House Dems press for 3.2% pay raise for feds
By
Natalie Alms
The House Appropriations Committee is going along with appears the 2.7% raise recommended by the president, but Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) and other Democrats say that that isn't enough.
Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), wants feds to get a 3.2% pay raise in 2022 government funding legislation.
Connolly and 17 other Democrats sent a letter to leaders of the House Appropriations Committee on Monday urging them to include the 3.2% raise in the FY 2022 appropriations bill that covers federal employees' pay rates.
"Unfortunately, the federal government has a history of chronic underinvestment in its most valuable asset – the federal workforce," the letter states. "In recent years federal employees have been subject to multiple pay freezes, hiring freezes, and lost pay as the result of sequestration-related furloughs."
The letter cites data from the Federal Salary Council, the advisory committee which makes recommendations on locality pay, showing that feds had an average pay gap of over 20% compared to their private sector counterparts in 2020.
The Biden administration budget calls for a 2.7% pay hike for feds. A House Appropriations subcommittee approved that proposal last week in the markup of the Financial Services and General Government funding bill.
The bill was marked up by the full Appropriations committee on June 29, and no amendment was offered to push the higher pay raise.