Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., and Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, today introduced the latest version of their Federal Adjustment of Income Rates (FAIR) Act, which would provide Federal employees with a 4.3 percent pay increase in calendar year 2026.
For over a decade, the two Democratic lawmakers have introduced similar versions of the legislation. Congress has yet to pass any versions of that bill – but the legislation has tracked with a general upswing in Fed pay over the past few years.
“The Federal workforce is our country’s single greatest asset,” said Rep. Connolly, ranking member of the House Oversight and Reform Committee. “Even after serving dutifully through a global pandemic and enduring the Trump Administration’s cruel personal attacks, unsafe work environments, pay freezes, government shutdowns, sequestration cuts, furloughs, and mindless across-the-board hiring freezes, they come to work every day in service to the American people.”
“As we prepare for another Trump Administration and its impact on our civil servants, it is only right that they be compensated fairly,” Rep. Connolly added.
Federal civilian employees received a 2.0 percent pay raise this year – the smallest since President Biden took office. However, Federal employees received a 5.2 percent raise in 2024, 4.6 percent in 2023, and 2.7 percent in 2022.
Nonetheless, the lawmakers said that Federal employee pay increases “have failed to keep pace with rising labor and living costs.”
According to the Federal Salary Council, Federal employees on average earned 24.7 percent less in 2024 than their counterparts in the private sector.
Additionally, the 2024 Office of Personnel Management’s Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) found that Federal employees were less satisfied with their pay in 2024, showing a decrease of one percentage point from 25 percent satisfaction in 2023, to 24 percent in 2024.
“Whether it’s inspecting our food, conducting medical research, or caring for veterans, Federal workers play an important role in our daily lives and deserve pay that reflects that,” said Sen. Schatz. “Our bill boosts wages to keep public service jobs competitive with those in the private sector and maintain a strong and talented Federal workforce.”
This year the FAIR Act is cosponsored by Reps. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., Summer Lee, D-Penn., Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va., Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., and Don Beyer, D-Va.
