Hoyer Applauds House fo Supporting Pay Parity

WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD) released the following statement today applauding the inclusion of a 3.5 percent pay raise for federal employees in the Fiscal Year 2005 Omnibus Appropriations Conference Report. This provision provides civilian federal employees and military employees with the same pay adjustment, following a long-standing Congressional principle known as "pay parity." The House passed the Omnibus Conference Report today:

"I am pleased to have worked with a bipartisan group of lawmakers to successfully include a 3.5 percent pay adjustment for civilian federal and military employees in the Fiscal Year 2005 Omnibus Appropriations Conference Report.

"With security threats at home and abroad, it is important that federal employees, nearly 700,000 of whom work at the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, and more than 55,000 of whom reside in the 5th Congressional District, receive a fair pay adjustment.

"Many civilian federal employees, such as FBI agents, CIA agents, and National Institute of Health scientists, work with the military daily to protect our nation from terrorism and other threats. This pay adjustment rewards them for their commitment and dedication to serving our country and protecting our citizens.

"Congress has endorsed the principle of pay parity, as a simple matter of fairness and as an important recruiting and retention tool, 21 of the last 23 years.

"I hope the President will support this bipartisan effort by Congress and help Congress recognize and retain hard-working federal employees."

There are 1.8 million civilian federal employees across the country - in the Department of Defense alone there are 669,000 civilian federal employees. Over the past two decades, both the House and Senate have consistently recognized that the morale of dedicated civilian federal and military personnel should not be undermined by providing different pay adjustments.

The principle of parity stems from the recognition that the pay for civilian and military employees simply has not kept pace with increases in the private sector. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a 33-percent pay gap exists between the civilian employees and their private sector counterparts and an estimated 10-percent gap exists between the military service members and the private sector.

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