The dust is still settling from the last pay parity fight, which means that it is time to begin the next scrap.
Lawmakers in the House and Senate have introduced resolutions that call for equal pay raises for military and civilian federal employees in 2006. For the last several years, the White House has consistently recommended higher raises for the military in the proposed budget. Each year, Congress rebuffs that proposal and grants equal pay raises.
In his fiscal 2004 budget proposal, President Bush requested a 2 percent salary adjustment for civilian federal employees and a 4.1 percent boost for the armed forces. Congress, however, included a 4.1 percent raise for both civil servants and military personnel. In the fiscal 2005 budget, the White House proposed a 3.5 percent raise for the military and a 1.5 percent raise for civilians. All federal employees received a 3.5 percent raise. The fiscal 2005 result did not come without fight, however.
A group of Republicans in Congress backed Bush's proposal and claimed that pay parity would be an untenable burden on the budget. In March 2004, however, the House overwhelmingly backed equal pay raises for military and civilian federal workers in a nonbinding "Sense of Congress" resolution. Pay parity officially was endorsed in November, when Congress passed the omnibus appropriations bill.
"The civilian federal employees who strive every day to keep our country safe, strong and prosperous, deserve a fair pay adjustment that rewards their hard work," House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said Tuesday. He introduced the House resolution Wednesday. "The bipartisan, bicameral support for this resolution sends a strong message to President Bush that Congress is united behind the principle of pay parity.… We hope that he will incorporate pay parity into his upcoming fiscal 2006 budget proposal."
The White House did not respond to questions about the resolutions.
"Providing equitable pay raises for federal employees is not just an issue of fairness. It is also critical to recruiting and retaining talented individuals in public service, and to successfully administering our federal programs," said Sen. Paul Sarbanes, D-Md., who introduced the resolution in the Senate.
Federal workers unions, which have historically backed pay parity efforts, applauded Wednesday's resolutions.
"The strong message coming from congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle … is that pay parity is important to the country in recognizing the contributions of both members of the military and the civilian workforce," said Colleen M. Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union. "It plays an important role in the efforts by federal agencies to attract and retain a high-quality, high-performing workforce."