Congress has adjourned for the year without formally setting a figure for the January 2007 federal pay raise, meaning that the 2.2 percent increase that President Bush ordered in lieu of a legislated number will take effect. Before adjourning, Congress passed a “continuing resolution” good through February 15 for departments and agencies whose regular fiscal 2007 spending bills haven’t been enacted—all but DoD and DHS. That measure, like several stopgap spending bills before it, was silent on the pay raise, effectively allowing the 2.2 percent figure to kick in. The raise is to be paid in the first full pay period of January, which starts January 7 for most employees. Depending on agency payroll cycles, it could be late in the month or even into early February before employees actually receive an increase. There remains a chance, although slim, that Congress early in 2007 will enact a higher figure to be paid retroactively.