Washington, DC – Senator Susan Collins is once again working to make sure that federal civilian workers and military personnel receive the pay raises that they deserve next year. She is urging the Senate Budget Committee to include federal employee pay parity in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 budget. “Pay parity” ensures that federal civilian and military employees receive the same annual percentage pay raise. The Administration has proposed a 3.1 percent raise for military personnel in 2006, but only a 2.3 percent raise for civilian workers.
“The dedication of both the uniformed services and our civilian employees embody the greatness of our Nation, day in and day out, through their commitment to public service,” Senator Collins wrote in a letter to the Budget Committee Chairman and Ranking Member. “Ensuring pay parity for federal employees also helps to attract much-needed workers to apply for those jobs.”
Senator Collins has long been a champion for ensuring equal pay raises for federal civilian and military personnel through past requests to the President and the Senate Appropriators. Senator Collins is hopeful that Congress will once again demonstrate its commitment to pay parity, as it has been included in the Budget Resolution in 17 of the last 19 years.