Bush shrinks pay raises for federal workers in some costlier regions

WASHINGTON -- Federal workers living in more expensive regions of the country will get much smaller pay raises than scheduled under an order from President Bush, who said Wednesday that the proposed raises were unacceptably high.

Ordering a lower adjustment is not unusual. Presidents routinely override the pay formula and assign figures deemed more reasonable.

Current law provides that federal civilian workers will get a 2.5 percent across-the-board raise in January. That will not change under Bush's order.

The law also gives an extra pay bump to some federal employees based on a formula that incorporates cost of living and comparable private-sector pay.

On average, workers who live in such metro areas were due to receive an additional raise of 12.5 percent. Bush is cutting that added bump to 0.5 percent.

That figure is much closer to the norm. Over the last five years, the average pay differential for federal workers in higher-cost areas -- called "locality pay" -- has ranged from 0.5 to 1.4 percent.

The president has the power to put in place his own pay plan in times of a national emergency or serious economic conditions affecting the nation. Bush has invoked this authority before, as did President Clinton before him.

"You can't make perfect comparisons between private-sector compensation and government compensation," said White House spokesman Tony Fratto. "The government still does have to live within its means. In the private sector, they make those determinations for their own fiscal reasons."

This year, Bush's change means that workers scheduled to receive pay differentials will now receive a total pay raise of 3 percent, not 15 percent, on average.

Bush said he did not think his decision would affect the government's ability to retain and recruit well qualified workers.

But John Gage, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said the union is working to ensure that Congress approves a 3.5 percent pay raise for federal workers.

"Bush's decision to nickel-and-dime federal employees, is, unfortunately, no surprise," Gage said.

Bush said he was taking action because the scheduled pay raises would exceed his budget by $12.7 billion next year, and only compound in later years.

"Such cost increases would force deep cuts in discretionary spending or federal employment to stay within budget," Bush said in a letter to congressional leaders. "Either outcome would unacceptably interfere with our nation's ability to secure the homeland and pursue the war on terrorism."