House backs 3.5 percent civilian pay raise
The House on Thursday approved a bill granting civilian federal employees a 2008 pay raise of 3.5 percent, a figure equal to the adjustment already authorized in the House for members of the military.
The House approved the raise as part of the fiscal 2008 financial services appropriations bill. The adjustment is half a percent higher than the increase proposed by the Bush administration, which recently issued a policy statement opposing the additional 0.5 percent, arguing that it exceeds the average increase in private sector pay measured by the Employment Cost Index.
"This arbitrary across-the-board increase would cost agencies over $600 million in FY 2008 and would not target any specific recruitment or retention challenges," the statement said.
The House's action drew praise from federal labor unions, which have been lobbying for pay parity between members of the military and civilians as well as a raise higher than the president's request.
"Fair pay is the single most important factor toward recruiting and retaining quality federal employees," said Colleen Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, in a statement. "It also would represent a small, but important, step in closing the pay gap between public and private sector employees, estimated at about 13 percent."
Kelley also praised language designed to ensure employees at the Defense and Homeland Security departments aren't denied the 3.5 percent raise as a result of personnel reforms.
The White House opposed this provision as well, stating that it "backs away from the concept of pay-for-performance and is ambiguous as to how the increase would be applied."
COMMENTS
- Since Bush has been in office, the staffing of our agency has continued to decrease in an era that demand for our services have increased. We are to the point where we are unable to deliver sevices to the American People who pay for these domestic services. Thomas Bell Posted November 29, 2007 8:36 AM
- Yet another insult to the federal employees. Every year we get further behind in buying power while being expected to work harder and more efficiently. I am a professional and have pride in my work, but it it getting harder to put in the extra effort the government is requiring while at the same time they are taking money out of my pocket. The last two years' pay "raises" resulted in a smaller take home for me because of higher taxes and insurance rates. That does not even account for the increased cost of everything because of this administration's blunders like taking all the corn out of the feed cycle to make ethanol without decreasing the subsidies paid to farmers to leave fields unplanted. The math didn't work on that one, did it? It is time for congress to quit using the federal employees as budget levers and pay us a fair salary, every year. Ed Posted October 24, 2007 3:57 PM
- I served the "box" as a civilian. Security went to extraordinary measures to protect GS civlians. I did see where one GS 13 Navy employee was killed by a mortar attack at the palace in the green zone a year or two back, and that was reported. There may have been more that I don't know about, but I would say the numbers are very low. Blake Wood Posted September 24, 2007 8:58 AM
