President Obama’s fiscal 2017 budget will include a 1.6 percent across-the-board pay raise for federal and military personnel, according to a statement made by an administration official during a Wednesday conference call.
“The President’s 2017 Budget will propose a 1.6 percent pay increase for military and civilian Federal personnel,” an undisclosed top-ranking Office of Management and Budget official said.
The White House will release its 2017 budget Tuesday. The Obama administration’s planned boost to federal worker salaries is higher than last year’s 1.3 percent raise, but some have criticized it, saying it’s still not enough.
The National Treasury Employees Union said the increase is “too low and does little to overcome several years of pay freezes and below-market increases,” according to a statement published Wednesday.
However, the union did pledge to support another part of the budget, which would give six weeks of paid parental leave to federal employees. Currently, under the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act, government employees receive 12 weeks of unpaid leave for the birth or adoption of a child.
