WASHINGTON, D.C.-The U.S. Senate this week approved an omnibus appropriations bill that included a 4.1 percent pay increase for federal employees, effective January 2004. Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Susan Collins (R-ME), whose committee has jurisdiction over federal employee pay, had urged Senate appropriators to include the increase in the legislation. “This is great news for our hard-working federal civilian employees who deserve a pay increase," said Senator Collins, who has long supported parity between the military and the civil service. “A pay increase should also help the federal government attract and retain workers." The legislation would provide pay parity between the uniformed services and the federal civil service and set the increase at 4.1 percent. In addition, pay parity would be extended to federal civilian employees serving under the Federal Wage System. In the President’s budget proposal, the increase would have been limited to 2.0 percent.
Source: U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
