Administration Reiterates Opposition on Raise

Meanwhile, the White House reiterated its proposal, contained in both its original budget released in February and in an “alternative” pay plan released in August, for a 2 percent 2004 federal raise. A 4.1 percent raise, it said, “exceeds the President’s request by $2.1 billion, provides a percentage increase that exceeds inflation, the statutory base pay increase, and even exceeds the average increase in private sector pay, measured by the Employment Cost Index.” The higher raise “does not address any particular issue related to federal employee turnover” and “would not allow the federal government to target pay raises to attract employees with critical skills.”