More Ups and Downs Could Be Ahead

Reducing the federal raise to 2.2 percent would go counter to the 2.7 percent figure approved by the full House and by the Senate Appropriations Committee. But there appears to be little chance that Congress would enact a 2.7 percent raise for civilian employees while granting only 2.2 percent to uniformed personnel. Decreasing the federal raise amount would be easier, officials say, if the Transportation-Treasury measure is folded into an omnibus spending bill for the remainder of fiscal 2007 that the lame duck session might enact in lieu of passing the rest of the regular spending bills. Alternatively, Congress may remain silent on the raise and let a raise of 1.7 percent kick in by default, possibly with the understanding that the new Congress that convenes in January will act to retroactively boost the increase to 2.2 percent. A similar chain of events has played out twice in recent years. Much depends, officials say, on how much the lame duck session decides to take on and how long the legislators stay in session. That in turn will be largely determined by the outcome of the elections.