thedrifter
07-21-06, 07:17 PM
July 21, 2006
Senate bills would give federal civilians bigger raise than military
By Rick Maze
Staff writer
The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday added to confusion about the 2007 government raises by putting a 2.2 percent military raise in one bill and a 2.7 percent raise for federal workers in another.
Action came as the committee approved four separate appropriations bills in rapid succession in what is one of their earliest attempts in years to pass the 13 separate bills that make up the annual federal budget.
The 2.2 percent raise for military members is included in the $453.4 billion defense appropriations bill for 2007. The 2.7 percent raise is included in the $140.7 billion transportation, treasury, judiciary and housing and urban development funding bill.
The Bush administration had requested a 2.2 percent military and federal civilian raise, which equals the average private-sector raise last year.
The House Armed Services Committee was the first congressional panel to break with the administration plan by proposing a 2.7 percent military raise, which ended up included in the 2007 defense authorization bill. The possibility of a bigger military raise prompted supporters of federal workers to demand equity, which led the House Appropriations Committee to put a 2.7 percent raise for federal civilians in its general government budget.
Ironically, the House Appropriations Committee, which approved the 2.7 percent raise for federal workers, included only a 2.2 percent raise for military members in the defense budget, saying there was not enough money for the bigger raise for service members. The exact same thing happened Thursday with the Senate Appropriations Committee, which also ended up with a bigger civilian than military raise.
Appropriations committee aides said it is unlikely that Congress will end up approving bigger civilian than military raises, particularly at a time when there are U.S. troops under fire in Iraq and Afghanistan. But they were unwilling to predict whether there will be a bigger military or a smaller federal civilian raise.
Congressional leaders are hoping to have all of the government funding bills passed before the August break, meaning the raise issue could be resolved within a month. Decision over funding bills, however, often bog down and it is more likely a decision won’t be made until fall.
In an alert to members, the National Association of Uniformed Services, a Springfield, Va.-based group representing service members and retirees and their families from all branches of the military, said the Senate committee action is “far from final” and pledged to make certain the military wasn’t shorted.
“We will be working very hard to ensure that any military pay increase is at a minimum, equal to any civilian worker increase. Our men in women in uniform deserve a pay raise that equals or exceeds the civilian COLA, especially in light of the current world-wide conflicts they are engaged in,” the alert says.
Ellie
Senate bills would give federal civilians bigger raise than military
By Rick Maze
Staff writer
The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday added to confusion about the 2007 government raises by putting a 2.2 percent military raise in one bill and a 2.7 percent raise for federal workers in another.
Action came as the committee approved four separate appropriations bills in rapid succession in what is one of their earliest attempts in years to pass the 13 separate bills that make up the annual federal budget.
The 2.2 percent raise for military members is included in the $453.4 billion defense appropriations bill for 2007. The 2.7 percent raise is included in the $140.7 billion transportation, treasury, judiciary and housing and urban development funding bill.
The Bush administration had requested a 2.2 percent military and federal civilian raise, which equals the average private-sector raise last year.
The House Armed Services Committee was the first congressional panel to break with the administration plan by proposing a 2.7 percent military raise, which ended up included in the 2007 defense authorization bill. The possibility of a bigger military raise prompted supporters of federal workers to demand equity, which led the House Appropriations Committee to put a 2.7 percent raise for federal civilians in its general government budget.
Ironically, the House Appropriations Committee, which approved the 2.7 percent raise for federal workers, included only a 2.2 percent raise for military members in the defense budget, saying there was not enough money for the bigger raise for service members. The exact same thing happened Thursday with the Senate Appropriations Committee, which also ended up with a bigger civilian than military raise.
Appropriations committee aides said it is unlikely that Congress will end up approving bigger civilian than military raises, particularly at a time when there are U.S. troops under fire in Iraq and Afghanistan. But they were unwilling to predict whether there will be a bigger military or a smaller federal civilian raise.
Congressional leaders are hoping to have all of the government funding bills passed before the August break, meaning the raise issue could be resolved within a month. Decision over funding bills, however, often bog down and it is more likely a decision won’t be made until fall.
In an alert to members, the National Association of Uniformed Services, a Springfield, Va.-based group representing service members and retirees and their families from all branches of the military, said the Senate committee action is “far from final” and pledged to make certain the military wasn’t shorted.
“We will be working very hard to ensure that any military pay increase is at a minimum, equal to any civilian worker increase. Our men in women in uniform deserve a pay raise that equals or exceeds the civilian COLA, especially in light of the current world-wide conflicts they are engaged in,” the alert says.
Ellie