Senate panel backs 3.5 percent civilian pay raise
Move follows House passage of similar 2008 increases for both federal employees and military members.
A Senate panel on Tuesday approved a bill granting civilian federal employees a 2008 pay adjustment of 3.5 percent, a figure equal to the raise backed by the House late last month.
A Senate Appropriations subcommittee approved the pay raise in its markup of the fiscal 2008 financial services spending bill. The adjustment is half a percent higher than the one proposed by the Bush administration, which recently issued a policy statement opposing the higher raise, arguing that it exceeds the average increase in private sector pay measured by the Employment Cost Index.
The adjustment also is identical to the amount recently authorized by the House for members of the military.
Senate subcommittee's approval drew praise from federal labor unions, which have been lobbying for military-civilian parity as well as for a boost 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.
The panel's move "is welcome recognition in Congress of the importance of a fair pay raise to the ability of federal agencies to recruit and retain the high-quality employees they need and depend upon," NTEU President Colleen Kelley said.
The full Appropriations Committee is expected to mark up the financial services bill on Thursday.