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Washington, D.C.—The president of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) today applauded approval by a strong bipartisan majority in the full House of Representatives of a resolution calling for civilian-military pay parity in 2005.

“This vote—and in particular, the bipartisan nature of the vote—not only sends an important message to federal employees that they are valued and respected,” said NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley, “it is another important step in the government’s continuing efforts to recruit and retain the high-quality employees the public wants and expects in federal agencies.”

The vote was on a sense-of-the-House resolution introduced by Reps. Tom Davis (R-VA), Frank Wolf, (R-VA) and Steny Hoyer (D-MD). It recognizes that both civilian federal employees and members of the military “provide critical services and protections” for all Americans, and states that the rates of compensation for federal civilian employees should be increased at the same time and at the same rate as that proposed for the uniformed services.

The administration has proposed a 1.5 percent raise for civilian federal workers in 2005, and a 3.5 percent raise for members of the military. NTEU supports the higher raise for all employees.

The House resolution is in step with language approved in the Senate budget resolution for 2005, which reflected the importance of pay parity and signaled that members of Congress understand

the need for fair pay in the competition with private sector employers for the most talented workers.

The vote by the full House on the pay issue follows the rejection earlier this month of language supporting civilian-military pay parity by the House Budget Committee in its 2005 budget resolution.

President Kelley said congressional action on federal pay reflects the role that civilian employees play not only serving the public in their specific agencies, but in the continuing fight against terrorism. They work in a variety of capacities that impact national security, she said, including such roles as helping secure the country’s borders, protecting the food supply, and much more.

NTEU is the largest independent federal union, representing some 150,000 employees in 29 agencies and departments.