D.C. Reps Call For Pay Parity For U.S. Staff

By ARI PAUL

Members of the District of Columbia area's congressional delegation urged President Bush Jan. 30 to "embrace the principle of pay parity" for members of the military and civilian Federal workers in the upcoming 2009 budget proposal.

COLLEEN KELLEY: 'They appreciate us.'

"In nearly every year during the past two decades, there have been equal adjustments in the compensation of members of the uniformed services and the compensation of civilian employees of the United States as a means under the General Schedule system to help achieve pay comparability between the public and private sector," the members said in a letter to the President. "We cannot express strongly enough the importance of continuing the tradition of pay parity between military and civilian employees in the coming fiscal year.

Union Support

National Treasury Employees Union President Colleen M. Kelley embraced the bipartisan letter.

"The letter reflects the intimate knowledge and understanding these representatives have of the important contributions their Federal employee constituents make to our nation," she said in a statement.

The letter-signers were Maryland Reps. Steny Hoyer, Elijah Cummings, Albert Wynn, John Sarbanes and C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger; Virginia Reps. Tom Davis, James Moran and Frank Wolf; and D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton.

"In addition, the Federal Government is facing a 'human capital crisis,' with many of our most-experienced employees poised to retire," it stated. "It is critical that we be able to recruit and retain quality employees in the future."