The administration proposal states that “rewarding top employees and those with unusually important skills is preferable to the traditional method of evenly spreading raises across the federal workforce regardless of performance or contribution. Pay and performance are generally unrelated. Exceptional employees find themselves locked in ‘time-in-grade’ pay prisons, as requirements dictate that performers stay at least one year at, say, a GS-12 level before moving, and then only as high as a GS-13. Even worse, pay over the course of a federal career is heavily determined by the level at which a civil servant begins working. Meanwhile, mediocre employees benefit, receiving the same pay raises as their harder working colleagues.”