Stopgap bill leaves federal workers with no raise

WASHINGTON — Legislation advancing in Congress to prevent a partial government shutdown does not provide for a raise for federal employees in January, the latest change in direction in what has been a zigzag path through this year.

A “continuing resolution” to fund numerous agencies through Feb. 8 that the Senate passed Wednesday makes no reference to a raise, even though the Senate months ago had passed a different bill containing a 1.9 percent increase. The new measure is needed because Congress has passed only some of the agency spending bills for the government’s fiscal year, with temporary funding for others due to lapse at midnight tonight.

As the Senate prepared to vote on Wednesday, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and several other Democrats sought to attach a raise to the bill but were prevented by the Republican leadership of that chamber.

The measure is before the House, where a similar attempt could be made.

“We’re encouraging Congress to include the modest 1.9 percent pay adjustment in the final spending deal, and we are working with our allies in the House to get it included in any deal they pass,” American Federation of Government Employees President J. David Cox Sr. said in an email.

The House, in its version of the earlier bill, included no language on a raise, in effect favoring a freeze. Under the complex federal pay law, if Congress remains silent, the White House’s recommendation takes effect by default. In an August message to Congress, Trump said that if Congress takes no position, he would set the default raise at zero.

By that time, the Senate already had voted in favor of paying a 1.9 percent raise, setting up a conference with the House on that bill. At one point in the process, House Republicans tentatively agreed to support a raise. However, that bill has not come to a final vote.