In the News

Today, members of the National Capital Region Congressional Delegation sent a letter to Russell Vought, the Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and Margaret M. Weichert, the Acting Director of the Office of Personnel Management, seeking answers on the Trump administration’s slow implementation of the enacted 1.9 percent pay increase for federal employees for 2019. The pay increase was included in legislation that funds the federal government through September 30, and was signed by the President on February 15, 2019. The letter was signed by Representatives Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA), Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), John Sarbanes (D-MD), Don Beyer (D-VA), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Anthony Brown (D-MD), Jennifer Wexton (D-VA), and David Trone (D-MD).

“Given the continued impacts of the recent shutdown, any delay in implementing the 1.9 percent pay raise enacted into law is unacceptable,” the members wrote. “It is also imperative that retroactive lump sum payments be calculated in accordance with this pay increase.”

In order for the pay raise to be reflected in federal employees’ paychecks, President Trump must issue an executive order authorizing the 1.9 percent pay increase and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must publish new pay tables across the various compensation structures and localities.

The members requested an update and timeline for the implementation of the pay increase by March 15th.

The full letter follows and is available here.


March 4, 2019

The Honorable Russell Vought The Honorable Margaret M. Weichert
Acting Director Acting Director
Office of Management and Budget Office of Personnel Management
725 17th N.W. 1900 E. Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20503 Washington, D.C. 20415

Dear Acting Director Vought and Acting Director Weichert:

We write seeking information about the Administration’s plan to implement the 1.9 percent pay raise for federal employees in 2019 that was included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 (P.L. 116-6) passed by Congress and signed into law by the President last month.

In order for the pay raise to be reflected in federal employees’ paychecks, President Trump must issue an executive order authorizing the 1.9 percent pay increase and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must publish new pay tables across the various compensation structures and localities.

More than 800,000 federal employees just endured the longest government shutdown in history – 35 days. During the shutdown, some of these individuals reported to work without knowing when they would receive their next paycheck, while others were willing to work but were unable to do so because they were furloughed by their agencies. Additionally, some of the federal employees affected by the shutdown are still awaiting their full back pay.

Given the continued impacts of the recent shutdown, any delay in implementing the 1.9 percent pay raise enacted into law is unacceptable. It is also imperative that retroactive lump sum payments be calculated in accordance with this pay increase.

Please provide us with the implementation status of the 1.9 percent pay raise and a timeline of when federal employees should expect to see this raise and any retroactive payments reflected in their paychecks. Please provide this information by March 15, 2019.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.