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Washington, D.C.—The leader of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) today called approval by the House Appropriations Committee of bipartisan language to provide military-civilian pay parity in 2006 “important recognition” of the jobs federal employees perform and the continuing contributions they make.

The pay parity amendment to the Transportation-Treasury Appropriations bill was offered by Reps. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and James Moran (D-VA) and Frank Wolf (R-VA). It would provide both military and civilian federal employees with a 3.1 percent raise next year; the administration’s budget proposal calls for only a 2.3 percent civilian raise in 2006.

In a letter to committee members prior to the vote, NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley said the civilian workforce “continues to work side by side with members of the uniformed services to protect our country—both at home and abroad.” Whether they struggle to bring democracy to Iraq or strive to prevent further terrorist attacks at home, she added, “both our civilian and uniformed public servants deserve our support.”

The NTEU leader also noted that the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has measured the public-private wage gap to be as high as 32 percent depending on location, pointing out that an equitable pay raise is critical to the government’s ability to recruit and retain a quality workforce.

NTEU is the largest independent federal union, representing some 150,000 employees in 30 agencies and departments, including some 94,000 in the IRS.