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By: FEDweek StaffThe House has approved a fiscal 2019 spending bill (HR-6147) that effectively endorses President Trump’s recommendation to keep federal salary rates frozen next year at current levels. By being silent on a raise, the general government appropriations bill—which was paired with another for floor voting—would continue a strategy that has been used in recent years of Congress allowing the White House’s recommendation to take effect by default.
However, the Senate counterpart bill, earlier approved by its Appropriations Committee, provides for a 1.9 percent raise in January, which it would split: 1.4 percentage points across the board and funds for the other 0.5 percentage point divided up in varying amounts by locality.
The full Senate could approve that bill—also as part of a package—at any time, setting up a conference between the two chambers to work out differences. Given the little working time remaining before the August congressional recess, though, an agreement might not occur until September, or even potentially until after the November elections.
Although not backing a raise, the House bill does specify that if a GS raise is paid, wage grade employees would receive the same increase as GS employees in that area. Pay caps would be raised for senior executives and other career employees in high-level pay systems in which salaries are set within a range. Pay for political appointees would remain frozen even if a GS raise is paid.
The bill further would continue several long-running federal personnel policies, including maintaining the moratorium on starting “Circular A-76” studies that in the past have resulted in contracting out of federal jobs.
