to represent the folks, particularly the federal folks, in Oklahoma. Two billion dollars may appear to be a significant amount of money to the average person but it is a mere drop in the bucket in comparison to the billions spent annually. For him to take a stance that we do not deserve the pay parity of our military counterparts is an outright insult. I hope he realizes that the many DOD employees, along with other federal employees of this state will determine his fate at the next election period. DDF Posted March 4, 2004 1:21 PM
• Thank you Mr. Nickles and to the others in Congress that support pay parity! When is this President going to realize that this is a hot button item and he should just leave it alone. He's like a kid with a scab, he just can't quit picking at it!! Stan Posted March 4, 2004 7:27 AM