Although the DoD measure is a key bill in the annual raise process, the final raise figure for January 2003 will be determined by appropriations bills, a separate set of measures that contain the actual funding for the government in the upcoming fiscal year. None of the fiscal 2003 bills have reached a vote yet in either chamber. In some years a raise of a certain amount is simply assumed in the bills through their funding levels while in other years a specific raise figure is set. During that process, the White House will have further opportunities to advocate the 2.6 percent January 2003 federal raise it proposed in its budget earlier this year. The final word on the raise likely won’t come until autumn.