Press Releases

Today, Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Government Operations, and Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) reintroduced the Federal Adjustment of Income Rates (FAIR) Act, a bill that would provide federal employees with a 5.1 percent pay increase in calendar year 2023. Connolly and Schatz previously introduced similar legislation in the 115^th and 116^th Congresses, as well as in the first session of the 117^th Congress.

Over the past decade, federal employees have endured government shutdowns, pay freezes, hiring freezes, and lost pay as a result of sequestration-related furloughs. More recently, they’ve spent two years working tirelessly throughout a global pandemic in service to the American people. The FAIR Act’s wage adjustment restores years of lost wage increases for federal employees by ensuring that federal employees serving in all 50 States on behalf of constituents in every congressional district earn an average pay increase of 5.1% percent.

“For two years, federal employees have risked their health and safety working on the frontlines of this pandemic,”said Chairman Connolly. “For four years prior, they were subjected to the Trump Administration’s cruel personal attacks, unsafe work environments, pay freezes, government shutdowns, sequestration cuts, furloughs, and mindless across-the-board hiring freezes. Still, our federal workforce serves with dedication and distinction every day. Federal employees are our government’s single greatest asset, and they deserve better. The FAIR Act is critical step toward recognizing their contributions and providing fair and just compensation."

“Whether inspecting our food, conducting medical research, or caring for our veterans, federal workers play an important role in our everyday lives and deserve pay which reflects that,”said Senator Schatz. “After the many pay freezes they’ve been through, our bill gives these dedicated public servants a much-deserved raise.”

The FAIR Act is cosponsored in the House by Reps. Don Beyer (D-VA), Jennifer Wexton (D-VA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD), John Sarbanes (D-MD), David Trone (D-MD), and Anthony Brown (D-MD).

And in the Senate by Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Ed Markey (D-MA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Ben Cardin (D-MD).

Additionally, the legislation is supported by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE).

Text of the FAIR Act is available here.