Pay Raise Still Not Finalized

Congress has recessed for the year after failing to pass a spending bill for the rest of this fiscal year (HR-2673) that contains a 4.1 percent average general schedule raise for January 2004. The House passed the measure but the Senate won’t take it up until January 20, when Congress reconvenes for its 2004 session. The sequence of events means that a 2 percent GS raise-split as 1.5 percent across the board and 0.5 percent divided up as locality pay-kicks in by default, effective with the first full pay period of January. Assuming Congress then passes the catchall bill, that amount will be boosted to 4.1 percent-probably split as 2.7 percent across the board and 1.4 percent for locality pay-retroactive to that same date. It could be several months before employees would see the extra money, however, due to the need to reprogram agency payroll systems. Until Congress passes the catchall bill, agencies whose regular 2004 appropriations haven’t been enacted will continue to operate at fiscal 2003 levels.