Meanwhile, the Senate has passed its version of the fiscal 2003 Defense Department authorization bill (S-2514) that like the earlier House-passed version (HR-4546) sets next January’s raise for military personnel at 4.1 percent. Supporters of the 4.1 percent raise for federal employees have argued, successfully so far, that parity between the two raises should be maintained next year as it has been during most years in the last two decades. Certain military personnel would stand to get higher raises under the DoD measures, bringing the actual average military raise higher, but the official “parity” figure would remain 4.1 percent.