PRESIDENT'S DISPARATE PAY PROPOSAL FOR FISCAL YEAR 2009 DISHEARTENING FOR FEDS - February 4, 2008

Proposed civilian pay increase of 2.9 percent, versus active military increase of 3.4 percent, fails to fairly recognize the loyalty and efforts of our nation's federal employees

Alexandria, VA – The President’s fiscal year 2009 budget request released today offers civilian federal workers a pay raise half-a-percent lower than their fellow employees in the Armed Forces.

Ignoring over two decades of legislative precedent of providing pay parity to military and civilian federal employees, President Bush requested a 2.9 percent pay raise for civil workers, as opposed to the 3.4 percent increase requested for armed service members, proposing to save money on the backs of the civil service. As a point of reference, Congress has approved the same average annual pay increase for civilian and military employees for 23 of the last 27 years. This proposal came despite the urging of FMA and many lawmakers, including ten who sent a letter to Bush urging him to provide the same raise for military and civilian employees in 2009.

Darryl Perkinson, National President of the Federal Managers Association, lamented the President’s actions by stating, “This proposal flies in the face of the President’s calls for heightened security measures to protect the homeland. The public servants who are on the front lines of ensuring the safety of American citizens should be praised for their efforts and thusly rewarded. We are pleased that the President sees fit to reward active service members with a 3.4 percent pay increase. However, civil servants share the work and responsibilities of keeping our country safe and meeting our citizens’ needs.”

The measure will be taken up and debated by Congress later in the year. The legislative body has approved civilian pay raises higher than the president’s request in six of the last seven years. Both civilian employees and military service members received an average 3.5 percent pay raise in 2008, half a percent above Bush’s request.

This proposed raise, which would take effect January 2009, heeds the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Cost Index which states that the annual increase in wages and salaries for private workers went up 3.4 percent between September 2006 and September 2007. While active military members enjoy a guarantee of an equal wage increase under the President’s budget, civil servants are not guaranteed equal salary appreciation.

Perkinson went on to say, “While many in government are charged with stemming the inevitable brain-drain that will take place over the next decade due to the retirement of baby-boomers, this slap in the face only hurts our efforts to retain employees that we count on to serve the public. Federal employees are on the front lines of the War on Terror both at home and in Iraq and Afghanistan. The President’s request will do nothing to raise morale among federal workers.”