Obama Opposes 1.9 Percent Pay Boost

President Obama on Thursday voiced his opposition to authorizing a 1.9 percent pay raise for military members in the fiscal 2011 Defense authorization bill. In a statement of administration policy, the president stood by his February budget request of a 1.4 percent increase for military personnel. Obama's support for a 1.4 percent military pay raise could have implications for the 2011 federal pay raise, as the president promised in late 2009 to ensure pay parity between military members and federal civilians in 2011.

"The President's proposed 1.4 percent pay increase is appropriate in light of other benefits and other forms of compensation, is targeted to avoid hindering the Department's ability to focus on recruiting or retaining for key skills, and will ensure the availability of financial resources needed to sustain our combat power at a time of war," the president wrote.

The move comes as the Senate voted 53-45 to table an amendment that would have frozen federal salaries to help cover the costs of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. It also comes as House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, R-Va., and Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., plan to unveil legislation that would cancel the proposed 1.4 percent pay raise for federal workers next year as part of the new YouCut initiative.