The House DoD measure assumes a 2.1 percent raise for the military in January, which would set a marker–although not a binding one—to similarly boost the federal employee raise from the 1.6 percent the White House has proposed for both groups. In some similar past situations, the Senate has stuck with the lower figure as the House has moved to boost the raise for military personnel. That situation may be developing again, as the preliminary version of the Senate bill would allow for only a 1.6 percent raise. There remains a long way to go before a final decision is reached, but in prior years, the lower Senate figure usually prevailed. Regarding the federal employee raise, the strategy of recent years has been to allow the recommended figure to take effect by default through silence in spending bills. There has been no indication that Congress will follow any strategy other than that in setting the 2017 increase. President Obama would have an opportunity to set a default figure higher than the 1.6 percent by issuing an order—it would be due by the end of August—but his pattern similarly has been to stick with the original recommendation.