House and Senate conferees on a budget outline for fiscal 2005 (S.Con.Res. 85) dropped a provision that had been in the Senate version of the bill that endorsed maintaining pay parity in the January 2005 raises for federal employees and uniformed military personnel-an effective endorsement of boosting the federal raise from the 1.5 percent the White House recommended to 3.5 percent. However, the budget “resolution” is only a non-binding measure and budget leaders said that the absence of the provision would not necessarily hurt chances of getting the higher figure into the upcoming appropriations bills-where the actual raise is set in any event. The provision was dropped more for reasons having to do with the budget process than for policy reasons, they said. The House already has voted separately in favor of continued pay parity, and the Senate in voting on its budget measure also endorsed parity. The budget conferees also dropped House language that would have required congressional committees, including those overseeing federal employment programs, to find savings in their areas of jurisdiction. The House has approved the conference measure while a Senate vote could occur as early as next week.