Federal employees would get a 3.8 percent pay raise in 2016 under legislation to be introduced Jan. 13.
Rep. Gerry Connolly, D.-Va, and Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, who are proposing the bill in the House and the Senate, said the legislation will help feds keep pace with private sector wage growth and help reduce attrition and boost morale.
The Federal Adjustment of Income Rates (FAIR) Act, duplicates legislation introduced March 26, 2014, that would have given federal employees a 3.3 percent pay raise. That bill did not pass committee.
Talk About This: How much of a raise do feds merit?
The last time federal employees received a pay raise above 3 percent was in 2009, when feds got a 3.9 percent pay raise.
William Dougan, the president of the National Federation of Federal Employees, said the legislation would make up for five years of pay freezes and small raises.
"In the last five years, federal employees have lost a significant amount of buying power due to pay adjustments failing to keep up with basic inflation," Dougan said. "As the cost of living increases for all Americans, federal employees have been left behind with stagnate wages."
The bill will also help close the growing pay disparity between federal employees and the private sector, which will help boost recruitment and retention, Dougan said.
"Now more than ever, we genuinely hope members of Congress understand the importance of addressing the dwindling morale of federal employees. Raising morale, through legislation like the FAIR Act, will allow the government to recruit and retain top-tier candidates, which results in better services to the citizens of our country," Dougan said.
Federal employees have already endured $159 billion in cuts to pay, benefits and salaries as a result of congressional budget cuts, according to J. David Cox, the president of the American Federation of Government Employees.
"A 3.8 percent increase would provide employees with the fair and meaningful raise that they have earned for the first time this decade."
The legislation will be co-sponsored by Steny Hoyer, D-Md., Elijah Cummings, D-Md., Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., and Donald Beyer, D-Va.
