Movement on Pay Raise Coming

The Senate Armed Services Committee this week is drafting the annual DoD authorization bill, a measure that typically contains an early signal regarding the military, and by extension, federal, raise for the upcoming year. The committee sets only the raise for military personnel, but parity between military and federal raises has been followed in all but a few years for the last two decades. President Bush has recommended 3.4 percent for the military, but efforts are being made in Congress to boost that to 3.9 percent. In some but not all past years, the Senate has initially backed the White House proposal and then has given in to the House, which has favored a higher raise. The House counterpart committee is expected to begin writing its own bill soon, as well.