Biden to Propose 5.2% Federal Pay Increase

quote:

---

President Biden is expected to propose a 5.2 percent raise for federal employees in his budget set to be released Thursday — the largest increase the White House has put forward since Jimmy Carter was president.

That salary boost, which would go into effect in January, will be in Biden’s budget proposal for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1, according to a senior federal official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the decision. Another official familiar with the decision, also speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed the proposal.

The raise would be the largest pay increase for the workforce of 2.1 million executive branch employees since a 9.1 percent increase in 1980. But it would still fall short of the 8.7 percent raise called for in legislation introduced in the House and Senate and backed by several Democrats and federal employee unions.

The Office of Management and Budget and the White House declined to comment.

House Republicans are likely to oppose an increase of that size, as the conservative majority has pledged to reduce federal spending and to better hold the federal workforce accountable for what they have criticized as poor customer service at some agencies.

“President Biden is continuing to ensure that federal workers’ pay and benefits are insulated from the price-tag of inflation, but it will be paid for by American taxpayers who continue to be harmed by the Biden Administration’s inflationary policies,” House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) said in a statement. “We should be putting American taxpayers first, not the federal bureaucracy.”

In making the case for the largest raise in more than four decades, Biden can sharpen a contrast with Republicans over the value of government work to taxpayers and underscore his alliance with labor as he heads into a likely reelection campaign. Some allies in Congress pledged to fight for a robust increase.

---