NARFE Pleased With House Appropriations Committee Approving Pay Raise, Nixing OPM-GSA Merger
Alexandria, Va. (June 11, 2019) – In response to the full House Appropriations Committee approving a spending bill that would provide federal employees with a 3.1 percent average pay raise in 2020 and block the administration from moving forward on its proposed merger of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the General Services Administration (GSA), NARFE National President Ken Thomas issued the following statement:
“Federal employees keep our country running safely and efficiently every day. This modest pay increase is an important step towards recognizing the value of public servants and their hard work while making government employment more appealing and competitive with private-sector employment. We also appreciate the committee’s understanding that dismantling OPM and moving civil service policy to the Executive Office of the President would eliminate safeguards against a politicized federal workforce and put vital programs at risk of not receiving the attention they deserve. NARFE urges both the House and Senate to preserve the federal pay raise and allow OPM and GSA to remain separate entities in their final legislation.”
In addition to making the statement, NARFE submitted a letter to the committee yesterday.
Background
The president’s budget request for fiscal year 2020 indicates his intention to freeze the salaries of civil servants for calendar year 2020. Without congressional action, the president retains the authority to determine annual adjustments to federal pay rates.
A 2.6 percent across-the-board increase to federal pay rates is included in the legislation along with a 0.5 percent average increase to locality pay rates. This 3.1 percent average increase is based on the most recent annual change in private-sector pay prior to the development of the president’s budget request, as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Cost Index.
In May, NARFE National President Ken Thomas testified before the House Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on Government Operations regarding the administration’s proposed merger of OPM and GSA. Thomas’ full written testimony outlining NARFE’s concerns can be found here.
About NARFE
The National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE) was founded in 1921 with the mission of protecting the earned rights and benefits of America’s active and retired federal workers. One of the largest federal employee/retiree organizations, NARFE represents the interests of 5 million current and future federal and postal annuitants, spouses and survivors.
CONTACT:
Jill Talley
NARFE Director of Public Relations
jtalley@narfe.org
(703) 838-7760
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