Raise Still Pending in Appropriations Process

The Transportation-Treasury spending bill approved by the House and pending in the Senate would set the January raise at 2.7 percent. However, that figure is somewhat shaky. Since an initial push for 2.7 percent for both civilian and military personnel, Congress has moved toward setting the uniformed raise at 2.2 percent (with additional, targeted raises for some). There is little likelihood that federal employees would end up with a raise higher than that for uniformed personnel. The raises are to be worked out through the Defense authorization and appropriations bills and the Transportation-Treasury appropriations bill, all of which are up for consideration this month, although final action may be put off until a post-election lame duck session.