The Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) has voted to include a 2.7 percent pay raise for uniformed military service members as well as for civilian DoD employees. This matches the 2.7 percent raise for federal employees proposed in President Biden’s budget proposal, and tacitly endorsed by both House and Senate. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) had this to say about the 2.7 percent raise for feds: “We might finally include a pay raise for civilians that matches inflation,” she said. “I consider this a down payment after a decade that saw civilian pay fail to keep pace with inflation amid attempts by prior administrations to reduce benefits for the civilian workforce.”

Maintaining pay parity in raises between uniformed service members and civilian federal employees has long been a key principle supported by FMA. The federal workers maintaining nuclear submarines or aircraft carriers, staffing DoD facilities, and serving the American people across the federal government are no less public servants than uniformed servicemembers, and the principle of pay parity is critical to acknowledge this and to ensure that fair compensation is maintained for federal employees.

FMA continues to support this year’s version of the FAIR Act, which features a 3.2 percent raise for federal employees, and will encourage our partners in Congress to consider a 3.2 percent raise for both uniformed service members and for civilian feds. A 2.7 percent pay raise that maintains pay parity should, however, very much be considered an overall success, even if it is not as high as might be hoped.