Key Committees Back Pay Parity

Federal employees should receive the same raise in January 2005 as uniformed military personnel, the two congressional committees with primary jurisdiction over federal employee issues have said. The panels, the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee and the House Government Reform Committee, expressed that view in letters to the Senate and House Budget Committees, which soon will write a first draft of the fiscal 2005 federal budget. “For 16 of the last 18 years, Congress has enacted pay parity for employees in both the federal civilian and military sectors. I will continue to support equal adjustments in the compensation of members of the uniformed services and of federal civilian employees, regardless of their pay and classification system, and urge you to provide for pay parity in the budget for FY 2005,” Governmental Affairs Committee chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, wrote. President Bush has recommended a 3.5 percent January 2005 raise for the military and 1.5 percent for federal employees.