Fedweek

The House Appropriations Committee has approved the general government spending bill for the upcoming fiscal year that by silence regarding a January raise would pave the way for one to be paid by default, almost certainly 1.6 percent. The Senate counterpart committee is set to consider its own version today (June 15); if it follows the same approach, it becomes virtually certain that the raise by default process will play out to its end again this year, as it has the last three years. However, a default raise doesn’t become final until Congress finishes work for the year, likely not until late December, since any different figure enacted before adjournment would take precedent. While several of the regular appropriations bills are advancing through the committee and floor voting process, chances are considered poor that many, if any, of them will be enacted before the October 1 start of the new fiscal year. The most likely scenario is that temporary funding will be enacted to carry the government past the elections, and final decisions will be made in the post-election session.