Democrats running the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee have expressed skepticism about many of the Bush administration’s initiatives for federal employees contained in the recent budget proposal, saying for example that the proposed 3 percent January 2008 raise would fall far short of closing the pay gap with the private sector as measured by the government’s own figures. An annual statement of positions, done as part of the budget process, also expressed concern about the proposal to carve out some of the total increase to provide higher raises in some high-demand occupations and locations—money that would come at the cost of other employees. And it said that a proposal to reduce the government contribution toward health insurance for retirees with fewer than 10 consecutive years of FEHB coverage before retirement would “make it more difficult for affected retirees to afford health insurance, potentially increasing the number of uninsured or shifting the burden of their coverage to other federal health programs.” The panel stated its views as Congress is beginning to write the first draft of the fiscal 2008 budget.