Senate Takes Up Raise Measure

The Senate has taken up the Transportation-Treasury appropriations bill (HR-3058) that as usual is serving as the vehicle for the annual federal raise. The Senate measure, like the House-passed version, specifies a 3.1 percent increase in order to keep federal employees apace with raises for uniformed military personnel. The White House opposes boosting the raise from the 2.3 percent it recommended, although it hasn’t threatened a veto over the issue. Meanwhile, budget leaders in both the House and Senate are trying to find savings to help offset costs of hurricane relief, with various possibilities being mentioned including potential across-the-board cuts in agency budgets. Such cuts in the past typically haven’t affected the raise, although they have forced agencies to restrict funds for training and other general administrative expenses, which are paid out of the same accounts as employee salaries.