An indicator of the January 2010 federal raise has been set, with a House Armed Services panel endorsing an increase of 3.4 percent for uniformed military personnel. The military raise acts as a marker for the federal raise because in most years Congress sets the two at the same amount in the name of pay parity, a concept it already has endorsed for the 2010 raises. President Obama recommended an average 2 percent for federal employees and 2.9 percent for the military, but the early version of the fiscal 2010 DoD authorization bill would boost the military raise by a half-percentage point as part of a long-running effort to close an indicated pay gap between the military and the private sector. The parity figure becomes the average GS amount, with a portion carved out as locality pay, producing variations among localities. Raises for wage grade employees are capped at the local GS amount. There are many steps ahead before the raises are finalized, however.