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Washington, D.C.— A 4.6 percent pay raise for federal employees for 2002 moved another step closer with passage by the Senate Appropriations Committee of the Treasury, Postal and General Government Appropriations Bill containing language supporting such an increase, a step that won the approval of one of the most vocal proponents of higher federal pay.

President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), the leading proponent of higher pay as a critical step in making the government a more competitive employer, applauded the Senate committee action and urged similar approval by the full Senate. On Tuesday, the House approved legislation providing a 4.6 percent federal civilian pay raise in 2002.

At the same time, Kelley said NTEU would continue its efforts to secure pay parity for federal civilian employees with members of the military. In its initial budget proposals for 2002, the Bush administration proposed a 4.6 percent pay raise for the military and a 3.6 percent raise for civilian employees of the federal government. Since then, the administration has proposed a five percent military pay increase.

“The federal government is in a contest with all manner of private employers for bright, talented, committed employees,” Kelley said—and, more often than not, it is losing that battle because of the continuing gap between public and private sector pay.”

The NTEU president, who is a member of the Federal Salary Council, said that “if this trend continues, federal employees won’t be the only losers. They will be joined by America’s taxpayers, who will not be able to get the kind of service they want, need and deserve.”

A more competitive compensation package, built around fair pay, including implementation of the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act—a law designed to close the public-private sector pay gap—“is an absolutely indispensable step toward the goal we should all want” of bringing the highest quality worker into federal service, she said.

The Treasury, Postal and General Government Appropriations Bill still has to be approved by the full Senate.

NTEU is the largest independent federal union, representing 150,000 employees in 25 agencies and departments.