Democrats vow a fight for civilian pay parity.
By Erich Wagner; Government Executive:
Leaders in the House and Senate on Wednesday announced that they had reached an agreement on a $700 billion defense authorization bill for fiscal 2018, which includes a 2.4 percent across-the-board pay raise for military personnel.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., and ranking member Jack Reed, D-R.I., released the details of the deal on the committee’s website. The pay raise figure matches one floated by members of Congress as early as July and comes in higher than President Trump’s proposed 2.1 percent increase for service members as outlined in his fiscal 2018 budget proposal.
That figure could put additional pressure on D.C.-area lawmakers, who have long advocated for pay parity between the federal government’s civilian and military workforces. Trump proposed a 1.9 percent pay raise for civilian employees, and there is no indication that Congress plans to deviate from that number.
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