Kaine, Warner, & Hoyer Lead Bicameral Letter Calling for Pay Parity for Federal Civilian Employees

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark R. Warner (both D-VA) and U.S. Representative Steny Hoyer (D-MD-05) led a bicameral letter calling for pay parity for federal civilian employees. President Joe Biden's proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2025 includes a 4.5% pay raise for military personnel and a 2% pay raise for federal civilian employees. In the lawmakers' letter to the President, they request that he submit a revised pay plan that would provide a 4.5% pay increase for the entire federal workforce. Over the past two decades, federal pay parity has been upheld by previous Administrations of both parties.

"We write concerned about the lack of parity between the proposed military and civilian pay raises in your Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request (PBR)," wrote the lawmakers. "This deviation between military and civilian employee pay increases upends historical bipartisan support for pay parity across the federal workforce."

"Specifically, we request you issue a revised alternative pay plan seeking a 4.5% pay increase for the entire federal workforce, including military and civilian employees alike," the lawmakers continued. "By aligning military and civilian pay raises for 2025, you will recognize the efforts of the entire federal workforce."

The letter was cosigned by U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), John Fetterman (D-PA), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Ed Markey (D-MA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Alex Padilla (D-CA), as well as U.S. Representatives Bobby Scott (D-VA-03), Gerry Connolly (D-VA-11), Don Beyer (D-VA-08), Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-07), Jennifer Wexton (D-VA-10), Jennifer McClellan (D-VA-07), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD-02), Glenn Ivey (D-MD-04), John Sarbanes (D-MD-03), Jamie Raskin (D-MD-08), Donald Norcross (D-NJ-01), Mark Pocan (D-WI-02), Kweisi Mfume (D-MD-07), and David Trone (D-MD-06).

Full text of the letter is available here and below:

Dear President Biden:

We write concerned about the lack of parity between the proposed military and civilian pay raises in your Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request (PBR). Although you submitted an alternative pay plan in August, it continued to support a differential pay increase: 4.5% for military employees and 2% for civilian employees. This deviation between military and civilian employee pay increases upends historical bipartisan support for pay parity across the federal workforce. Although we understand this decision was made under the constraints put in place by the Fiscal Responsibility Act caps, we believe it is imperative you revise your budget to align military and civilian employee pay raises. Specifically, we request you issue a revised alternative pay plan seeking a 4.5% pay increase for the entire federal workforce, including military and civilian employees alike.

Our nation's servicemembers and civilian employees both work tirelessly to keep us safe and run the critical operations of the government. Of the federal workforce, more than 2.2 million civilian employees work to ensure resources and services are provided to countless communities across America. By aligning military and civilian pay raises for 2025, you will recognize the efforts of the entire federal workforce.

Our request is grounded in longstanding tradition and precedent. For example, on December 8, 2016, President Barack Obama submitted an alternative federal pay plan to Congress that increased the federal civilian pay raise to the same level as military employees. We implore you to move swiftly to submit a revised alternative pay plan that supports our entire federal workforce.

Thank you for your attention to this important issue. We believe this request is fair and timely. We hope you are able to continue to uphold the longstanding bipartisan tenet of federal pay parity.

Sincerely,

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