The House of Representatives remains silent so far on proposing a 2019 pay raise for federal employees. An annual spending bill (HR-6147) contains no recommendation for a pay increase. If history is a guideline, by default this could mean the annual pay raise recommended by the president would be implemented for next year — which in this case would mean there could be a pay freeze in 2019 since the White House has not recommended a pay increase.
The Senate Appropriations Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee last month, however, approved a 1.9 percent across the board 2019 federal pay raise. Democratic lawmakers in April also recommended a 3 percent pay increase in the Federal Adjustment of Income Rates (FAIR) Act.
As with many years in the past, the final decision on next year’s pay raise could involve complicated negotiations between the two legislative chambers before it’s officially announced likely in late December.