Press Releases

Today, Congressman Gerry Connolly, Chairman of the House Government Operations subcommittee, led a letter to House Appropriators in support of a 3.2% pay increase for federal employees. Connolly was joined by Representatives Anthony G. Brown, Peter A. DeFazio, Debbie Dingell, Bill Foster, Jesus G. “Chuy” Garcia, Jahana Hayes, Stephen F. Lynch, Carolyn B Maloney, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Marie Newman, Ilhan Omar, Jamie Raskin, Linda T. Sanchez, John P. Sarbanes, Jan Schakowsky, Thomas R. Suozzi, and Albio Sires.

“As you prepare to advance the FY2022 Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill, we respectfully request that you include a 3.2 percent pay raise for federal employees.  The increase is in line with the Federal Adjustment of Income Rates (FAIR) Act (H.R. 392), which was introduced in the House of Representatives and has the support of 50 bipartisan co-sponsors,” the members wrote.

“The federal government must remain competitive when hiring the next generation of federal workers.  In 2020, the Federal Salary Council stated that federal employees make an average of 23.1 percent less than their private sector counterparts.  Currently, only 7 percent of the federal workforce is under the age of 30 while the civilian labor force enjoys nearly three times that number.  With almost a third of the federal workforce eligible to retire in five years, we will face a talent crisis if we fail to make basic investments in the human capital of the federal government,” the members added.

The current FY2022 FSGG legislation proposes a 2.7% increase for federal employees. In January, Connolly and Senator Schatz (D-HI) reintroduced the FAIR Act, which would provide federal employees a 3.2% pay raise in 2022.

Full text of the letter follows and is available here.

Dear Chairwoman DeLauro, Ranking Member Granger, Chairman Quigley, and Ranking Member Womack:

As you prepare to advance the FY2022 Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill, we respectfully request that you include a 3.2 percent pay raise for federal employees.  The increase is in line with the Federal Adjustment of Income Rates (FAIR) Act (H.R. 392), which was introduced in the House of Representatives and has the support of 50 bipartisan co-sponsors.

Throughout the pandemic, civil servants performed the essential work of the federal government under the most extraordinary circumstances.  Federal government employees risked exposure to COVID-19 to deliver mail, collect census responses, provide healthcare to veterans, distribute lifesaving stimulus benefits, inspect meat and poultry facilities, and help research therapies and vaccines for COVID-19. 

Unfortunately, the federal government has a history of chronic underinvestment in its most valuable asset – the federal workforce. In recent years federal employees have been subject to multiple pay freezes, hiring freezes, and lost pay as the result of sequestration-related furloughs.  In nine of the last ten years, federal employee pay increases have not kept pace with the statutory formula for determining annual salary adjustments.  Additionally, in the past eight years, federal employees have endured three government shutdowns, including two of the longest in U.S. history. 

The federal government must remain competitive when hiring the next generation of federal workers.  In 2020, the Federal Salary Council stated that federal employees make an average of 23.1 percent less than their private sector counterparts.  Currently, only 7 percent of the federal workforce is under the age of 30 while the civilian labor force enjoys nearly three times that number.  With almost a third of the federal workforce eligible to retire in five years, we will face a talent crisis if we fail to make basic investments in the human capital of the federal government. 

Paying our federal workforce a fair wage is also a matter of equity that impacts every community in America. More than 80 percent of the nation’s 2 million federal employees live in communities outside of the capital region.  Some of these federal employees, like other Americans, live paycheck to paycheck with more than 600,000 federal employees making less than $60,000 per year. 

Our nation’s dedicated civil servants deserve respect and fair compensation. We respectfully ask that you provide a pay increase of 3.2 percent for all federal employees in the FY2022 Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill.