7/9/09: The Senate Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee approved yesterday a 2.9 percent pay raise for federal employees for next year. This level, which is expected to be reported out of the full committee today, would match the President’s proposal for the military pay raise in his FY 2010 budget.

The House Appropriations Committee has already advanced a proposed 2% raise, which is what the President's budget originally called for. The Senate subcommittee's action now will set the stage for a conflict between the chambers that will have to be resolved in reconciliation.

On a separate track, Congress has raised the proposed military pay raise from the President’s budget proposal of 2.9 percent to 3.4 percent in the House and Senate Department of Defense Authorization bills. Despite the fact that the 2.9% increase proposed by the Senate subcommittee for federal employees does not reflect pay parity with the military, it is still significantly higher than the President's original proposal.

NTEU will continue to work to include at least the Senate subcommittee's 2.9 percent in the final Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act for FY 2010.