Federal Worker Pay | featured news

President Obama told congressional leaders Tuesday that he is extending a two-year pay freeze for federal employees until at least next spring because Congress has not agreed on a budget for the next fiscal year.

Federal pay rates would be frozen for the third straight year in 2013 under several plans that advanced in the House on Wednesday. A spending bill covering general government matters for the coming fiscal year approved by a House Appropriations subcommittee contains no additional money to pay for a raise, effectively rejecting President Obama’s request for a 0.5 percent increase in January.

One of the main arguments against forcing federal employees to pay more for their pensions is that most rank-and-file feds don’t make bloated, six-figure salaries — as fiscal conservatives and Republican lawmakers often allege.

President Barack Obama will announce a two-year pay freeze for federal employees Monday, a move White House officials say is the first of many difficult decisions that must be made to reduce the nation's mounting deficit.