Action Also Sets Pay Cap

One other effect of the presidential order involves pay for certain high-level systems. By law, the annual raise for Congress, federal judges and senior political appointees paid under the executive schedule is capped at no more than the across-the-board component of the GS raise—1.7 percent, in this case. The executive schedule rates in turn act as pay caps for career employees in several high-level pay systems. The largest category affected by those pay caps is the senior executive service. However, under the SES pay system, raises are not automatic in any event, but are performance-based. Thus, while the pay caps are in line to increase by 1.7 percent, that does not necessarily mean that all of those who are up against the caps will get raises of that size.